Stressed and confused about which benefit to claim

BENJI123

I have been left stressed and confused. I was left to claim uc because of a 1 off payment of carers allowed. I only get £324 a month plus work related extra. I was on alot more on esa. I have had problems finding out what I can claim. Im autistic and this has left me a a complete mess. I have applied for new style esa but is this the right decision? Do I just stick to uc....I am not coping very well with this situation and would love some help and advice.
Thank you

calcotti

If you get new style ESA it is simply deducted from your UC and doesn’t change your total income. In any case if you have been on old ESA for some time you will probably not qualify for UC as normally you would need to have worked for six months in one of the last two tax years.

Can you provide more information about what you previously got on ESA?

I don’t understand why something to do with Carer’s Allowance would require you to claim UC.

Are you getting any other benefits?

It’s not possible to advise without more information about your situation.

Alex_Alumni

Hi @BENJI123 and welcome, I'm sorry to hear you're feeling so stressed. It can be very confusing so it's totally understandable you feel this way. To help you get advice from our members more easily I've moved your post into 'Benefits and Financial Support' 

If you can, take some time to look after yourself. You could chat to loved ones, or watch a favourite film, do whatever you need to feel relaxed and settled. Then when you feel ready, try and break down what benefits you claimed previously, and your current situation. Take it step by step. 

Let us know if we can help you further, we're here to support you

Alex

BENJI123

Calcotti. I was on esa from 2014. I received the highest amount but I cant remember how much that was. I also received sda. 

I am also on pip.

I havent worked since 2010 but I was awarded uc. 

My carer put in for carers allowance and only received 1 or possibly 2 payments before we realised that the money would come off both of our benefits 

calcotti

So it looks likely that your new style ESA claim will be refused anyway because you will not meet the NI conditions.

Does your partner live with you? Even if they do and they claimed carer's Allowance I don't understand why that would prompted you to claim UC (which therefore ended your income based ESA claim.

BENJI123

No I live alone.

I asked dwp what to do because I wanted my payments to go back to normal and they said I would have to claim uc

calcotti

BENJI123 said:

No I live alone.

I asked dwp what to do because I wanted my payments to go back to normal and they said I would have to claim uc

It's really difficult to comment because we don't have all the details.

I am guessing that you previously received ESA which included a Severe Disability Premium. If so, when your partner claimed Carer's Allowance you would have lost the SDP. There is a warning about this on the gov.uk webpages giving information on CA.

Effect on the benefits of the person you care for
When you claim Carer’s Allowance, the person you care for will stop getting:

• a severe disability premium paid with their benefits

• an extra amount for severe disability paid with Pension Credit, if they get one

Your ESA would still have been payable but without the extra £67.30 per week that the SDP provides. The only way for you to have got it back would be for your partner not to claim the Carer's Allowance.

If that is what happened there would have been no need to claim UC.

You will now be getting a bit more money than you would get on ESA without the SDP but less than you got on ESA with the SDP. You cannot now get back to ESA with the SDP.

As per previous posts your new style ESA claim is likely to be refused but even if it was accepted it would simply reduce the amount of UC you receive and you would be no better off.

BENJI123

Ok. Thank you for your help.