National insurance credits and benefits help

Caterpillar1

I have been on income based ESA and got my letter to transfer over to UC. I am wanting to get a little job from home that will pay about £100 a week, I am disabled and don’t leave the house very often due to ill health, ( I claim PIP) but I am not too keen on transferring to UC as I want to be able to save a little for eg. A small pension. I also don’t like the idea of being on means tested benefits if I can be a bit more independent. 

I have about 5 years national insurance credits left to pay and know that if I am not on UC I won’t get them automatically paid. So can someone tell me how much I would have to earn to get them paid? or any other ways that they could be paid? I don’t have children and I don’t live with a partner.

8dayweek

In this link there’s a table of the various NI Credits:

https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance-credits/eligibility

I think if employed and earning over £123 per week, but below £242 per week, you don’t pay NI but are credited with Class 1 contributions. 

Northern_Wanderer

If you do not migrate to UC then your income based ESA will stop and you will lose your limited capability for work status. Do you currently claim housing benefit? as that will stop too.

8dayweek

If the ESA is a combination of income-related and contributions based then it’s only the income-related part that will end (and any Housing Benefit). 

KxMx

You are already on a means tested benefit.

Capital limits on UC are the same as IR ESA- over £6k reduced entitlement, over £16k no entitlement.

UC is better than ESA if you work as with LCW/LCWRA (the UC equivalent of ESA WRAG & Support Group) your claim has a work allowance. 
This is the amount you can earn before any deductions are made.
£404 if claiming help with rent, £673 if not. 

poppy12345

KxMx said:

You are already on a means tested benefit.

Capital limits on UC are the same as IR ESA- over £6k reduced entitlement, over £16k no entitlement.

UC is better than ESA if you work as with LCW/LCWRA (the UC equivalent of ESA WRAG & Support Group) your claim has a work allowance. 
This is the amount you can earn before any deductions are made.
£404 if claiming help with rent, £673 if not. 

For main claimants of ESA that do permitted work, UC is less generous with the work allowance, if you claim for help with your rent. For ESA permitted work earnings are up to £183.50/week, providing you work less than 16 hours per week. 

Caterpillar1

Northern_Wanderer said:

If you do not migrate to UC then your income based ESA will stop and you will lose your limited capability for work status. Do you currently claim housing benefit? as that will stop too.

I don’t claim housing benefit as I live with my mother and the house is paid for.

Caterpillar1

KxMx said:

You are already on a means tested benefit.

Capital limits on UC are the same as IR ESA- over £6k reduced entitlement, over £16k no entitlement.

UC is better than ESA if you work as with LCW/LCWRA (the UC equivalent of ESA WRAG & Support Group) your claim has a work allowance. 
This is the amount you can earn before any deductions are made.
£404 if claiming help with rent, £673 if not. 

I aren’t claiming for rent. Do you mean you can earn £673 and then still get your UC on top of that? Or do you mean as long as you don’t earn more than that they will top it up to £673?

KxMx

The standard deduction is UC reduce the overall award by £0.55 for every £1 earned in wages.
That deduction won't apply to your claim (with LCW/LCWRA) unless you earn over £673.

molerat

8dayweek said:

In this link there’s a table of the various NI Credits:

https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance-credits/eligibility

I think if employed and earning over £123 per week, but below £242 per week, you don’t pay NI but are credited with Class 1 contributions. 

And if through self employment you will need profits in excess of £6725 for the free class 2 credits but if genuinely self employed and not meeting the £6725 profits you could buy them for £3.45 per week / £179.40 per year.

Caterpillar1

molerat said:

8dayweek said:

In this link there’s a table of the various NI Credits:

https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance-credits/eligibility

I think if employed and earning over £123 per week, but below £242 per week, you don’t pay NI but are credited with Class 1 contributions. 

And if through self employment you will need profits in excess of £6725 for the free class 2 credits but if genuinely self employed and not meeting the £6725 profits you could buy them for £3.45 per week / £179.40 per year.

Thanks for that, I am new to all this so only have basic understanding of it all, do you know of any websites I can look up all this information, so I can read about the differences between class 1 and 3 credits, to get a better understanding?