Accuracy of online checkers

teabeagea

Hello all
I'm currently in a position where I may be made redundant or offered reduced hours at work and I'm looking around on various online benefits checkers and inputting numbers to see how various scenarios could end up with regards to all the various benefits available. It would seem I'm on the old legacy benefit which works out not as good as if I claimed universal credit . How accurate are these checkers. 

poppy12345

When you say you're claiming the old legacy benefits then i'm assuming this is tax credits because you're working at the moment?

If you claim Universal Credit then your tax credits will end. If you're claiming for help with your rent through housing benefit then this will continue for a further 2 weeks and then transfer to UC.

A benefits calculator is only as accurate as the information you put into it. I'd advice using a couple of different benefit calculators.

If you have savings/capital of £16,000 and over you'll be excluded from claiming UC.

calcotti

teabeagea said:

Hello all
I'm currently in a position where I may be made redundant or offered reduced hours at work and I'm looking around on various online benefits checkers and inputting numbers to see how various scenarios could end up with regards to all the various benefits available. It would seem I'm on the old legacy benefit which works out not as good as if I claimed universal credit . How accurate are these checkers. 

If you choose to you can (with a few exclusions) claim UC. This ends all the benefits you might currently receive, such as Tax Credits, that UC has replaced. You need to make sure you understand how UC works before switching as once you apply for UC there is no way back to the old benefits.

teabeagea

What are the exclusions.
When you say how UC works , why is this. 

poppy12345

teabeagea said:

What are the exclusions.
When you say how UC works , why is this. 

 Those excluded from claiming UC are those that are currently claiming a severe disability premium in with another benefit.

Tax credits was based on your annual earnings. UC is based on earnings received during your assessment period. The more you earn, the less you're entitled to. If you don't have a work allowance then your earnings reduce your UC by 63% for every £1 you earn. If you have children on your claim then you'll have a work allowance, which means you can earn a certain amount of money before the deductions apply.

There's lots of information on the internet for you to look at. Start here. https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/universal-credit-an-introduction

https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Work-allowance-Universal-Credit

calcotti

teabeagea said:

What are the exclusions.
When you say how UC works , why is this. 

The exclusions are if you already receive a disability benefit and an old type of benefit which includes a Severe Disability Premium,
The suggestion that you find out how UC works is if you will be losing benefits you already get in case you may prefer not to switch. If you don’t have existing benefits then it is less critical because you have no choice - nonetheless it is easier to manage your claim if you understand how it works.
https://www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/

teabeagea

Thank you for you links ,I'll get round to reading them asap. As for our current benefits which is not much. Having done numerous calculators they all show roughly the same whether it's legacy ( older benefits ) or UC but UC offers more money across all calculators than the legacy payments.