UC enquiry relating to Working & claiming

NJDM
NJDM Community member Posts: 17 Connected
edited January 2022 in Universal Credit (UC)
Hi there,

Just wondering where you stand with the following situation ?

Claim UC with Care Allowance = £195 + 270 = £465

So can you still work while claiming the above ?
If so how much can you earn before getting deductions on your UC (55p to the £1)
And do you keep the wage in question that you worked for (Sounds daft that) lol

Look forward to some advice - Many thanks.

Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 59,054 Championing
    When claiming Carers Allowance if you work then you must not earn more than £128 per week (after deductions) https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance/eligibility
    Are you also claiming Carers element of UC? There's no earnings limit with this like there is with CA and you don't have to claim CA to be entitled to the carer element.
    Unless you're entitled to the work allowance then any earnings will reduce your UC by 55%. Details here about work allowance. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-work-allowances/universal-credit-work-allowances
    If you start working then you must report the changes onto your journal.

  • calcotti
    calcotti Community member Posts: 10,005 Championing
    edited January 2022
    NJDM said:And do you keep the wage in question that you worked for
    Of course you keep your wage, but you get less UC (unless the earnings are less than an applicable Work Allowance).
  • NJDM
    NJDM Community member Posts: 17 Connected
    I do claim the care allowance element on UC..... hence why I am receiving the 195 UC and 270 CA ? ( My UC has been deducted due to claiming CA as well)

    So I was wondering what is the threshold for earning before getting UC deductions,  while also claiming CA 🤔 

    Basically maximising  my income as things are tight under my circumstances. 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 59,054 Championing
    edited January 2022
    Have you read the link i posted above about the work allowance? As you don't have children on your UC claim, if you haven't been found to have limited capability for work (LCW) then you will not have the work allowance. This means that any earnings you receive during your assessment period will reduce your UC be 55%.
    As you're claiming CA you must make sure you do not earn more than the maximum amount per week as advised above.
    For example if you earn £200 during you AP then your UC will reduce by £110.
  • NJDM
    NJDM Community member Posts: 17 Connected
    Hi thanks for the links as I did look at them and went through it, but still not fully 100% sure, like a minefield to be honest. But good to have to reference back to - Thank you.

    But for my situation - When claiming Carers Allowance if I did do any work, then I must not earn more than £128 per week (after deductions) or £512 per month ?

    So in theory I could earn the following -

    Low paid job = £512 pm  <------ or this would en-cure deductions to my UC ?
    UC = £195 pm
    CA = £279 pm
    ------------
    £977 - ?
    ------------

    Or have I misunderstood  ?

  • calcotti
    calcotti Community member Posts: 10,005 Championing
    edited January 2022
    NJDM said: But for my situation - When claiming Carers Allowance if I did do any work, then I must not earn more than £128 per week (after deductions) or £512 per month ?
    If you were to earn more than £128/week you would have to stop the Carer's Allowance claim but you would still be entitle to the carer element of UC. As the CA is deducted in full from UC ending he CA would make no difference to your overall maximum benefit amount.

    Currently claim Carer's Allowance £292.93/month and get UC £195.34/month = £488.27/month.

    If you didn't claim CA you would get UC = £488.27/month.

    If you earn £512/month your UC is reduced by 55% x £512 = £281.60.

    Your income, if claiming CA, will be
    Carer's Allowance £292.93/month plus UC nil plus £512 =  £804.93/month.

    Your income. if not claiming CA, will be
    UC £206.67 plus £512 =  £718.67/month.

    Note that £128/week is not £512/month because there are more than 4 weeks in a month. To calculate a monthly amount you should take the week;y amount x 52 / 12.

    For CA the relevant amount is the gross amount less any tax, NI and half of any pension contributions. The earnings figure for CA will therefore be higher than the amount you actually receive if you are paying into a pension scheme through work.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 59,054 Championing
    edited January 2022
    You do not have the work allowance which means any earnings recieved during your assessment period will reduce your UC by 55% as advised. This means if you did earn £512 per month then your UC would reduce to zero because £512 x 0.55 = £281 as your UC is £195 per month then there would be no UC payable.
    If you did earn less than £128 per week, you would have your earnings and your CA of £67.60 per week.

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