Backdated PIP award totalling £9200 in March 2025and reporting to UC (PLEASE HELP ME)

tito78
tito78 Online Community Member Posts: 7 Listener
edited 11:51AM in Universal Credit (UC)

I am on UC and have been since 2020 and was on basic PIP for both parts after several hospitalisation and being diagnosed with epilepsy PIP awarded me a back payment of £9200 in March 2025 and I chose to be paid by monthly instalments. I was extremely happy and did not realise it has to be reported on my UC journal as it was PIP and believed it does not count as savings. Every month since my current account never exceeded £6000 and that is with even transferring my step mother £750 per month to repay so many loans including 2 stints at rehab costing alot of money ( I am also 2 years 7 months sober) . I read somewhere that I still have to report it and my last PIP instalment is coming up on te 6th October. I am extremely worried and anxious ..should I report it? will they suspend my benefits? I am very confused..Please help as I am very confused and prone to frequent seizures sue to extreme anxiety

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  • tito78
    tito78 Online Community Member Posts: 7 Listener
  • ShadowLily64
    ShadowLily64 Online Community Member Posts: 23 Listener

    Hi there, myself and my partner received back pay of over 9,000 for uc they owed us from 2017 when we were told to transfer over because we were in temporary accommodation. Last year we had a message on our journal because they randomly wanted 4 months bank statements which we did and the guy in the job centre said this only happens roughly every 4 years. But the just after our back pay reward we have now had to provide bank statements again so I presume that our account is over 6,000 which they paid into our account. We haven’t heard anything yet but I’m not going to worry because they put the money into our account. Don’t think they know how much stress they put us through but I’m sure you’ll be ok. Let you know how we get on but you’ve done nothing wrong

  • tito78
    tito78 Online Community Member Posts: 7 Listener

    Thank you very much for your comment but the information out there is so confusing as some say do not report it as its not taken as capital for the first 12 months and some other ones that you must report it immediately as it is a change of circumstance and I already suffer from several seizures a month and really cant cope with this constant anxiety ad worry due to the fact that if they even put a note on my journal the worry of suspension kills me. I have no other source of income and no matter how highly qualified I am who on earth will employ a person that constantly has sudden seizures and ends up hospitalised on regular basis. I am really worried and above all confused.. I feel as i am FXXXX if i do and Fxxx if I dont.

  • Kiki23
    Kiki23 Online Community Member Posts: 119 Empowering
    edited 8:31AM

    I think if you were to let UC know you received notification in March from PIP/DWP that £9200 was going to be awarded to you as back pay, and sent them a copy/letter proving this, you should be ok, as anything "OVER" £5000 is disregarded for the lifetime of your claim for means tested benefits which in your case seems to be UC.

    Try not to worry and all the best 😊

    P.s Well done on being sober for 2 years and 7 months!!!

  • Rachel_Scope
    Rachel_Scope Posts: 1,751 Scope Online Community Coordinator

    Hi @tito78. Congratulations on being over 2 years sober, that's an amazing achievement!

    Here's some information that may be useful https://www.scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/lump-sum-payments-and-benefits . It states:

    "If you get a lump sum in backdated benefits, this does not count as savings for 1 year.

    You may have longer with backdated benefits of £5,000 or more if they were compensation for an official error or point of law." 

    It's good that your account never exceeded the £6000 threshold and the payments started less than 1 year ago but I would always suggest getting in touch with them so they have all the information and it eases your worry.

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