SDA - 7 years backpay, help.

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Stickman
Stickman Online Community Member Posts: 174 Empowering
in Benefits and income

OK, I have received some money from the DWP – 7 years worth of SDP that I should have been paid to me from 2018.  It is quite a sizeable amount of money.  Question is, what can I do with it?  Do I save it or spend it?

As I can only have £6000 in savings, I’m having trouble on where to keep it. It is, by rights, my money to do with what I like, right? I have a letter to say where the money.  What can I do?

Comments

  • chiarieds
    chiarieds Online Community Member Posts: 17,062 Championing

    Hi @Stickman - as your SDP has been backdated for 7 years, then the amount will be over £5,000.

    This is disregarded for the lifetime of your claim in income related ESA, & there's transitional provision to cover your recent migration to UC too.

    This is all covered under The Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2014 , i.e. regulation 10A https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1230/regulation/10A

    The DWP's ADM (Advice for Decision Makers) ChapterH2: Capital disregards - H2092 references these regulations in the section ''Arrears and concessionary payments of £5,000 or more'': https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67d982dba87d546feeda0193/admh2.pdf

    You will need to declare the amount to UC, & I believe there's a section where 'disregards' can be mentioned.

    You can spend the money on whatever you like, & it will not affect the amount of money (capital) that you may already have, so you don't have to worry about the SDP backpay affecting the £6,000 limit before deductions are made.

  • Dragonwolfsprite
    Dragonwolfsprite Online Community Member Posts: 39 Connected

    exactly the same boat - you need go on uc journal and report your total bank account amounts and savings and then there is a "backpay" page - put the amount in the backpay pay so its disregarded —- you might, like me be asked to go in jobcentre to prove you bank accounts - i have appointing in a couple weeks about it - but the letter of the backpay i got does say "official error over £5000 or more and may be disregarded entirely" - others here on this forum and citizen advice said this should be "for the life of uc claim" - so unless your circumstances change

  • Stickman
    Stickman Online Community Member Posts: 174 Empowering

    I have my phone appointment on the 1st July, could I mention my back payment then?

  • chiarieds
    chiarieds Online Community Member Posts: 17,062 Championing

    I think that would be a good idea @Stickman - as mentioned above, your backpay will be disregarded for the lifetime of your UC claim. This is for any amount of backpay over £5,000 - it doesn't have to be an official error (I think they sometimes use standard letters which mention this).

  • Stickman
    Stickman Online Community Member Posts: 174 Empowering

    OK, I'll mention it.

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