Hi, my name is BeeBee1965! UC migration from Income Support - payments reduced

BeeBee1965
BeeBee1965 Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener
edited November 23 in Universal Credit (UC)

Hi. Please can you help us with some advice. Me and my wife were on income surport. She claims for both of us. We were moved from income surport to universal credit. We were getting paid fortnightly on income surport at £320 a fortnight now we been moved over to universal credit we are only getting £550 a month for both of us we both are over. 25 I'm 59 she is 57 we both get carers. And claim carers. As we get it for caring for each other. We feel this is wrong as I said when we were on income surport we were getting. £320 a fortnight which is £640 a month and claimed carers so there were no changes except changing over to universal credit aa,we were forced to do so with the new. Law coming in from £640 a month on income surport to. £550 on universal credit which us a drop of £90 a month. We were getting transitional payment but that ended in October as we made the clIm for universal credit on July 31st 2024 please can you advice us. My wife is also on LCWRA. Surely the amount we both getting is wrong. Should we not be getting that standard over 25 universal credit of £617.for a couple. Please please can you advice us

Tagged:

Comments

  • Daffodil94
    Daffodil94 Online Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 55 Empowering

    I would phone the benefits enquiry line and have a chat with them. It may be they haven’t understood your position correctly or, if you’re handling the UC online, there may have been a glitch. Definitely query it and do a benefits calculation like Turn2us to see what you should be getting. Hope this helps.

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 62,398 Championing

    I wouldn't advise you to ring the UC helpline because most of the time they are as helpful as a chocolate teapot. Sorry to be so blunt but they are not benefits advisors and have very little benefits knowledge, other than to read from a screen in front of them.

    I have a feeling I know what's happened here as soon as I read your wife was found to have LCWRA.

    If your UC included 2 carers elements before the decision was made on her work capability assessment then once the LCWRA element was included, you would have lost the one carers element, as well as the Transitional Protection.

    This is because the same person can't receive both carers element and LCWRA element at the same time. In this case only the higher element is paid.

    Yes, I totally agree that the most logical thing to do was to reduce your TP by the difference between the carers element and LCWRA element but that's not what the law says.

    There was supposed to be an upper Tribunal hearing regarding this exact issue at end of October 2024 but I haven't heard any updates on that as yet.

    Please check your most recent statement and it should include the following elements..

    Standard allowance (25+) £617.60/month

    1 Carers element £198.31/month

    LCWRA element £416.19/month

    Do you claim for help with your rent? if so then you'll need to add that onto the list too.

    Total UC before deductions.. = £1,232/month

    If both of you are still claiming carers allowance this is deducted in full from any UC entitlement. This amount is £354.90/month for each claim.. which would be £709.80/month deduction if you're both claiming carers allowance.

    This means your UC entitlement would be £522/month. (you will need to add your rent onto this if you claim this) If you had an advance payment when you first claimed UC there may also be deductions included for this to repay it back.

    Please also remember that your carers allowance will still be paid as a separate payment.

  • BeeBee1965
    BeeBee1965 Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener

    I phoned them up yesterday. They were a complete waist of time all they said was. Was leave your query in your journal. So I was. Told about this community site. And the advice is appreciated. Those who gave me advice. Thank you very much. Everything is sorted. Apart from.

    What we should get to live on as a couple. I always thought. When you were asked to move over to universal credit. From income surport. You were not to lose any money when j was on come surport we were getting 640 a month now we are getting 550 a month I was getting transitional payment for 2 months tgst helped a lot. Now they taken it off. And I don't know why we are now getting 550 .from now on. It was only a change over. To universal credit. It states thst the transitional payment is given. So that you old benefits make up. On the universal credit so you don't lose any money its shows here. We are worse of on universal credit we are not asking for. Extra money. We just would like the amended amount we were given before. As after all these years we had our finances sorted paying . Bills ect now we have to shuffle around because of the shortfall I sent a journal. They said its right. Without given me a full benefits rundown .

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 62,398 Championing

    I answered your question in depth in my comment above, please have another read. It appears that your UC payment is correct.

  • BeeBee1965
    BeeBee1965 Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener

    Hi thank you for your swift reply .I have read. What you have wrote in depth you say this is correct then I'm one of those couples who have changed over to universal credit have lost out I was better off. On income surport. But the law says everyone needs to be on universal credit at some stage. I understand the shortfall now. Some people are better off from the change over. And some are not and we are that couple who fall into that we losr out I want to thank you and I now understand this is what I'll get every month. Andva reduction of £90 a month

    Leaves us just shy Iver £490 a month. And we had to get advance payment. They taken that back at £62 a month. That's why I'm left £490 for me and my wife I was just confused at that time. When we both getting carers and £640 amonth aswell on incom surport now we moved to universal credit we still get the carers. And we now get £550 a month. That's a reduction of £90 that's why I was so confused as they do say you are not supposed to lose any money from the change over if you do that's where the transitional payment is for. And we were getting that for 3 months now its at an end.can i ask you is it possible they can put on the differnce of the transitional payment of £90 so it makes then we are getting same money as when we were in income suport and now hopefully it's possible it can be done .you certainly know what your talking about if you say. To me we are o e of those couples that are worse of on universal credit and that's nothing I can do. Then. I'll. Except your advice I want to thank you for your help. Its made me understand that so.e are better off. And some are worse off. By the change over thank you once again for your help.poppy 123456

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 62,398 Championing

    You’re welcome. What they say is, you won’t be worse off on point of migration. Transitional Protection erodes over time.

    It didn’t help matters that your wife went through the work capability assessment and was found to have LCWRA and the loss of the carers element.

    I’m not saying this is right because I disagree with this rule. You are not alone in being affected by this, there are others too.

    Hopefully the Upper Tribunal will make a decision in the claimants favour.