Help with benefits

cp2022

Hi all, 
I recently went onto sick leave in work and I’m trying to understand my benefits. I’ve never been on benefits prior to covid and trying to get help understanding our entitlement seems impossible. We’re on UC and I have now been awarded LCWRA. I’m trying to decide what to do regarding my work. I currently receive SSP and we receive UC with housing for 2 adults and 1 child. My SSP runs out in Jan and I accumulate holidays by the week rather then in an annual figure meaning the longer I’m employed the higher amount of holidays I’d have. However, my holiday pay is based on the last 12 months of earnings meaning the longer I’m on SSP the less each holiday is worth. 

My wife is also on ESA and this is deducted pound for pound from UC. This month after my SSP and her ESA was deducted, and housing/ advance we were left with 2 x payments of £190. I’m not sure whether being on SSP means at the moment we get more then we will when that ends or whether to leave work early if it means we’re currently getting less due to the SSP. We’ve tried the benefit calc but it never comes out with the figure we’re getting. 

Once off SSP I’m unsure of whether I’d be better on ESA also, or if I should remain on just UC. My wife was on ESA due to my earnings or UC was previously often 0 so meant she had money coming in. 

Any help or advice anyone can give would be amazing.

Thanks in advance!

poppy123456

For UC you will have the work allowance so £334 of your earnings (SSP) will be ignored. For anything over this then your UC will be reduced by 55%.

Although you have been found to have LCWRA then you won't receive the extra money because you can only receive one LCWRA element per claim, as your wife should already be claiming this.

When your SSP ends, although your UC will increase, you will no longer have the SSP so your income will decrease.

If you've paid the correct amount of NI contributions in the previous 2 tax years then you can claim New style ESA but it will be deducted in full from any UC entitlement. You can start a claim 3 months before the SSP ends but you can't be paid anything until it ends. You will need your SSP1 form from your employer to be able to claim this.

If you are entitled to the ESA it would be worth claiming it because it's not means tested so savings/capital and pensions of up to £85/week do not affect the amount you're entitled to. However, it doesn't passport you to things like prescriptions/dental or eye tested.

Do either of you claim a disability benefit such as PIP or DLA?

cp2022

My wife had the lower LCW and because she wasn't on it before 2017 was never given extra payments so I'll be the one on the higher one. 

I've always worked from 16 and now in my 30's so I definitely have the NI contributions thankfully. Can you claim the ESA income based from the start or would it start at the lower payment? 

We both get standard pip, I've been waiting on my review being completed but it's taking a very long time. 

Thank you for your help 😊

calcotti

The ESA you can claim is new style ESA. You would get £77/week for the first 13 weeks and because you have been found to have LCWRA will be put into the Support Group will then get £117.60/week. As mentioned by poppy, it will make no difference to your overall income because your UC will be reduced by any ESA you receive.

Is your wife claiming the carer element of UC for looking after you (if your PIP includes Daily Living)?

cp2022 said:

My wife is also on ESA and this is deducted pound for pound from UC.

cp2022 said:

My wife had the lower LCW and because she wasn't on it before 2017 was never given extra payments

I don’t understand how your wife can be getting ESA if she only has LCW because her contribution based ESA would stop after 12 months (or how has she only claimed it in the last 12 months).

Nor do I understand what you mean by

cp2022 said: My wife was on ESA due to my earnings 

poppy123456

cp2022 said:

My wife had the lower LCW and because she wasn't on it before 2017 was never given extra payments so I'll be the one on the higher one. 

That doesn't sound correct. Her ESA will be contributions based/New style ESA so she must be in the Support Group otherwise her ESA would only paid for 1 year and payments would have ended by now. When in the Support Group it's paid for as long as you remain in that group.

cp2022 said:

Can you claim the ESA income based from the start or would it start at the lower payment? 

It's no longer possible to claim Income Related ESA because this has been replaced by UC. The only one that's possible to claim now is New style ESA, which is a contributions based only benefit.

As both of you are claiming PIP does your UC include 1 carers element and 1 LCWRA element? This will give you maximum UC entitlement.

cp2022

I'm not sure how to reply on here but she hasn't been on ESA for a full year yet. She had her review on Friday I'm assuming for the higher one? 

Is ESA individual benefits so I would have to apply as an individual or would I be added to her ESA? She currently gets the UC element for care. 

We are both on the lower rate of pip, but my condition has deteriorated drastically and now have a blue badge so I'm not sure what will happen at my review.

Do you know if the first 13 weeks of ESA at the lower amount are paid weeks or if I applied now and started receiving it when my ssp ended if it would then go ti the higher amount?

Sorry about all the questions, we really have no idea about all this and whenever we've asked UC for help they've told us they can't help as its a conflict of interest. We're struggling as is everyone at the moment and just trying to get any help we can. 

calcotti

cp2022 said:

Is ESA individual benefits so I would have to apply as an individual or would I be added to her ESA? She currently gets the UC element for care. 

New style ESA is an individual benefit.

cp2022 said:.

Do you know if the first 13 weeks of ESA at the lower amount are paid weeks or if I applied now and started receiving it when my ssp ended if it would then go ti the higher amount?
 . 

As advised by poppy you are not eligible for ESA until your SSP has ended. Your ESA claim cannot begin until the day after SSP ends. To claim ESA you will need a Fit Note from your GP and form SSP1 from your employer. As advised any ESA is deducted from your UC so the rate of ESA you are getting makes no difference to your total income (provided some UC remains payable).

cp2022 said:

My wife had the lower LCW

cp2022 said:

She had her review on Friday I'm assuming for the higher one? 

The Work Capability Assessment determines whether or not she has LCW or LCWRA. If she was already found to have LCW then the ‘review’ would be a meeting to discuss what she needed to do to prepare for work. If it was the Work Capability assessment meeting then she hasn’t ‘been determined to have LCW.

cp2022

calcotti said:

As advised by poppy you are not eligible for ESA until your SSP has ended. Your ESA claim cannot begin until the day after SSP ends. To claim ESA you will need a Fit Note from your GP and form SSP1 from your employer. As advised any ESA is deducted from your UC so the rate of ESA you are getting makes no difference to your total income (provided some UC remains payable).

Poppy advised I could apply for ESA 13 weeks before my SSP ends which would be about now- but as she explained I know this won’t be in payment until SSP ends. My question is if I apply now, will the 13 weeks of no entitlement due to SSP be the same 13 weeks that it would be lower, or will the lower amount start from the date the payments begin?

My wife’s assessment was for ESA. Thanks.

calcotti

Although you can apply for ESA 13 week before the SSP ends the ESA itself still only starts the day after the SSP. The 13 week period starts from then.

Do you mind saying how much your UC maximum amount is before any deductions and what elements are currently included?

cp2022

Thank you, I’ll bare that in mind.

Our total amount at the moment (we haven’t had a new schedule yet showing my LCWRA) is £1453.61

our deductions are £179.05 of earnings (I keep getting tax rebates onto of my earnings so this is reflected in this too) 

My wife’s ESA £333.67

£469.08 in housing

89.91 in loan repayments. 

Our total deductions were £1071.71

Thank you again, I appreciate the help. 

poppy123456

That means there will still be some entitlement to UC when you claim New style ESA. From week 14 of the ESA claim it will increase to £117.60/week but the deductions from UC will be £509.60/month more than what's deducted now.

Your overall benefit entitlement will remain the same anyway but it's still worth claiming the ESA because as advised, it's not means tested.

calcotti

People who receive ESA in the Support Group get £117.60/week. This is equivalent to £509.60. This means that of both you and your wife ultimately receive ESA Support Group equivalent to £1,019.20/month (although ESA is paid fortnightly). 

Your maximum UC will go up to £1,807.89 when the LCWRA is added.

If you both later get ESA Support Group the UC would reduce to £788.69 less any ongoing loan repayments and the housing which I assume is your rent paid direct to your landlord. (The SSP will obviously have ended by that stage.)

If you are still taking holiday pay there will also be a deduction for that but I imagine that would be likeLy to have finished before you would be in the Support Group.