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As some of you might be aware, in the land of benefits, the government(and previous government) were swopping people over to an all encompassing benefit called Universal Credit.
I suppose it is streamlining the system, meaning housing assistance and my disability benefits etc instead of being separate are now handled by the one system
** Fair enough, im sure that will save money etc.
So previously I received a benefit called Employment and support allowance, which due to the new benefit (UC) would be cancelled, with UC then dealing with all the payemns
The new online system meany you sign in, have a 'journal' and to do list, which tells you of anything you are required to do or act upon.
So i sign in and theres something to do which is -
" Some benefits can affect how much Universal Credit you receive. Our records show that you are not getting any of these benefits.
Benefits that can affect Universal Credit are:
- Jobseeker's Allowance
- Employment and Support Allowance
- Carer's Allowance
- Carer Support Payment
- Maternity Allowance
- Bereavement Allowance (including Widowed Parent's Allowance)
- Widow's Pension (including Widowed Mother's Allowance)
- State Pension
- Incapacity Benefit
- Severe Disablement Allowance
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit "
So i previously got ESA(Employment support etc, but as you can see from the above, and according to their records i no longer receive it
Which is kind of obvious, because that previous benefit claim would have been terminated the moment i put in my new claim for UC
Simple you would think. HA!
The 'my page has 3 sub headings -Home. To do list. Journal
Journal gives me notifications - and i get the one that tells me how much im going get.
It gives a figure and under deductions it says they're knocking off £105/month because ... I apparently get a benefit im not entitled to, that being EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT ALLOWANCE
So one page is telling me I dont get ESA, and the next page tells me they are reducing it because I get ESA
But this isnt the end of it.
They are knocking of further amount(£70/month), because my savings are over the threshold Savings are less than the max, but what takes me over it is my current account(the one they will pay the UC into)
These are the rules on that
" The first £6,000 of your money, savings and investments does not affect your payment. If you have over £6,000 up to £16,000, every £250 reduces your Universal Credit by £4.35. For any remaining amount that is not a complete £250, a further £4.35 is also deducted.
But that account fluctuates because i buy shopping and day to day expenses, but Im also going to be getting a bed set which will be £1500
Also need clothes, etc, could do with a short break(to get over this fing bureaucratic fing nightmare)
Im going to tell them are the end of each month how much it has gone down or up, and they now need to reassess my deductions and adjust accordingly.
** If they are needing to constantly month by month readjust, just on admin, any saving they hope to make be combining all previous benefits are going to be lost, and it could actually increase admin costs.
Thankfully I have family and the national autistic society in my corner. But can you imaging the stress and panic such conflicting information would cause someone who doesnt have the same level of support as myself ?
Indeed as an observer, UC seems a completely crap system reviled but anyone who is applying or recieving it.
I'm thankful that mrs_oab is getting Adult Disability Payment instead as we live in Scotland. It's not perfect, and she had to push hard to receive it, but there was none of the nonsense you outline.
Thankfully I have family and the national autistic society in my corner. But can you imaging the stress and panic such conflicting information would cause someone who doesnt have the same level of support as myself ?
I have the transition form as well, I currently receive ESA every fortnight so the housing welfare officer whom I know from this town as she used to be the local council housing officer till all housing stock transferred to DGHP social housing then it was transfered again to Wheatley homes is coming out in a fortnight to help me navigate and fill out the UC form for maximum benefit.
I claimed the maximum care component (from middle component) of pip back in march and this week it was awarded so that’s a relief, I’ve had max mobility for years and I should’ve claimed max care a couple years ago but didn't want to admit I needed it.
Now my pip has been successfully transferred to the Scottish Adult disability payment system as matt above highlighted so that’s good, I don’t get reviewed till 2035, I’ll be long dead before then 😀
Fingers crossed for a successful UC claim though,
To think 16 odd years ago I was doing sub 2 hr laps of kirroughtree red/black on a singlespeed 😕 , please appreciate your good health folks….it can disappear fast
It confused the shit out of me when I was made redundant a few years ago. Currently paying back £35 a month for two years because I failed to understand that telling UC through the online portal thing that I'd found employment wasn't enough to stop them paying me JSA. I paid the JSA back quite quickly but then it took nearly two years for UC to demand return of their (forward?) payment (they'd decided we weren't worthy of?). Which confused me even more. Trying to find out why, when I thought I was done with it, was also really stressful, due to all accompanying threats of bailifs, spending a few of my entire lunchbreaks on hold trying to find out what was going on, resisting throwing my mobile in the sea due to the worst hold music ever, Eventually got someone to explain it to me and it made some sense, but can't for the life of me remember exactly, now.
" The first £6,000 of your money, savings and investments does not affect your payment. If you have over £6,000 up to £16,000, every £250 reduces your Universal Credit by £4.35. For any remaining amount that is not a complete £250, a further £4.35 is also deducted.
UC’s motto is “the more you work, the more you earn”.
up to £6k?
it would cost that much to bury my pet budgie.
how do the Dwp expect to incentivise people to work, save up for a house, get married, bury their nearest and dearest, etc?
they should be encouraging people to become more financially savvy.
or have their own govt savings bonds plan..
how do the Dwp expect to incentivise people to work, save up for a house, get married, bury their nearest and dearest, etc?
They don’t. It’s designed to keep people ‘in their place’.
i would go into journal, trhen Leave a message for your agent- and state your ESA confusion. Thats probably the easiest/quickest way to get things done
Now my pip has been successfully transferred to the Scottish Adult disability payment system as matt above highlighted so that’s good, I don’t get reviewed till 2035, I’ll be long dead before then
Can I ask how long it took from the 'transfer' letter coming through, to when the payment hit the bank.
I also got the letter swoping me over to Scottish dla/pip system, but that was about a month ago and heard nothing since.
When it comes to the benefit system, i am very much do not attract attention to yourself, so I've been dreading this swop over because it is never an easy process.
Now my pip has been successfully transferred to the Scottish Adult disability payment system as matt above highlighted so that’s good, I don’t get reviewed till 2035, I’ll be long dead before then
Can I ask how long it took from the 'transfer' letter coming through, to when the payment hit the bank.
I also got the letter swoping me over to Scottish dla/pip system, but that was about a month ago and heard nothing since.
When it comes to the benefit system, i am very much do not attract attention to yourself, so I've been dreading this swop over because it is never an easy process.
It was only about 10 days from receiving the letter telling me of my award and transference to SADP before I received the backdated Max Care Component amount due from date of application to receiving the payment, I hope the ESA to UC is as quick...we'll see.
From starting a UC claim it will be 5 weeks till your first payment. If you’re getting housing benefit as well, then plan to start your UC claim just after a housing benefit payment before the deadline for your migration. To make the UC claim use the online claim form and for help completing that call Citizens Advice help to claim line on 0800 0232 581.