LCWRA paid if you get no UC?

kensiko

Hello all

After the very helpful posts on my last thread I thought I would ask another question. Hopefully a nice easy one! The below assumes the claimant gets LCWRA which we are waiting to hear.

Currently there is no income and a small deduction from savings so let's say the claimant gets £300 per month for ease. They are due 2 small pensions at 65 next year before SP the following year.

In the next 18 months or so before SPA some of the UC claim will have unearned income (the pensions).

Again for ease of calculations let's start with £317 and £336 LCWRA. What happens if the claimant gets no 'standard' UC at all? For example:
£317-£17(savings)=£300
£300-£320 (pension) = -£20

Does the claimant then get nothing at all or is the UC and LCWRA all in 'one pot'?
So the claimant would receive £336-£20=£316

Hope this all makes sense! Basically looking forward to future months whereby the pensions and savings may take deductions over the standard £317 rate so am unsure if this stops everything or they still receive any LCWRA above and beyond that.

Thanks one and all

Rubyroobs

Standard element of £317 + LCWRA £336.20 ( once awarded ) = £653.20 UC.
Deductions for pensions and tariff income on savings = £337 deduction.
Uc payable = £316.20 UC.
There's no entitlement to Uc until LCWRA awarded. However I think you can claim and wait for the 13 week period to count down. Hopefully someone will confirm this is correct.

kensiko

Rubyroobs wrote: »

Standard element of £317 + LCWRA £336.20 ( once awarded ) = £653.20 UC.
Deductions for pensions and tariff income on savings = £337 deduction.
Uc payable = £316.20 UC.
There's no entitlement to Uc until LCWRA awarded. However I think you can claim and wait for the 13 week period to count down. Hopefully someone will confirm this is correct.

Thanks very much for the confirmation. Just wasn't 100% sure if the whole thing was one award or you had to get some standard UC before any extras could be added on.

Just to confirm, the claimant already receives the standard part of UC and has been for work assessment appointment so now they are just waiting and the extra should, in theory, be paid from January onward if awarded.

Rubyroobs

If awarded LCWRA then the extra would be backdated to the fourth Uc assessment period after they started handing in sick/ fit notes.

kensiko

Rubyroobs wrote: »

If awarded LCWRA then the extra would be backdated to the fourth Uc assessment period after they started handing in sick/ fit notes.

Thanks for confirming that, I have read similar and hopefully have got my figures correct but it isn't easy!

She handed in first fit note 15th August after applying and fist assessment period was September, so she is now in her 3rd month of claiming.

I have calculated January to be the 4th period after handing in first fit note, again assuming all is OK and the award is made before then.

Actually re-reading this back, it maybe should be December?

calcotti

The simple answer to your question is that UC is one benefit. The different elements are just the bits that go into the calculation to establish the maximum entitlement - the6 are not different benefit pots.

11krage

Assuming from what you said that the start date of their claim was in august, and they were paid for this assessment period in September. If the start date of the lcwra decision is within the first AP (it usually is), then you can't count the first AP as it needs to be three FULL assessment periods passing before payment.

So the AP starting Sep, paid for in Oct would be AP 1, Oct paid in Nov would be AP 2, Nov paid in Dec AP 3, so Dec paid in Jan looks the most likely to be AP 4 (when lcwra payments would start).

The easiest way I find to check when the relevant period is over is to go onto the payments screen. This will show all the assessment periods paid. Check whether the start date of the lcwra is part way through an assessment period. If so discount this one, and count upwards for 3 APs afterwards. The AP above these would be the one where payments would start.

As soon as their pensions start they should phone UC and inform them of this, and check the payment statements to see it's been added as other income. If they receive any backdated pension be aware this can cause an overpayment of UC.

The only other thing to add is to calculate and note on the calendar when they qualify for state pension as if they are a single claimant they would not qualify for any UC from this date forwards. It's best to close the UC account when this happens to prevent an overpayment a few months down the line when it's discovered.

calcotti

11krage wrote: »

The only other thing to add is to calculate and note on the calendar when they qualify for state pension as if they are a single claimant they would not qualify for any UC from this date forwards. It's best to close the UC account when this happens to prevent an overpayment a few months down the line when it's discovered.

There is a ridiculous anomaly under UC regarding reaching State Pension age. When you reach SP age you are no longer entitled to receive UC. Because your situation at the end of your assessment period is applied to the whole Assessment Period this means that you not entitled to any UC for the AP in which you reach SP age. If your SP date happens to fall on the last day of an AP you lose the whole of that AP.

There is a specific exception to this which is that if an advance claim for Pension Credit is made then a proportionate UC payment will be made for the period of AP before SP age. Why this was not done for all claimants I have no idea. Note the wording of the legislation appears to only require the making of a claim for PC, not necessarily a subsequent entitlement to PC. I am not clear how the long time being taken to process PC claims will impact the ability to make proportionate UC payments where this would apply.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/843708/adma4.pdf

UC claimant reaches the qualifying age for SPC
A4238 When a claimant reaches the qualifying age for SPC in an assessment period and makes an advance claim for SPC then a superseding decision made in consequence of the person reaching that age takes effect on the date on which the change occurs or is expected to occur.