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Benefit cap

puppy1977

Hi thanks for letting me join. I was diagnosed with a bowel disease last year. I was claiming ssp from 1st July 2021 up until January 14th 2022 when the 26 weeks were up. I put in a claim for esa contribution based and that started on the 14th january. I also switched over from tax credits and working tax credits to uc on the 7th January bad mistake. Anyway they have placed us on the benefit cap whilst waiting on work capability assessment. My wife has also got a disability too. There seems so much confusion to the grace period I've been reading this week that ssp should count towards the grace period even though it falls below the earnings threshold. Before my illness I had worked the previous 12 months earning well above the threshold. I feel as if you are being punished for becoming ill. Has anyone else had this
Many thanks

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Comments

calcotti

Are either of you receiving a disability benefit?

puppy1977 said:.. ssp should count towards the grace period even though it falls below the earnings threshold.

Have you got a link for that?

puppy1977

Waiting on pip assesment and work capability assessment

puppy1977

EARNINGS, STATUTORY PAYMENTS AND MA

Earned income includes employed and self-employed earnings, employer sick pay and furlough payments.3Earned income also includes statutory maternity pay (SMP), statutory paternity pay, statutory sick pay (SSP), statutory adoption pay, statutory shared parental pay, and statutory parental bereavement pay. Note that SSP is too low to reach the earnings threshold required. An adviser with a client who does not qualify for this reason may wish to contact CPAG for advice.

The DWP appears to accept that, where someone claims UC after statutory payments come to an end, s/he is regarded as having ceased paid work (for regulation 82(2)(b)) on the day after the last day in respect of which the statutory payments were made.

calcotti

Even if applicable, I don’t see how that helps. If the day SSP ended is the relevant date then you would need to have earned over the threshold in the 12 months prior to that - which, unless your wife is working too, you will not.

(As an aside, your entitlement to Working Tax Credits would have ended with your SSP anyway, although any Child Tax Credits could have continued.)

puppy1977

Yeah it doesn't make much sense eh. Very unfair though I was hoping someone else had maybe encountered the same

puppy1977

That's why I started claiming uc as the working tax element was about to be taken away and thought we would be better off

calcotti

Child Tax Credits are included within the benefit cap too.

puppy1977

I stopped claiming child tax credits when I moved to uc though

calcotti

Biblioklept said:

calcotti said:

Child Tax Credits are included within the benefit cap too.

they're not capped though, they just are included in calculations for capping housing benefit etc

Fair point, if no HB in payment previously then the cap would have been irrelevant.

puppy1977

I was receiving housing benefit prior to claiming uc

calcotti

puppy1977 said:

I was receiving housing benefit prior to claiming uc

So would have been hit by the benefit cap even if you hadn’t applied for UC.

puppy1977

OK thankyou appreciate all your help I was hoping there was some kind of loophole. Just have to hope they hurry qith the assessment

calcotti

If you are found to have LCWRA (or get PIP) they will have to recalculate your previous payments without the benefit cap applied and you will get paid back the difference.