New style ESA/SMI/VERY confused and need help !!

books123

I have been off sick for 15 months as a critical care nurse. My sick pay and SSP ended in June and I receive £90.50 a week New style ESA. As I was new to benefits I started a clam with UC in August and now I get £0 award for UC since I was told I can only claim one benefit. I’m very confused as I still have to attend the job centre as they kept telling me that if I don’t attend then I will get sanctioned and when I asked what that means they said my UC will stop even though I receive £0 from UC as I get ESA.  Every time I go I get a different answer to my question and all citizens Adivce and ESA and UC/DWP say is ask my case manager in my UC journal but I cant get an answer on there either !! My question is I need to apply for SMI as I live alone (got divorced 3 years ago and had to borrow £12,000 from my parents to buy him out of the deeds. My mortgage is £1200 a month and when I applied for a council tax discount I was told I was not eligible. I have just been awarded PIP enhanced daily living and standard mobility. My total outgoings with bills , mortgage and food/travel expenses to psychiatrist’s appointments/counseling is just under £2000 a month. I was told by my job centre that I could apply for SMI after 3 months , then I was told that as I get ESA I have to wait 39 weeks …then ESA told me I have to switch back to UC so I could apply for SMI. However, my case manager said I can’t switch from ESA to UC and I am not eligible for SMI. I have only just received a c50 assessment form after 5 months of being on ESA so I am very confused! How do people pay £2000 bills/mortgage on £390 a month ??? I can’t understand how if I was renting they pay all my rent and council tax but as I own a home I get nothing!! If I miss 3 months mortgage I can get my house repossessed….i have no savings and mg occupational health Dr at work says I am still not fit for work and have a fit note until may when I will be assesed again.  I just don’t know what to do as I can’t get any answers so if anyone could shed a light or are in a similar situation I would love to know what to do 

rosewalk

If you are claiming Universal Credit I would expect that you would be receiving a very small payment as the New Style ESA will be deducted £ for £. You should have a Standard Allowance of £393.45 a month but the deduction for New Style ESA will be £392.16. This leaves £1.29 a month. If you are receiving nothing then I would think that there is another deduction. If you look on the home page of your Universal Credit account you should be able to see how your UC payment has been calculated. 

You can only claim SMI if you are receiving a means tested benefit. New Style ESA isn’t a means tested benefit but Universal Credit is. The 39 week wait relates to Income-based ESA. It is no longer possible to make a claim for Income-based ESA as this is being replaced by Universal Credit.  

8dayweek

Your health conditions should also be recorded on your UC claim as affecting your ability to work - and any fit notes you have should also be being reported on your UC account too. 

(If you’ve not been doing this I would update the health section and add your fit notes on - if some have since expired but run concurrently use the start date on the earliest one and the end date on the current one). 

huckster

Have you attended the Work Capability Assessment for UC/ESA yet ?  If not, when did you send back your complete Work Capability Assessment form ?

In regard to SMI, if you are accepted for this, this would only pay a small amount to your mortgage company and is a loan subject to interest, which you would have to repay upon sale of the property. You would have DWP interest in the property registered, so Government would then own part of your property. For this reason most people decide not to apply for SMI.

As you have worked out, in your situation with £2000 in outgoings per month, you either have to reduce these outgoings by making severe cuts or force yourself into going back to working. Have you looked at possible working from home jobs ?

Rubyroobs

If you are awarded LCWRA after your work capability assessment then that would add another £414 a month to your Uc claim so you would start to get some UC. The reason your Uc is currently nothing is that your ESA is deducted in full so reducing your award to zero. Do you have advance payments also coming off?
Once you start to receive some UC you can claim the SMI but as advised it is a charge against your house/ loan so not really a long term solution.

books123

No I’ve not been getting any UC and just been told I am in the support group of ESA so I can get SMI (I would love to get it as I have no children so don’t care about the government owing my house in fact I wish I never bought it and just rented as I have no one to leave it to when I die so wish I was renting as they pay all the rent and council tax so I am really stressed out about this and even if I tried to sell it it will take months so doesn’t help me 

books123

Sorry I mean I CANT get SMI 

poppy12345

Other thread here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6589148/esa-support-group-and-need-smi#latest

it’s better to keep to one thread because it gets confusing when there’s 2 threads referring to the same thing.