LCWRA as part of working couple

Snix
Snix Online Community Member Posts: 4 Listener
in Universal Credit (UC)
Hi, 
I'm new here so not sure if I'm in the right place, but at the moment my husband and I have a joint UC claim. I've just been awarded LCWRA. As it stands we're worse off financially because even though my husband is killing himself working we can never get out of the woods as UC take most of what he earns. We get child benefit atm for our child, who is 16 in a couple of weeks. What would happen if we stopped our joint claim? I'd still be unable to work, but don't know what this change would mean for us financially.  Please help! He's 62 and has just been put on meds for high cholesterol, I'm so worried about him becoming ill as well.
Thanks  x

Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,458 Championing
    edited March 2023
    As you've been found to have LCWRA you'll be entitled to an extra £354.28/month from the 4th month after you report your health condition. Providing you sent a fit note within 7 days of that and continued to send them the whole time without any gaps until the decision was made on your work capability assessment.

    When it's paid from exactly will depend on what date you reported your health condition/sent your first fit note and what date you usually receive your money each month.

    As you have a child on your claim you should already have the work allowance. This means that a certain amount of earning each month are ignored before the 55% deductions apply. If you claim for help with the rent your work allowance will be £344/month, if you don't then it will be £573/month.

    If you stopped your joint claim then of course your UC will end. You can't claim as a single person when you're living with your partner. Your UC is based on your joint circumstances.

    Do you claim either PIP daily living or DLA mid/high rate care?
  • Snix
    Snix Online Community Member Posts: 4 Listener
    Hi, 
    Thank you for replying. PIP applied for, still waiting for the outcome. There's also the issue of an overpayment UC made in error that's at the MR stage, I'm lucky enough to have a brilliant Benefits Specialist,  but he only works 3 days a week and I don't want to overburden him with questions as he's already doing so much for us. The whole system is so confusing and my mental health is terrible; in fact, dealing with the DWP is what's put me where I am; completely useless and unable to work, where before I could at least partially contribute. I'm feeling so guilty about how useless I am, it's depressing in itself.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,458 Championing
    Any overpayments for UC are recoverable even if it was an official error. You didn't answer this question.
    poppy123456 said:

    When it's paid from exactly will depend on what date you reported your health condition/sent your first fit note and what date you usually receive your money each month.

    If you're eventually awarded daily living PIP then your partner will be able to claim carers element, providing they look after you for at least 35 hours per week. There's no earnings limit when claiming carers element, like there is when claiming carers allowance.

  • Snix
    Snix Online Community Member Posts: 4 Listener
    I'm sorry. I'm in a bad way today. I sent my first fitnote in back in july this year. Even with help from my benefits advisor I'm still so confused by the whole thing, a big part of it is that my existing conditions (MDD and GAD) have been worsened so much by stress over it all that I can't remember anything or think straight. I feel so horribly lonely and hopeless, I don't know what to do
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,458 Championing
    edited March 2023
    Your first payment would be either Nov or Dec 2022. I can't tell you exactly when it's paid from because i need the exact date you reported your health condition/sent your first fit note. I also need to know what date you usually receive your UC each month.
    If you're not sure of those dates you can look back on your journal.
    Have you spoken to your GP about your health conditions? They will be able to help you.
  • MH2023
    MH2023 Online Community Member Posts: 5 Listener
    Snix said:
    Hi, 
    I'm new here so not sure if I'm in the right place, but at the moment my husband and I have a joint UC claim. I've just been awarded LCWRA. As it stands we're worse off financially because even though my husband is killing himself working we can never get out of the woods as UC take most of what he earns. We get child benefit atm for our child, who is 16 in a couple of weeks. What would happen if we stopped our joint claim? I'd still be unable to work, but don't know what this change would mean for us financially.  Please help! He's 62 and has just been put on meds for high cholesterol, I'm so worried about him becoming ill as well.
    Thanks  x
    UC decreases by 55% of what he earns after your work allowance which is far more generous than previous benefits. If he stopped working your income would be lower overall. If you're receiving any UC then you'd of course be financially worse off if you ended your claim. 
  • Snix
    Snix Online Community Member Posts: 4 Listener
    MH2023 I wasn't suggesting he stopped working, if you read my comment properly I was asking what would happen if he stopped claiming. And forgive me if I sound churlish,  but I don't find anything about the current system generous. It's what turned me from being a useful member of society into a bedridden agoraphobic self-harmer  whose only escape from 24/7 misery is the little sleep I may manage to get.
    Maybe it was a mistake joining this forum, because my psyche is already fragile enough.

    Poppy123456, thank you for trying to help, my gp has referred me to mental heath care, who have referred me to the adult mental health and wellbeing team, whose waiting list I'm on for suitable therapy. My MH nurse checks up on me weekly to make sure I don't do anything stupid in the meantime. As for everything else, the UC 'overpayment' is something they weren't even aware of until it was pointed out by me because it had always been there, and then one month it wasn't. After taking it away then re-instating it several times they then told me they'd messed up and wanted £3,000 back. This on top of a similar error entirely at the hands of HMRC. I am sick of taking the brunt of mistakes that destroy people's lives when they're already in a vulnerable position. Before I got caught up in the horrible gears of this heartless system I still had LCW but was at least able to work and go out when it wasn't dark, but not now. This is not a generous system, it's a soulless machine with little regard for the circumstances of the individual. 
    If I've offended anyone, I apologise. It wasn't my intention. But I'm not about to stake myself out for further harm. 

    Goodbye
  • Alex_Alumni
    Alex_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,536 Championing
    edited March 2023
    Hello there @Snix there's no need to apologise, I'm sure you haven't offended anyone. It can be difficult communicating online, especially as our intentions might not always be clear, so please try not to worry. 

    We'll be emailing you a little later today, nothing bad, but please let us know if that doesn't come through :) 

    I hope you've been able to find some reassurance here on the community, as it sounds like you and your husband have a lot to manage at the moment. If we can help with anything further, please ask!

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