currently i am a carer

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Robert1111
Robert1111 Online Community Member Posts: 24 Connected
in Benefits and income
Hi there, up to date the advice is have received on here has been exceptional so here goes for over the last year I have been someone's carer so I got carers credit on universal..... but recently I have just been awarded the high rate for both parts of PIP. but because I get UC and carers credit, I am not entitled to the severe disability premium so my question is do I give up being a carer and go to my doctors to get a long term sick note and take it to UC so i  can get put on the new ESA that comes under the UC umbrella. any advice and suggestions are very welcome and garteful

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  • calcotti
    calcotti Online Community Member Posts: 10,001 Championing
    edited July 2022
    You are not entitled to SDP because there is no such thing in UC.

    You cannot get ESA under UC, you can get LCWRA.

    Before commenting further - are you claiming UC with a partner who already gets LCWRA?
  • Robert1111
    Robert1111 Online Community Member Posts: 24 Connected
    no but i thought lcwra is like the new esa ?no one cab get esa in our localty everyone gets put on UC. why are some entitled to SDP and others aren't when they get exactly the same benefits?
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    edited July 2022
    New style ESA is completely different to UC. 
    If you have a health condition then you can report a change and send in fit notes.
    Do be aware that if you’re currently receiving the carers element, if you’re found to have LCWRA then you can't receive both elements together. You will only receive the LCWRA element.
    SDP is only payable on the old legacy benefits such as Income Related ESA/JSA or Income Support. It’s not payable when claiming UC or New style ESA.
  • calcotti
    calcotti Online Community Member Posts: 10,001 Championing
    poppy123456 said:
    ..if you’re found to have LCWRA then you can receive both elements together. You will only receive the LCWRA element.
    Typo - cannot.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    Thanks calcotti, now corrected.
  • calcotti
    calcotti Online Community Member Posts: 10,001 Championing
    edited July 2022
    Robert1111 said:..why are some entitled to SDP and others aren't when they get exactly the same benefits?
    They aren’t getting exactly the same benefits. UC and the old income based ESA are different. UC is also different to new style ESA which has no income based elements, it is a contribution based benefit.

    You didn’t answer my earlier question
    calcotti said:
    Before commenting further - are you claiming UC with a partner who already gets LCWRA?
  • Robert1111
    Robert1111 Online Community Member Posts: 24 Connected
    sorry, i did answer it no dont claim with a partner. the guy i care for is ex-army. i really appreciate everyone's replies. I am really not up to date with all these benefits. so from what I said , what do yous think my best options are?
  • Robert1111
    Robert1111 Online Community Member Posts: 24 Connected
    this is my dilemma now .... now i have got both parts of pip should i stop caring and go for LCWRA? i dont even no what that is
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    Robert1111 said:
    what do yous think my best options are?
    That will depend on whether you qualify for LCWRA, not everyone does. If you don't then in my opinion i don't think it's worth going through the process of the work capability assessment. At the moment, as a carer you don't have any work commiments anyway.
    You can see the descriptors here. https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/universal-credit-uc/uc-faq/limited-capability-for-work-related-activity

  • calcotti
    calcotti Online Community Member Posts: 10,001 Championing
    If you think you could qualify for LCWRA then you do not have anything to lose by applying. You remain a carer with no job related requirements anyway, you don’t stop being a carer by applying LCWRA. As poppy said, if you are found to have LCWRA you will no longer get the carer element but LCWRA is worth more so you would be better off by £185/month.
  • Robert1111
    Robert1111 Online Community Member Posts: 24 Connected
    Thank you for your replies they are really helpful. if i can apply for LCWRA while still, caring al have a go. why can folk on esa access SDP and everyone else cant? sorry if im being thick! also is uc been rolled out through out the country now apart from those on esa already
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    Robert1111 said:
    why can folk on esa access SDP and everyone else cant? 
    Because SDP doesn’t exist for those claiming UC or New style ESA.
    Robert1111 said:
    also is uc been rolled out through out the country now apart from those on esa already
    All areas are now UC for new claims. It is no longer possible to claim the old income related ESA. 
    Those that still claim the old legacy benefits will be invited to apply for UC by end of 2024. 
  • calcotti
    calcotti Online Community Member Posts: 10,001 Championing
    edited July 2022
    Robert1111 said:
    .. why can folk on esa access SDP and everyone else cant? ..
    The introduction of Universal Credit is a major change to the benefits system. SDP is a feature of older benefits such as income based ESA. No one can make a new claim for income based ESA. People can claim a version of ESA called new style ESA but it can only be claimed by people who meet certain National Insurance contribution requirements and if claimed there are no income based additions so cannot get SDP. When the transfer of all existing claimants to UC is completed nobody will be getting an SDP.

    No one can make new claims for the older types of benefits any more. It is intended that everybody currently on the older benefits will have been moved to UC by the end of 2024 (whether that process is actually completed by then remains to be seen).

    (You’re not being thick - benefits are complicated!)

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