Carers allowance — Scope | Disability forum

Carers allowance

koojo
koojo Member Posts: 6 Listener
in Children, parents, and families
Hi, on Friday I had a call from DWP that i have been overpaid carers allowance. I have a joint UC claim with my husband and I am his carer. For the past 18 months Ive been paid weekly the Carers allowance but then been taken from our UC award, £for £... When we receive the final amount of how much we have been overpaid by carers allowance, is UC responsible to settle this debt having taken it from us in first place?
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  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Member Posts: 28,525 Disability Gamechanger
    edited September 2019
    Hi,
    I'm assuming your husband receives a qualifying benefit such as PIP daily living or DLA mid/high rate care? Have you ever worked since claiming carers allowance?
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  • koojo
    koojo Member Posts: 6 Listener
    Yes, he receives pip, standard on both elements. I was working before I claimed carers and was under the threshold.. but have achieved payrises and picked up the odd overtime shift, which has taken me above it.
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  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Member Posts: 28,525 Disability Gamechanger
    If you've been working while claiming carers allowance and have earned more than £123 per week after deductions then this will be why there's an overpayment. Any weeks you earned more than this amount then you wouldn't have been entitled to claim any carers allowance. You will be responsible for paying back any over paid money. All changes in circumstances must be reported.

    Just so you know, when claiming UC you don't need to claim carers allowance to claim the carers element of UC. If you're continuing to work then it maybe worth canceling the carers allowance, just claiming the carers element will mean you won't have the £123 maximum earnings threshold.
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  • Adrian_Scope
    Adrian_Scope Posts: 8,572

    Scope community team
    Hi @koojo, I hope you get this sorted out quickly. If it's decided you weren't entitled to CA and owe it back, you should be able to recover the deductions for CA from UC. 

    I agree with Poppy that it may be worth you looking at whether it would be better for you to cancel CA and just receive the Carers Element of UC so you can do overtime etc without worry. 
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  • koojo
    koojo Member Posts: 6 Listener
    I accept and am aware of that Poppy.  My question is, for past 18 months UC has taken the carers allowance from our UC award.. will the amount overpaid to us by carers be taken from the Carers amount  withdrawn from our UC award.. ? 
    As a whole we haven't taken any benefit from DWP.. they pay us and also take it from us..
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  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Member Posts: 28,525 Disability Gamechanger
    It's deducted £1 for £1 from the UC amount because they are overlapping benefits and you can't claim it twice. It will be you that's responsible for paying back any overpayment to carers allowance. If carers allowance stops then there won't be any deductions from your UC.
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  • koojo
    koojo Member Posts: 6 Listener
    We wasn't paid it once.. what we received was taken away by UC
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  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Member Posts: 28,525 Disability Gamechanger
    You must have been receiving the carers allowance payments from carers allowance and that's why it's deducted £1 for £1 from UC payments.


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  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Member Posts: 28,525 Disability Gamechanger
    It's exactly the same for me. I claim carers allowance for looking after my daughter and i also claim Income Related ESA. The carers allowance is deducted £1 for £1 from my ESA and then carers allowance pay me.

    If i was working (which i don't) and i earned more than £123 per week after deductions then i would have an overpayment of carers allowance, which would be my responsibility to pay it back to carers allowance.
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  • koojo
    koojo Member Posts: 6 Listener
    I think we have crossed wires poppy.. 
    They pay £64 pw, then take £286 pm from us in our UC award.. we have NO monetary benefit from Carers allowance.. If there is an overpayment (which there is, im not denying it) then UC are clearly responsible for the overpayment (having taken the original carers allowance from us at UC level)..  It is frustrating that both carers and UC are under the same umbrella (DWP) and cannot liaison together..  UC obviously know about the carers allowance because they take it back.
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