Payment confusion UC

suezom
suezom Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener
edited August 30 in Universal Credit (UC)

Hi,

I have recently migrated to UC. Myself and my husband are both carers for each other and received carers premium, SDP, Disability guarantee and support group for us both.

We were receiving £335 per week which includes taking off my husbands ESA of £140.55 per week Plus housing benefit.

UC are saying they will pay us this month £526.61, this includes the rent. They say we were entitled to to £1744 a month which includes rent minus £609.05 x 2 which is New style ESA for myself and my husband. They say we aren't entitled to Transitional protection because our UC isn't less than out previous benefits. It is a lot less and their sums don't add up, I can't make head nor tail of them. I was led to believe that we wouldn't lose any money when we migrated over.

Can anyone offer any advice please? I have put a note in the journal but haven't heard back. This system seems unnecessarily complicated to me.

Thanks Sue

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Comments

  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 4,978 Championing

    Hi,

    As you have dual claims and will be getting New style ESA that does add some complexity. The £609 deduction for NS ESA is correct as that's calculated from the yearly amount divided into months. Although you may not have received the first NS ESA payment yet, it does work out correctly over a year.

    If you were both Support Group before, then it won't be possible for you both to be in the LCWRA group now, so I would expect some loss there.

    Also, if you had SDP before, then that usually would mean Transitional Protection on UC.

    However, £335 per week adds up to £1451.66 per month. So if your overall UC entitlement is £1744 a month then you are almost £300 better off on UC.

    Could you post a screenshot of the statement showing all of the elements of UC that you are getting now please? Hopefully we can see where the extra money is coming from on there.

  • suezom
    suezom Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener

    Hi,

    I will try some screen shots now.

    I have included our old benefit.

    Screenshot_20250829_134551_Samsung Internet.jpg
    Screenshot_20250829_134621_Samsung Internet.jpg
    20250829_134223.jpg

    PPlease Ignore my doodles.

    TThanks Sue

  • suezom
    suezom Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener

    HI,

    I also have to pay the rent out of the £526.61.

  • Kimi87
    Kimi87 Online Community Member Posts: 6,870 Championing

    With UC your entitlement is added up, before deductions are made.

    Instead of your income being all from UC, you have a dual claim with your income being from New Style ESA topped up by UC.

    You will receive £1218.10 from New Style ESA each month, instead of that same amount coming from UC.

    So your monthly income is now £1744.71 paid by UC & NS ESA.

  • suezom
    suezom Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener

    HHi Kimi87,

    TThanks for your reply.

    Yes I understand that part. My issue is that the 1744 is less than what we were getting on our previous benefits and I thought this was protected. I'm just finding it confusing.

    Cheers Sue

  • Kimi87
    Kimi87 Online Community Member Posts: 6,870 Championing
    edited August 29

    Edited.

  • suezom
    suezom Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener

    Just to clarify.

    We were getting 335 in our joint claim and my husband was receiving 140.55 ESA and we got housing benefit too.

    Cheers Sue

  • Kimi87
    Kimi87 Online Community Member Posts: 6,870 Championing

    A trained benefits advisor might be able to help:

    https://advicefinder.turn2us.org.uk/

  • suezom
    suezom Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener

    Thanks. I will check it out.

    Sue

  • Kiki23
    Kiki23 Online Community Member Posts: 116 Empowering
    edited August 29
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1063373#Comment_1063373
    https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Carers-with-limited-capability-for-work-Universal-Credit

    Hi Suezom

    Im not sure if this article will be of any interest to you but after reading your post and seeing the breakdown of your screenshots this article came up mentioning that if 2 people are entitled to LCWRA, only 1 can be paid for it on UC, and if both people care for each other, only 1 person can receive the carers element on UC

    Im not sure if this could possibly be one of the reasons why your seeing such a drastic change in money awarded to you on UC as opposed to what you were getting on your legacy benefits???

    https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Carers-with-limited-capability-for-work-Universal-Credit

  • suezom
    suezom Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener

    HI,

    Thank you so much. This is super helpful and I did not know this.

    I will seek their advice after the weekend as my brain is scrambled!

    What I don't understand is that they say you shouldn't lose any money when migrating and that's why there is transitional protection.

    For something that was supposed to be easier...well I think not.

    Thank you so much for this gem of advice, it kinda makes thing clearer, I think lol 😆

    Cheers Sue

  • Kiki23
    Kiki23 Online Community Member Posts: 116 Empowering
    edited August 29
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1063506#Comment_1063506

    Your very welcome Suezom 😊

    From the figures you put up it seems like you were both getting around just over £2000 a month on your legacy benefits excluding your housing benefit, and now it seems you are getting a monthly total of £1744 on UC and thats including your rent in that figure. Thats a big difference and seems very off to be honest and doesn't seem fair at all

    I really do hope you get this sorted soon and in the meantime I hope you have a relaxing weekend

    All the best

  • suezom
    suezom Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener

    Thank you so much.

    I thought I was going mad because that's how I read it. I'm going to try and see a benefits advisor and will post all outcomes on this thread. When me and hubby got together 20 years ago and were and will always be disabled and care for each other. A lady at the job centre told me I was wrong in my calculations and that only people very exceptional circumstances were entitled to what I thought we were.

    I went and saw an advisor and she assured us we fell into that bracket. Thank god for her as she helped with all our forms.

    We just want to get on with living and not have to prove how bad we both are! Rant over.

    Keep you posted. Thanks so much.

    Sue

  • Kiki23
    Kiki23 Online Community Member Posts: 116 Empowering
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1063510#Comment_1063510

    https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/what-youll-get

    https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/what-youll-get
  • suezom
    suezom Online Community Member Posts: 13 Listener

    Thanks Kiki23,

    I will check it out, but at a glance it says if you got SDP you maybe entitled to transitional protection.

    I have asked UC about it and they have asked the moving to UC department to check the calculations for our transitional protection. 🤞 I will keep you posted. Thanks for all your effort.

    Sue

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