Any advise needed please (im new so please be gentle)

123bird123

My partner has asked me to move in with him & he is on benefits (PIP, ESA - income based (Support Group) & Disability Income Guarantee. I live in rented accommodation & work full time & get a little top up from UC for rent. My question is...if I move in with him, what will he lose. Ive done all the calculators & they all come up different...Ive also tried to phone UC for some advise but constantly engaged. Any advise is helpful right now as I dont want him to be worse off if I move in.  Thank you all in advance.

poppy12345

If you move in with him he will need to claim UC with you. You can report a change of circumstances on your journal to tell them that your partner is moving in. You will then be sent a linking code to join both claims together.

Any Income Related ESA your partner is receiving will then end. If any part of his ESA is Contributions based this will continue but it will be deducted in full from any UC entitlement.

For UC you will be entitled to the couples element, LCWRA element (ESA Support) and the housing element as normal. You will also receive a work allowance (if you don't already) which means a portion of your earnings each month will be ignored before the 55% deductions apply, which is £344 because you claim for help with the rent.

If your partners PIP includes the daily living partner then if you care for them for at least 35 hours per week, report the changes that you care for them and your UC will include the carers element.

Ringing UC for advice is not the best thing to do because they're call centres who have very limited benefits knowledge.

123bird123

Thank you for your quick response. GGGrrr its so hard to work out. So we have to claim as a couple which I get but I thought he had to do the claim for us & not me because he still gets the old benefits??? I thought this would be easy, why does UC make it so hard.

poppy12345

You're already claiming UC and because it's a means tested benefit then you need to claim as a couple, which will end any Income Related ESA he's currently claiming. He will need to apply for UC and when you report a change of circumstances and tell them your partner is moving in you will then receive a linking code. Both your claims will then be linked and you will continue to receive your money on your usual payment date.

Newly_retired

It is worth putting all your details into a benefit calculator to see what come out eg turn2us , entitled to. Etc

TELLIT01

UC came in fully after I left DWP.  Do both parties have to claim UC or does one claim for the couple as would have been the case with ESA or other legacy benefits?  With a couples claim for ESA for example, we would either get any other claim closed or advise the claimant, or their partner, to give the other benefit a call to close it.

Alice_Holt

123bird123 said:

Ive done all the calculators & they all come up different...Ive also tried to phone UC for some advise but constantly engaged.

       If you're getting different answers from the benefit calculators, then it's likely you are not being consistent with the input information.
https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

      Don't phone the UC helpline for advice - it is manned by poorly trained call-handlers who have set call targets to hit.
Try your local advice agency or the Help to Claim people.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/help-to-claim/

      Does your partner pay rent?
      Poppy has outlined the UC elements you will be entitled to. 

calcotti

TELLIT01 said:

UC came in fully after I left DWP.  Do both parties have to claim UC or does one claim for the couple as would have been the case with ESA or other legacy benefits?  With a couples claim for ESA for example, we would either get any other claim closed or advise the claimant, or their partner, to give the other benefit a call to close it.

Both parts of a couple must claim. This is actually to the benefit of claimants because it means both get NI credits whereas on legacy benefits only the actual claimant gets NI credits and the partner is therefore not getting anything towards their future State Pension.

calcotti

123bird123 said:

So we have to claim as a couple which I get but I thought he had to do the claim for us & not me because he still gets the old benefits?

The sequence is that you report a change to UC. They provide you with a linking code. Your partner then claims UC and use some the linking code to join their claim to yours. The change will be applied to the whole assessment period in which it takes place.

123bird123

Thank you all so much for your answers, much appreciated. Let's hope the process goes smoothly.