UC managed migration guide

Yes I know that for UC in the future but for ESA now and in the past my advisor says that's now not an issue as ESA is ending so not to worry and not to call dwp. I had no idea.

@worried33 ok thanks so my advisor is correct that I won't have to pay anything back, especially as now that ESA is ending. So what is point of prospective sending bank statements.

The pip back payment was a few years ago and was quite a lot, I've a lot less now as I had to invest in a few things for my disabled mum..

It's not quite that simple unfortunately. Some people do have to pay money back after the claim ends.

It doesn't mean sanctions from UC. The two benefits are completely separate.

If you were overpaid ESA in the past then ESA can still send you a bill to pay that back. They don't always, but they can. They will ask for bank statements first though. And it can take many months to calculate after they receive the statements, so really not something to worry about right now.

The savings deductions are about the same on ESA as they are on UC, so that is why you could have been overpaid on ESA. If you expect to lose around £17 a month on UC, then that would have been about the same monthly deduction on ESA.

It's only a deduction for having savings, not a sanction. Sanctions are when you have money stopped because you've done something wrong. But deductions happen for normal reasons like savings or income.

I can't comment on what your adviser said. All I can advise is that ESA picked up on my own savings being different when I migrated and asked for several years of bank statements to be sent in. I have since seen it happen to other people as well.

If you only have one bank account then getting the statements isn't so difficult. Ask the bank to print them between the dates that ESA ask for. (For example, January 2022 up to August 2025). Then you post them to the ESA address. It's only if you've got a lot of accounts or have opened and closed different accounts that it gets more difficult.

I really don't want you to worry about it now though. Just to be prepared in case ESA do send you a letter in a few weeks time.

Thanks, and @Kimi87 I'm very worried about it, around 3-4 years ago I had a lot more in than I do now because I was i was house bound a long time & an appeal I won.

As Kimi said it's all about 'might' but I'll try prepare.

Even though I'm deducted because over 6k applying for UC, will payback for ESA be via less future UC as ESA is stopping or or a lump sum which is why worrying. Feels like opening can of worms .. thanks

p.s / will it affect Housing benefit if I get deduction .

Thats worrying for me as need for my mum's disability.

I appreciate all your help and Kimi. I'm just hoping what the Northern counties advisor says is correct, I asked her twice. They should be in the know of it's their job. 🙏

If eligible for UC then your hb converts into Housing Element paid as part of UC.

Once you apply for UC then Housing Benefit ends, new claims for hb are only possible for those of pension age or living in supported accommodation.

This is even more complicated than ESA unfortunately…

All councils have their own savings limits. Some have a hard cut off. And some have a tapered deduction before a hard cut off. In my area, it was a hard cut off at £10,000. But no deduction between £6,000 & £10,000. I have seen other councils use £6,000, £10,000 and £16,000. So you would have to check with your council to see what their savings limits are for Housing Benefit. If you get Council Tax Reduction, then you will keep getting that from the council after migrating to UC, so should check what the council limits are as they might be £6000 in your area.

It's unlikely that Housing Benefit would get notified of savings so I'd just leave that in the past. The main concern now is whether you're still allowed Council Tax Reduction in future with more than £6000 in savings. That is the one that needs to be checked really. Perhaps your adviser can help with that next time you contact them.