Why is it so misleading?
What is actually going on with the ESA migration to UC and why is it so confusing and misleading?
My son has now got his letter but after reading what going on in some of the threads I think this change has been very backhanded..
I have No idea if he is on
A: Contributions Based & Income Related ESA.
B: Just IR ESA.
That where the trouble really start. He used to be in IB before that changed 15 years ago?
The letter is SO Unclear, it would have been SO much better if it has stated which benefit he is actually on, and what his replacements were.
Why are they keeping New style ESA hidden??
Worse thing is every benefit calculator claims he will get more money, yet that seem to be come fallacy and will most likely end up just liked 2008-2018, in which his money will be frozen for years and years and will never seeing an increase.
They made sure everyone on coming over from ESA is caped at £598.68 instead of £809, and the whole point of these change seems to be screw people over again.
Comments
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They are not keeping New style ESA hidden, it was introduced quite a few years ago and replaced the old contributions based when UC was introduced.
ESA letters are well known for making very little sense. As he was originally claiming IB then his ESA could be part CB and part Income Related but this will be known as an Income Related claim.
If he wants to know then he can contact ESA to ask them and they will tell him.
If his ESA doesn't include the Severe disability Premium then UC that includes the LCWRA element pays more than ESA Support Group.
If it includes the SDP then UC will include Transitional Protection so that he won't be worse off when he migrates.
No one is capped with anything when claiming ESA in the Support Group. If part of his ESA is contributions based this will continue at £276.40/fortnight. This amount will then be deducted in full from any UC entitlement at a rate of £598.86/month. The deduction seems more than the ESA but it's not. ESA is a weekly benefit and UC monthly, there's 4.3 weeks in a month, not 4 weeks.
The Income Related part will stop 2 weeks after he submits a claim for UC. He will then receive UC once a month, which will top up his income.
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To be fair your someone in the know. ( I bet your fed up repeating yourself)
Going by the amount of new threads, a lot of people don't seem to understand the forthcoming changes, which has not been helped by the media doing blanket headlines saying ESA to move to UC / ESA to UC moved delayed or etc etc No wonder everyone is getting worked up and confused.
Myself and many other also never seem to understand that "New style ESA" replaced the old contributions based when UC was introduced, why has that taken so long to switch people?
Because of that why would people think they going to get moved to New style ESA, and people only get told if that happening after the migration, so Backwards.
It seem IR ESA is all about those premiums,
No one can explain why the benefit calculators are all saying people should be getting £809, instead most are only getting £598.86 with Transitional Protection on top.
I've notice that if they get a lot of people done before April 2025 the Transitional Protection payments will be lower as the next rise will not be counted. ( He never did get SDP)
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The payment under UC is £809 (Standard Element +LCWRA element).
The deduction for ESA is then made (£598.86).
Leaving a UC entitlement of £211- this is not Transitional Protection.
I get both NS ESA and UC.
I am better off than when on IR & CB ESA as I didn't get the SDP.
Therefore my claim does not include Transitional Protection.
My income is NS ESA topped up by Universal Credit.
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So you must have made a claim after 2017?
LCWRA element Pre 2017 claims only get £156.11, and if you add in New style ESA they have to have Transitional Protection, to get it back up.
If I can't get this, how on earth can my son understand it.
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A benefits calculator is only as good as the information you put into it. If you tick the box that he’s claiming contributions based ESA then that’s what the calculator will include information for.
As his ESA doesn’t include SDP and he’s 25 and over then UC with the LCWRA element is £120/month more than ESA Support Group so no TP will be awarded.
This was the whole reason why migration for those claiming Income Related ESA was originally delayed until 2028/29 was because some people would be much better off by claiming it.
UC is complicated so yes there’s a lot of people that are confused. Even more so when some of their ESA is contributions based due to that reverting to New style. This is one of the reasons why these forums are here to advise those that need it.
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You are quoting the LCW (Limited Capability for Work) amount. LCW only pays extra money if the claim began before April 2017.
LCWRA (Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity) pays £416.19 a month under UC. It always pays this amount.
UC also pays the Standard Element to all claimants. If single and under 25, £311.68 ; If single and 25 or over, £393.45
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Just to check its NOT one or the other? HE could actually get both? I thought you would only get one or the other and I thought the Tories were screwing people over… and no wonder people are getting worried.
Basic: £393
LCWRA; £416.19
AND
Pre 2017: £156.11
Total = £965 a month?
Then you deducted New style ESA' = £598
= UC payment of £367, thus No TP is needed as that is higher than current ESA award.
My head hurts…. Really hurts trying to work this out.
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It is one or the other.
It has always been one or the other- for ESA you are in the Support Group or WRAG.
Your son is in the Support Group for ESA, this means under UC he will receive the LCWRA element + Standard Element.
LCWRA is the UC equivalent of ESA Support Group.
This means £809 UC
minus £598 NS ESA
Equals £211 UC payable.
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I think I got this now, but It shouldn't be this hard to get the basic information, The Last Government should be ashamed of its self, pushing this ahead so fast.
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It’s not such a bad thing for your son because he will be financially better off by claiming UC.
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For the avoidance of doubt for unsure65 there will also be £276.40/fortnight for ESA payments.
I know you’re aware of that kimmy but I just wanted to make it clear for unsure. ☺️
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Just to say thank you for the information.
I will come back in few months to say if that has been said is correct, ;)
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II'm Terrified its to much I just don't understand any of it
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I find myself kind of agreeing, as an example like poppy said ESA letters historically make little sense, they dont call the severe disability premium by its correct name e.g. I dont think they even mention the support group either instead using some other terminology.
Their website seems to be deliberately under supplying information as if they dont want people to understand how the system works, misinformed people are less likely to challenge decisions.
The UC letter tells you if you ignore it all your benefits will stop, not true either if you claim benefits like PIP. It doesnt tell you which benefits it will be replacing, and as mentioned by me and others the new style ESA is not correctly worded either. My new style ESA award letter incorrectly reports it will still be paying me EDP and SDP, I know its wrong from this forum so just ignored it.
But the main thing is you understand whats going on now. :) Poppy and Kimmy in particular are a great help.2
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