why were people on ESA ignored when people on UC got an extra £20 per week

Garza

calcotti said:

poppy123456 said:

Garza said:

there is some great knowledge here, I am on esa and get the SDP element, am I right in thinking that when I eventually get moved to UC I will be worse off as this element is not included in UC or is it more complex than that? 

It maybe quite sometime yet before we are moved across. Unless a change of circumstances prompts a move in the meantime. When we do move if you still meet the criteria for SDP your UC will include the SDP transitional protection. It is slightly less than SDP if you’re in the Support group though. It also erodes over time so that’s another downside.
My advice to myself is to forget about it at least for now anyway. 

Two different scenarios here.

For someone with SDP in ESA who ‘naturally’ migrates to UC they will get the SDP transitional element as you describe.

For those who go through ‘managed’ migration the situation is different. They will get a transitional element to make the UC starting amount equivalent to the total of the benefits being replaced. They will therefore suffer no loss. The transitional element will however erode over time therefore effectively freezing the UC amount for however long it takes for the transitional element to be fully eroded (as happened with ESA claimants transferred from IB).

who decides if your migration is natural or managed? 

mrpip2002uk

calcotti,
i am 65 next birtday and my wife is almost 60.
but ive read or been informed at some stage that when i'm pension age my wife will then have to take over the ESA claim and she will have to claim for me.
the rules are constanly changing,like people say were terrified of changing anything in case we end up with nothing,with these constantly changing rules from the DWP?

mrpip2002uk

guys,thanks for all the advice,i'm more confused than ever because of all the different rules on each benefit,i think i will just carry on as we are,stay on ESA for now,at least we will be guaranteed an income!
goodbye for now

poppy123456

mrpip2002uk said:

calcotti,
i am 65 next birtday and my wife is almost 60.
but ive read or been informed at some stage that when i'm pension age my wife will then have to take over the ESA claim and she will have to claim for me.
the rules are constanly changing,like people say were terrified of changing anything in case we end up with nothing,with these constantly changing rules from the DWP?

This is not correct. As you're the main ESA claimant when you reach state pension age your ESA will end. Your wife can't take over the ESA claim because it's your claim, not hers.

As you are a mixed age couple then you will both need to claim Universal Credit but you should do this before your ESA ends. Your state pension will be deducted in full from any UC entitlement. Whether there's any entitlement to UC will depend on how much your state pension is and whether you claim for help with your rent.

At the moment your wife will not be receiving any NI credits to her state pension because your ESA is your claim so only you will be receiving those. I don't know if you're aware of that but that's also something you should think about. It would be useful for her to check her state pension forecast. You can do that here. https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

mrpip2002uk

poppy123456 thanks.
so while ive been claiming for both of us ESA,my wifes not getting n,i, contributions for pension.
if we are successful with a pip claim each would she then get her n.i.contributions?

mrpip2002uk

poppy123456,
i think we really need to go to C.A. and have them work out what would be better for us?
thanks

poppy123456

No, PIP doesn’t pay NI credits. She needs to check her state pension forecast. 

mrpip2002uk

ok thanks

calcotti

Garza said:..who decides if your migration is natural or managed? 

At the moment all migration is ‘natural’. ‘Managed’ migration refers to the the situation when DWP will, over time, be contacting all existing claimants of means tested benefits and advising them their benefits will end and inviting them to claim UC instead. If the claimant does so they will receive an amount of UC which is at least equivalent to the amount of the benefits ending.

katie0714

I’ve seen so many comments in regard to legacy benefits being “left behind”. It’s frustrating beyond belief. 

I understand you suffered too during covid. I understand you found it tough..
spare a thought to the people who DID receive that temporary uplift, only for it to be snatched away 3 months before Christmas, weeks before increased energy prices and days before broadband prices increased. 

People like myself who thought that £20 a week - £80 a month wouldn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things quickly turned into £60/£80per fortnight energy bills. Doubled wifi bills. Doubled phone bills etc. 

Did I mention I was a single mum to a 1 year old who’s now unable to afford Christmas/birthdays and genuinely thought that I’d be able to manage. 

Before the whole “aw but we didn’t get it” think of the hundreds of thousands who’ve been made destitute thanks to the removal. 

Count yourself lucky your not stuck in this predicament!!!

mrpip2002uk

hi Katie 0714,
all i was trying to state was,that with my wife and i being on ESA we were already on a lower income than people on UC,but i think it was unfair by the government to give people on UC the £20 uplift and not give people on ESA the £20 uplift as well?
it definateley should not have been taken away i agree,but the government dont think people on benefits should be paid enough benefits to have birthday and xmas presents etc.?
i think if your lucky you might get £10 xmas bonus from the DWP.wow.
our gas and electric bill, direct debit, as been put up by the supplier from £140 a month to £185 ,they say thats what we will need to pay so we dont get into debt,where are we to find that £12 a week rise?our petrol as gone from £45 to £60 to fill the tank? i dont think the £10 xmas bonus will help with those rises?
this is why people like us on benefits turn to payday loans,and once your in that trap you cant get out!
i know i'll get kicked for this,but i think furloughed people who got 4/5s of their wages if they earned £500 must now think being on benefits for 18 months was great.
imagine a couple with no children living together  would have been getting an income of £800 pw for being at home 18 months,they must wonder why we on benefits complain,they were shielded from the real benefit system which are given to real people?

mrpip2002uk

it should be in the high courts,it was total discrimimination against people still on ESA!

poppy123456

katie0714 said:

Count yourself lucky your not stuck in this predicament!!!

Those claiming legacy benefits are still in that predicament!

katie0714

Those on legacy benefits shouldn’t miss what they never had and this isn’t about “turning on each other”. 

It’s about being completely fed up of people with the woe is me act. We didn’t get this we didn’t get that. 

I’ll applaud the high court and be grateful if your awarded the back payment. 

I will not sit back and have everyone on legacy benefits point the finger at UC claimants because we got something that you didn’t. 

As I’ve said. Be grateful you didn’t have the rug pulled from under you. 

Why don’t you go complain about the millions of SCHOOL AGED CHILDRENS parents who are being awarded hundreds and thousands of pounds but forgetting those with nursery aged or baby aged kids. Because they’re not at school there forgotten. 

The whole damn system is messed up and nothing anyone says or does is going to reinstate this bloody payment!!!

MarkM88

It was well known though that the uplift was only temporary, so I don’t understand why people on UC didn’t plan accordingly and budget properly. 

katie0714

I’ll also add while I’m here. 

I in no way shape or form was being rude towards you or your wife and I fully understand how hard it’s been and not just for people on uc legacy benefits ect. 

My mum is an esa claimant but she also receives PIP. 

My sister is a full time orthodontist and was furloughed. 

I am a UC claimant. 

We all relied on my mum during covid. Even though she is on benefits after working 60+ years. 

What frustrates me is people that constantly jab at UC claimants because they got £20 a week extra. I’m a single parent who gave birth and went straight into lockdown the following week. 

My money went up all at once (child element)
I had no idea I was getting it for months. 

Came to rely on it to have it taken away. 

My thing isn’t that yous don’t deserve it. You do and I hope you all get what’s rightfully yours. 

I get extremely frustrated when I see people writing horrible things and being petty because they weren’t the ones to got the up the uplift. 

It’s annoying to see so many complain about not getting it. 

If the government scrapped it - with millions of people fighting against it. What makes you think they’ll ever hand over 1.5k to hundreds of thousands that didn’t receive it?

Ross_Alumni

I can understand that this is a sensitive subject, but I just wanted to drop in a reminder to ensure that we keep this debate constructive and respectful of one another. 

I'm sorry that you feel as though you had the rug pulled from underneath you @katie0714, it seems to have come at quite a bad time and impacted you quite a bit. I'm sure that nobody on this forum is questioning you as a UC claimant and pointing the finger at those that claim UC as a whole, 

katie0714

MarkM88 - that’s my point. 

I did budget accordingly - I paid ahead with bills, stocked up on essentials but when you have Wifi bills, phone bills, energy bills all increasing within a matter of days of one another all that planning and preparation goes out the window. This month I’ve spend £264 on energy alone. 

I’m on the simplest plan for wifi and phone. I don’t have all these fancy gadgets. 

That’s over half my entitlement gone. 

So yeah. People should and the majority did plan for the cut. 

We didn’t plan for bills to double and treble though. Or for simple things like food shopping to cost 5x more than usual!

Lisatho11987777

I wish I hadn't had the uplift I was learning to cope now I am suffering again since the drop now finding it hard without the uplift it may not seem much but it made liveing easier and not so tight now its back to xant havexthis csnt have the heating on so long can't put the fire on  had to cut back again 

Lisatho11987777

@MarkM88 it was hard enough to budget before the uplift and please don't take this the wrong way how can people budget for something they don't even know is going to happen the up lift came off the gas took more money electric took more money I pay more towards my rent I am lucky I get pip and work part time it's hard working and looking after someone with dedeteriorating dementia. but I cant afford to stop working the 293.00 I am allowed to earn before anythingvis stopped out of my uc is helping towards my extra rent 

My mum is always cold which doesn't help now gas and electric has gone up its awful for everyone at the moment