Moving to Universal Credit from legacy benefits?

[Deleted User]

Hi,
I'm currently trying to work out how much actually earned on legacy benefits & UC respectively and any helps on this would be greatly appreciated!

Currently on JSA, Housing benefit & council tax benefit. Have one non dependant living with me and he is earning quite a lot. Non dependant deduction is about £103 a week for housing/rent. And I am entitled to just a few quids/week for council tax. In total my weekly benefit entitlement is about £77.

However when I was using the benefit calculator online it showed me that I'd be entitled to £200 a week (Not sure if this includes a payment for housing/rent or not?) as well as some additional money for council tax?! Overall we are talking about £230-£250 a week on UC.

After doing some research, I've found out that UC Standard allowance if single is £409.89 a month. UC also provide extra help (pay extra money) towards the cost of housing (both rent & council tax). And under UC rules there is a flat rate contribution (deduction) each month regardless of the non-dependant's income, for 2020/21 this is £75.15 a month (currently my Non dependant deduction is £103 a week?!).

From what I can see right now I would be at least £100.00/week better off if on UC?
The non dependant is currently on fixed term contract and his employment will end in early Oct 2020. If his contract is not renewed, better off staying on legacy benefits or it'd be still good to make a move to UC?

Thank you in advance for your help and time!

calcotti

UC includes help with rent (it replaces the Housing Benefit). It does not include help with Council Tax, this is still provided through Council Tax Reduction which is claimed separately from your local council.

UC amounts currently include an extra £90/month which is legislated for as a temporary response to coronavirus. As it stands that £90 will be removed in April next year. Without the temporary increase the UC personal allowance would match the JSA payment.

in your circumstances the flat rate UC non dependant deductions (called a housing cost contributions in UC) will make a big difference to the amount of help you get with our rent at the moment, deduction of £75.15/month as against £102.35/week (equivalent to £443.51/month). If the non-dependant were out of work the non-dependant deduction under Housing Benefit would be £15.85/week (equivalent to £68.68/month), under UC the flat rate housing cost contribution of £75.15 would still apply. In this case as regards help with rent you are slightly better off still on HB, but there isn’t much in it and currently this is  offset by the difference between the UC personal allowance and the rate of JSA.

if you claim UC you will get your first UC payment one month and one week after the date you claim. Your JSA and HB will stop two weeks after the date you claim UC. CTR will continue but will probably be calculated differently using information supplied to the local authority by DWP about your UC claim.

If you are receiving any Tax Credits these will stop on the date you claim UC.

[Deleted User]

calcotti said:

UC includes help with rent (it replaces the Housing Benefit). It does not include help with Council Tax, this is still provided through Council Tax Reduction which is claimed separately from your local council.

UC amounts currently include an extra £90/month which is legislated for as a temporary response to coronavirus. As it stands that £90 will be removed in April next year. Without the temporary increase the UC personal allowance would match the JSA payment.

in your circumstances the flat rate UC non dependant deductions (called a housing cost contributions in UC) will make a big difference to the amount of help you get with our rent at the moment, deduction of £75.15/month as against £102.35/week (equivalent to £443.51/month). If the non-dependant were out of work the non-dependant deduction under Housing Benefit would be £15.85/week (equivalent to £68.68/month), under UC the flat rate housing cost contribution of £75.15 would still apply. In this case as regards help with rent you are slightly better off still on HB, but there isn’t much in it and currently this is more than offset by the difference between the UC personal allowance and the rate of JSA.

if you claim UC you will get your first UC payment one month and one week after the date you claim. Your JSA and HB will stop two weeks after the date you claim UC. CTR will continue but will probably be calculated differently using information supplied to the local authority by DWP about your UC claim.

If you are receiving any Tax Credits these will stop on the date you claim UC.

Hi calcotti,
Thank you very much for your detailed explanation!
I never expected there would be such a huge difference in non dependant deduction between UC and HB. Been paying the full rent for years until recently a friend of mine told me about this. I would try to get in touch with my local JCP and asking if I can move to UC. 
Once again thank you for your help!

poppy12345

[Deleted User] said:

calcotti said:

UC includes help with rent (it replaces the Housing Benefit). It does not include help with Council Tax, this is still provided through Council Tax Reduction which is claimed separately from your local council.

UC amounts currently include an extra £90/month which is legislated for as a temporary response to coronavirus. As it stands that £90 will be removed in April next year. Without the temporary increase the UC personal allowance would match the JSA payment.

in your circumstances the flat rate UC non dependant deductions (called a housing cost contributions in UC) will make a big difference to the amount of help you get with our rent at the moment, deduction of £75.15/month as against £102.35/week (equivalent to £443.51/month). If the non-dependant were out of work the non-dependant deduction under Housing Benefit would be £15.85/week (equivalent to £68.68/month), under UC the flat rate housing cost contribution of £75.15 would still apply. In this case as regards help with rent you are slightly better off still on HB, but there isn’t much in it and currently this is more than offset by the difference between the UC personal allowance and the rate of JSA.

if you claim UC you will get your first UC payment one month and one week after the date you claim. Your JSA and HB will stop two weeks after the date you claim UC. CTR will continue but will probably be calculated differently using information supplied to the local authority by DWP about your UC claim.

If you are receiving any Tax Credits these will stop on the date you claim UC.

I would try to get in touch with my local JCP and asking if I can move to UC. 

That isn't needed. If you decide to move to UC you just need to start a claim online. Your existing benefits will automatically stop after 2 weeks.

calcotti

As poppy says, no need to contact JCP. Just claim https://www.gov.uk/apply-universal-credit
Be aware that your UC claim is totally managed online. Communication with you will be through your UC journal and is important that you regularly check your journal in case DWP are asking you for more information.

The flat rate non dependant deduction is one of the good features of UC. Apart from the financial aspect of it the fact that it’s a flat rate means that you are not expected to provide information about non-dependant earnings, which not everybody was able to do.

Note that you can request an advance payment on UC. However this is a loan and will have to be paid back over the next 12 payments which will therefore be reduced. If you can manage without an advance it will be better not to take one. Because of the two week run on of the legacy benefits you need to budget for a three to three and a half week gap between your last legacy payment and first UC payment. If you do need an advance to help with this take what you think you need which will not necessarily be the maximum offered.

[Deleted User]

poppy12345 said:

That isn't needed. If you decide to move to UC you just need to start a claim online. Your existing benefits will automatically stop after 2 weeks. 

calcotti said:

As poppy says, no need to contact JCP. Just claim https://www.gov.uk/apply-universal-credit
Be aware that your UC claim is totally managed online. Communication with you will be through your UC journal and is important that you regularly check your journal in case DWP are asking you for more information.

The flat rate non dependant deduction is one of the good features of UC. Apart from the financial aspect of it the fact that it’s a flat rate means that you are not expected to provide information about non-dependant earnings, which not everybody was able to do.

Note that you can request an advance payment on UC. However this is a loan and will have to be paid back over the next 12 payments which will therefore be reduced. If you can manage without an advance it will be better not to take one. Because of the two week run on of the legacy benefits you need to budget for a three to three and a half week gap between your last legacy payment and first UC payment. If you do need an advance to help with this take what you think you need which will not necessarily be the maximum offered.

Hi poppy12345 & calcotti,
Thank you both for the help!!
Just wondering what would happen after I submitted a claim online? I believe face-to-face assessments are still suspended? I am currently shielding. 

Any ideas of what the currrent processing time is? Will I be able to get my first UC payment one month and one week after the date I made a claim? What to do if my claim is rejected? Thanks for your continued support on this!

poppy12345

[Deleted User] said:

poppy12345 said:

That isn't needed. If you decide to move to UC you just need to start a claim online. Your existing benefits will automatically stop after 2 weeks. 

calcotti said:

As poppy says, no need to contact JCP. Just claim https://www.gov.uk/apply-universal-credit
Be aware that your UC claim is totally managed online. Communication with you will be through your UC journal and is important that you regularly check your journal in case DWP are asking you for more information.

The flat rate non dependant deduction is one of the good features of UC. Apart from the financial aspect of it the fact that it’s a flat rate means that you are not expected to provide information about non-dependant earnings, which not everybody was able to do.

Note that you can request an advance payment on UC. However this is a loan and will have to be paid back over the next 12 payments which will therefore be reduced. If you can manage without an advance it will be better not to take one. Because of the two week run on of the legacy benefits you need to budget for a three to three and a half week gap between your last legacy payment and first UC payment. If you do need an advance to help with this take what you think you need which will not necessarily be the maximum offered.

Hi poppy12345 & calcotti,
Thank you both for the help!!
Just wondering what would happen after I submitted a claim online? I believe face-to-face assessments are still suspended? I am currently shielding. 

Any ideas of what the currrent processing time is? Will I be able to get my first UC payment one month and one week after the date I made a claim? What to do if my claim is rejected? Thanks for your continued support on this!

Shielding has now ended, in England but i'm not sure about anywhere else. First payment is 5 weeks after you claimed, as advsied. There would no reason to rejected your claim.

Face to face assessments are only for those claiming limited capability for work. If you have a health condition that limits the work you can do then you'll need a fit note from your GP start the process off.

If you mean JC appointments with a work coach, i believe those are still suspended but they are doing telephone appointments.

sammyjammy

There is no reason your claim would be rejected from what you've said and yes you would get your payment one month and a week from claiming, there is no backlog on this.

You said you were on JSA but talked about assessments?  Are you actually on ESA?

poppy12345

This thread here from the OP back in April suggests they are claiming ESA and PIP and the non dependant hasn't long moved back in.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6135292/waterhelp-scheme-thames-water#latest

OP are you still claiming PIP, if so does that include the daily living award? If you are then there shouldn't be any non dependant deductions with your housing benefit.

If you're claiming ESA what group are you? WRAG or Support Group?

[Deleted User]

poppy12345 said:

Shielding has now ended, in England but i'm not sure about anywhere else. First payment is 5 weeks after you claimed, as advsied. There would no reason to rejected your claim.

Face to face assessments are only for those claiming limited capability for work. If you have a health condition that limits the work you can do then you'll need a fit note from your GP start the process off.

If you mean JC appointments with a work coach, i believe those are still suspended but they are doing telephone appointments.

Hi Poppy12345,
Thank you for the prompt reply!
Maybe I should say Self-Isolation, not shielding. Sorry for the confusion caused! Yes I meant JC appointments with a work coach. 

sammyjammy said:

There is no reason your claim would be rejected from what you've said and yes you would get your payment one month and a week from claiming, there is no backlog on this.

You said you were on JSA but talked about assessments?  Are you actually on ESA?

Hi sammyjammy,
Thank you for the information! 
When talking about assessments I actually meant the JC appointments with a work coach. I am really sorry for the confusion caused and thank you for your help on this!

[Deleted User]

poppy12345 said:

This thread here from the OP back in April suggests they are claiming ESA and PIP and the non dependant hasn't long moved back in.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6135292/waterhelp-scheme-thames-water#latest

OP are you still claiming PIP, if so does that include the daily living award? If you are then there shouldn't be any non dependant deductions with your housing benefit.

If you're claiming ESA what group are you? WRAG or Support Group?

Hi poppy12345,
This is actually my friend's account (& who told me about this UC thing). Hopefully this is alright with MoneySavingExpert. My son has been living with me for years. But thank you very much for asking!