U.C and Esa

berry61
berry61 Online Community Member Posts: 197 Contributor
in Universal Credit (UC)

Hello everyone,

I just wanted some advice on this,

Myself and my wife currently receive

U.C £628.10

Carer element my wife gets caring for me £201.68

Limited capability for work and W.R.A £423.27

Total £1253.05

Then Esa gets deducted which i receive being in the support group

£609.05

Total each month is £644.00

My wife is currently off sick from work and may not be able to return after the 28 week ssp. Would she be made to claim ESA and then go through a work capability assessment or could she decline claiming ESA and continue with the U.C only ?

I think I'm right in thinking that if she did claim Esa she would loose the carers element of £201.68 but would the limited capability for work and W.R.A increase to double the above amount ? I appreciate that any Esa payments will be deducted from U.C each month.

Anty help would be appreciated

Comments

  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 5,799 Championing

    Hi,

    Two people in a couple can't both receive LCWRA payments. As you already have one LCWRA and one Carers Element you are already at the maximum for your circumstances.

    As your wife is classed as a carer she will not have any work related commitments anyway, so there is no point in her going through the WCA process.

  • berry61
    berry61 Online Community Member Posts: 197 Contributor

    Thank you overlyAnxious for the quick reply.

    So just to clarify if she couldn't return to work she would still continue as a carer and we would continue to receive after my Esa has been deducted £644 per month ?

    She wouldn't be made to go through any sort of WCA either.

    Thanks

  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 5,799 Championing
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1102171#Comment_1102171

    Yes, that is correct.

    There is just one potential downside to this. If you separated and she moved out, or you passed away, so that she no longer had caring responsibilities, then she would be classed as a job seeker again, and at that point she would have to go through a WCA in order to get LCWRA on a single person claim and remove work search commitments. Obviously we are not expecting that to happen any time soon, but it is something to be aware of for the future.

  • berry61
    berry61 Online Community Member Posts: 197 Contributor

    Thanks OverlyAnxious,

    I did not realise the carers role had some protection from future WCA.

    When she reaches the 28 weeks ssp limit would there be any automatic communication from DWP or UC , we're we would have to explain her carers role ?

    Thanks Again

  • Kimi87
    Kimi87 Online Community Member Posts: 8,568 Championing
    edited February 16

    Your wife is already eligible for status as a carer due to getting Carers Element, so she already counts as being excluded from looking for work.

  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 5,799 Championing
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1102180#Comment_1102180

    As Kimi says, there's no need to explain anything to UC as she is already getting the Carers Element.

    There might be an automatic letter sent about the SSP ending, as that's from a separate department. But it won't affect UC.

  • berry61
    berry61 Online Community Member Posts: 197 Contributor

    Thanks To both of you for that great advice, it really helps people who dont know the rules , your very knowledgeable people take care.

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