Recently awarded LCWRA on legacy IR-ESA - plotting voluntary move to UC

madmaddden

It will be approx £100 more a month so it will be worthwhile. After applying how quick do they realise I have LCWRA from my existing legacy claim and do not need to interact with a work coach at all from the off or ask me something silly like send them a fit note? Is it automatic? I'm hoping they realise immediately but i've done a dummy application for UC using the tool on rightsnet and nowhere does it allow you to tick a box or state I am already LCWRA. I have a recent letter from ESA confirming I am now in the Support group so that is good evidence. I accept I may have to have an ID appointment which is different. The only documents I have are Birth Certificate, Visa debit card/Bank statement and NI number card - are they ok for ID?

poppy123456

As part of the claims process you will very likely be asked to provide a fit note. Once your ESA Support Group status moves across you will no longer need to report the fit notes. It often takes a few weeks for this to happen.

You will need to attend your local Job centre as part of the claims process too. If your ID can't be verified online then your bank card will be fine to take as ID.

Once you claim UC then your ESA will continue for 2 weeks and then stop. You first UC payment will be 1 month and 6 days after you submit your claim. You can ask for a advance payment but this will need to be repaid back and will reduce future payments.

It would also be a good idea to take your letter from ESA with you to your first appointment.

calcotti

If there isn't a place to record atet you currently receive ESA in theSupport Group then you can always post a note in your UC journal as soon as it is open.

Can I check - do you live alone and do you receive PIP?

madmaddden

Thank you to you both for your prompt responses to my (insomniac) post.

To answer one of your questions - I live with a sibling and do not receive PIP (yet), I have the PIP2 form and have to submit it by Dec 28th.

I feel a bit deflated today. In the letter I got dated Oct 24th moving me to the support group after they chickened out of going ahead with the appeal which they lapsed before it got going (this is after refusing me at the mandatory reconsideration stage) it stated I will be re-referred in 12 months, I was ok with that thinking 12 months from now but really hoping they would leave me alone for 2-3 years, however the letter I got today dated Nov 29th about my backdated money states I will be referred for a further WCA in 12 months from 3/5/22 - that means I cannot breathe again as I feel that is very close. It really does not feel like i've moved from WRAG to SG, it feels very temporary.

I now don't know if I should move to UC for the extra £100 a month when they say they will refer me again very soon because of this urgent question: If I move to UC and on reassessment in the spring they move me back down again to the WRAG do I get still get that LCW payment (£30pw) as I am a longstanding claimant well before April 2017 or as it would be a voluntary move to UC am I treated as a new claimant and would not get the extra?

I am beginning to wish they allowed the appeal to continue instead of lapsing it because (in my own personal experience) the tribunal would have given me 2 years from the date of the hearing and I could have relaxed a bit. I do realise I would still be waiting for hearing because of backlogs but it may have been better in the long run.

poppy123456

LCWRA is an ongoing award until a new decision says otherwise. The timescales they give you are nothing more than a guide. 

Reviews have been suspended for about 18 months and there’s no sign of them starting back up again. When they do there will be huge backlogs so it’s unlikely you will be reviewed anytime soon. 

madmaddden

Thank you for the reassurance. The review may still happen on schedule but I suppose there must be hundreds of thousands of claimants who have not been reviewed for years given the backlogs and then pandemic so if they are still not doing regular reviews I would be very unlucky if they did me any time soon as I have been recently reviewed.

I did all the 'to-dos' on my newly created UC account and submitted it yesterday. As soon as journal was open I messaged them I am now LCWRA after a recent ESA-WCA. Today I have been emailed an appointment for a standard identity appointment for Monday morning. I will take my ESA-LCWRA letter, Debit Card, Bank statement, Birth certificate, NI number card, maybe even throw in an active but unused credit card+statement for good luck. I dont have any IDs from the table 1 like passport/driving license. Hopefully that will be the end of it all and my UC claim will run smoothly.

L_Volunteer

You are welcome @madmaddden. It is the very least you deserve and I am glad we could provide you with reassurance.

Wishing you the best of luck with this. Please feel free to let us know how it goes and if you need any support in the meantime.

How are you currently feeling about the appointment? We are all here for you and listening to you if you would like to share more with us.

Take care for now and we will look forward to, hopefully, hearing from you again soon 

madmaddden

The 'Standard Identity appointment' went fine and quick, the Debit card was accepted and the lady also looked at my Birth certificate. I was not expecting another appointment in 7 days which is a 'first commitments' appointment - I thought they did that at the same appointment? Anyway she knows I am in the Support Group as I showed her the recent ESA letter and I shall take it next week as well to the next appointment which will be with someone else on the upper floor. I shall not be accepting any nonsense about fit notes next week as I am already LCWRA but I don't think there will be a problem.

madmaddden

The 'Standard Identity appointment' went fine and quick, the Debit card was accepted and the lady also looked at my Birth certificate. I was not expecting another appointment in 7 days which is a 'first commitments' appointment - I thought they did that at the same appointment? Anyway she knows I am in the Support Group as I showed her the recent ESA letter and I shall take it next week as well to the next appointment which will be with someone else on the upper floor. I shall not be accepting any nonsense about fit notes next week as I am already LCWRA but I don't think there will be a problem.

L_Volunteer

It sounds positive that the standard identity appointment went fine and quickly @madmaddden. 

Hopefully, there won't be a problem but is there a particular problem you are anticipating? We are here for you and listening to you if you would like to share more with us. 

Fully supporting you for not taking any nonsense! Please feel free to let us know how it goes and if you need any support in the meantime. 

You don't have to face this, or anything else, alone if you don't want to. Take care for now and we will look forward to, hopefully, hearing from you again soon 

madmaddden

madmaddden said:

The 'Standard Identity appointment' went fine and quick, the Debit card was accepted and the lady also looked at my Birth certificate. I was not expecting another appointment in 7 days which is a 'first commitments' appointment - I thought they did that at the same appointment? Anyway she knows I am in the Support Group as I showed her the recent ESA letter and I shall take it next week as well to the next appointment which will be with someone else on the upper floor. I shall not be accepting any nonsense about fit notes next week as I am already LCWRA but I don't think there will be a problem.

11 days into my UC claim and had the first commitments appointment today at the Jobcentre, showed them the recent IR-ESA letter putting me in the Support Group. The lady had to ask a couple of her colleagues for guidance as apparantly it is unusual for someone to volunteer to migrate in the way I have and she showed them the letter. I did not sign any commitment or anything but I noticed in my journal once I came home that the claimant commitment was completed but it just states it - I have no paper or digital version of it to look at. The lady switched off all work search obligations and no fit-note nonsense asked of me. She said they are still waiting for ESA claim to transfer over, in fact I received my normal fortnightly £270 IR-ESA in my bank account today.

poppy123456

I wouldn’t say it’s unusual for someone to claim UC when claiming legacy benefits. I’ve advised many many people on this process because they decided to claim it as would be better off. 

calcotti

madmaddden said:.., in fact I received my normal fortnightly £270 IR-ESA in my bank account today.

Your ESA continues for two weeks after the day you claim UC. You get UC money and ESA money for those two weeks but the UC payment will not happen until one month and 6 days after the date of claim.

madmaddden

poppy123456 said:

I wouldn’t say it’s unusual for someone to claim UC when claiming legacy benefits. I’ve advised many many people on this process because they decided to claim it as would be better off. 

Yes I thought it was an odd thing to say. Maybe she meant it was unusual for her on a personal level to deal with voluntary moves.

madmaddden

calcotti said:

madmaddden said:.., in fact I received my normal fortnightly £270 IR-ESA in my bank account today.

Your ESA continues for two weeks after the day you claim UC. You get UC money and ESA money for those two weeks but the UC payment will not happen until one month and 6 days after the date of claim.

New post from me:
Thank you calcotti. I have had another ESA payment today, the normal £270.70 fortnightly payment.

This is how it has went for me so far.

5 Dec  - £270.70 - My normal IR-ESA SG payment before I decided to apply for UC
8 Dec  - Applied for UC as I would be better off by approx £100 pm
19 Dec- £270.70 - Received normal ESA payment again
30 Dec- £270.70 - Received another normal ESA payment.

My online journal states I should receive my first statement on 10 Jan and my first payment of UC on 14 Jan (which I expect to be £689). I was not expecting todays extra payment of ESA so does everything look normal to you. Thank you (and Poppy). 

calcotti

That latest payment looks to me as if it has been overpaid. I think your ESA should have ended on 22nd Dec so you would have been due a small payment on 30th. Perhaps try ringing them next week, but lines will be very busy.

madmaddden

calcotti said:

That latest payment looks to me as if it has been overpaid. I think your ESA should have ended on 22nd Dec so you would have been due a small payment on 30th. Perhaps try ringing them next week, but lines will be very busy.

Looks like you were right Calcotti. I did not call them but it looks like they have reduced my first UC payment to take account of that ESA overpayment.

So to just go over everything again;

5 Dec  - £270.70 - My normal IR-ESA SG payment before I decided to apply for UC
8 Dec  - Applied for UC as I would be better off by approx £100 pm
19 Dec- £270.70 - Received normal ESA payment again
30 Dec- £270.70 - Received another normal ESA payment.

My first UC statement today states;

Assessment period 8 Dec to 7 Jan;
 Your payment this month is £457
 This will be paid by 8pm on 14 January 2023

What you're entitled to;
 Standard Allowance       £334.91
 LCWRA                          £354.28
Total before deductions  £689.19

What we take off (deductions);
 Benefits you were not entitled to;
 ESA    -£232.03

Total payment for this month is £457.16

Does this look all ok to you calcotti or poppy? Sorry to bother this Sunday and hope you are well.

calcotti

That looks right to me. £232.03 is 12 days of ESA that were overpaid. I am actually amazed that they have joined it up!

(The last day of ESA entitlement was 21st December, not 22nd as per my previous reply.)

madmaddden

calcotti said:

That looks right to me. £232.03 is 12 days of ESA that were overpaid. I am actually amazed that they have joined it up!

(The last day of ESA entitlement was 21st December, not 22nd as per my previous reply.)

haha yes, it has gone very smoothly for me, no fit note requests, no temporary work search requirements while transfer from ESA was being processed, it has gone as smoothly as I'd hoped for. Thank you.