Carers allowance and ESA

Debbie1234

 I forgot to say Poppy will my husband need to make the claim in his name for universal credit ?
My husband is dyslexic and I get confused as you probably are aware by now 🤣 Could we make a claim for universal credit on the phone speaking to someone and giving them all the relevant information

poppy123456

No worries at all, happy to help! Sorry for the delay, i had to check my figures several times to make sure they were correct before commenting here.

So here we go.

If your husband claimed Carers allowance for looking after you your figures would be as follows. They are also monthly figures because UC is monthly so it will be easier to compare amounts.

ESA £678/month (because of carers allowance deductions)

Tax credits £285

Housing £507 (This figure will change because of his earnings)

Carers Allowance £278.80 (monthly £302) Total amount. £1,748.80

If your husband works then £20/week is disregarded and then the rest is deducted £1 for £1 from your ESA. Although he'll be self employed so will need to report his earnings and expenses. If he earned £400 per month, your ESA would be reduced by £320.

Total monthly amount after earnings deductions are £1,428.80 (This figure will change because of HB and earnings) Plus £400 from earnings. Total monthly amount £1,828.80

UC calculation.

Standard couples. £525.72

LCWRA element £354.28

housing element £507

Carers element £168.81

child element £290

Total amount before earnings deductions. £1,845.81/Month.

Earnings £400 - work allowance £344 = £56 x 0.55 (deductions) =£30.80

Total UC £1,815 + £400 earnings. Total amount £2,215/Month

Please note that if your child continues in full time education then the child element stops on the 1st Septemeber after their 19th birthday.

Council tax reduction would also change with his earnings.

As self employed with UC he will need to report earnings and expenses on the last day of each assessment period.

I hope my figures are correct, i've checked and rechecked so they should be.

If you claim UC you can do that online. You will then have a journal and everything is done digitally.

poppy123456

Debbie1234 said:

 I forgot to say Poppy will my husband need to make the claim in his name for universal credit ?
My husband is dyslexic and I get confused as you probably are aware by now 🤣 Could we make a claim for universal credit on the phone speaking to someone and giving them all the relevant information

Sorry, i didn't see this until now as was typing out the above comment.

You will each need to claim UC individually. It will then give a linking code to link both claims together.

Information on how to claim is here. https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/how-to-claim

Citizens Advice (CA) also have a help to claim service. See link. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/helptoclaim/

I know all of this is a huge amount of information for you both to take in so take your time to read through all of those figures above. Pay attention to the ones in bold.

Your housing benefit and ESA will continue for 2 weeks after you claim UC. Tax credits will stop.

Debbie1234

wow thank you Poppy…. Honestly you are so kind to take time out of your morning to help me I am really touched 🥰 If I knew where you lived I would send you some flowers 💐 (these are sent with much love and gratitude)

one last question 🤣 
what is LCWRA?
and is housing element the same as housing benefit?

Debbie1234

It looks like universal credit is the way forward for us 😊
My husband and I will be having a large coffee and get a tablet out later and put him for it we will let you know how we go

There are not enough words to describe how I feel having found this website and people like yourself I don’t feel so alone in this world with a debilitating illness

calcotti

Debbie1234 said:

one last question 🤣 
what is LCWRA?
and is housing element the same as housing benefit?

LCWRA is Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity - it is the equivalent status under UC to the Support Group in ESA.
The housing element in UC replaces the Housing Benefit (although there are some slight differences in the related rules when calculating it).

poppy123456

Debbie1234 said:

wow thank you Poppy…. Honestly you are so kind to take time out of your morning to help me I am really touched 🥰 If I knew where you lived I would send you some flowers 💐 (these are sent with much love and gratitude)

one last question 🤣 
what is LCWRA?
and is housing element the same as housing benefit?

Aww thank you for those lovely words and those flowers!! Very much appreciated. Always my pleasure to help others.

LCWRA is Support Group (ESA) equivalent.

Housing element is same as housing benefit but paid from DWP in with your UC and not through local Authority like HB is.

Debbie1234 said:

It looks like universal credit is the way forward for us 😊

Yes, for sure. Even without your husband working. LCWRA for UC pays more than ESA Support Group (if your ESA doesn't include the SDP) yours doesn't.

Debbie1234

Hello Poppy! Sorry to bother you again after our discussion the other day I have made a claim online for universal credit and so has my husband I suffer really bad agoraphobia and I have been told like you mention that I have to go to a job centre as a first appointment but they are Now asking me to present a fit note I have been on support group since 2008 and never had to do anything like this for years I can’t even get a doctor’s appointment is this the usual process I am in tears as I thought so long and hard to get this benefit and now I am scared I thought they just would swap over from my employment support allowance to universal credit could you please help me? I am in bits ☹️

calcotti

Debbie1234 said:..they are Now asking me to present a fit note I have been on support group since 2008 and never had to do anything like this for years ... is this the usual process I am in tears as I thought so long and hard to get this benefit and now I am scared I thought they just would swap over from my employment support allowance to universal credit could you please help me?..

Remind them that you are already in the ESA Support Group and therefore shouldn't need to provide a Fit Note. Unfortunately the exchange of information between ESA and UC can take a while and UC then defaults to needing a Fit Note.

Debbie1234

Thank you Calcoti ☺️

L_Volunteer

You are welcome @Debbie1234. It is the very least you deserve. If we can do anything else to support you, please don't hesitate to let us know. We are all here for you 

Debbie1234

Hello Poppy 
just to let you know that my claim for universal credit is going through but the lady at the job center would like a telephone interview with me in two months time she said it is nothing to worry about just to check in on me but when I went on my journal they have called a work focused interview and if I am not available to speak to them I can be sanctioned well I get these regularly because unemployment support allowance I never had to speak to anybody ever

Debbie1234

Will this be a regular occurrence or a one off

calcotti

You will not be required to attend any appointments once the LCWRA status has been recorded on the claim.

poppy123456

It's not been that long since you claimed UC and it's not unusual for the LCWRA to take quite a few weeks to be added to your claim.

Debbie1234

thank you Calcotti and Poppy 🥰 I had a huge panic attack and burst out crying when I attended in person at the job centre Maybe this is why they are just ringing me in a couple of months to see if it has all gone through smoothly

Debbie1234

my LCWRA 

poppy123456

Debbie1234 said:

Maybe this is why they are just ringing me in a couple of months to see if it has all gone through smoothly

That wouldn't be the reason why. At the moment it's part of your claimant commitments. Once the LCWRA is added that appointment will be cancelled. You will then need to agree to your new commiments, which will be to just agree to report all changes.

Debbie1234

Oh I see thank you for replying again Poppy 😁

poppy123456

You're welcome.