Universal credit question

Jay_1987

Hi there

I was on ESA WRAG before being migrated to Universal Credit. I get £143.73 transitional element and get £387.91 per month universal credit payment, and receive 360.97 carers allowance every 4 weeks. I randomly checked two benefits calculators. On Turn2Us benefits it says i should be getting £1016.16 per month adding both universal credit and carers allowance together (which is a lot more than I actually get) and then on entitled to benefits calculator it says I am entitled to £601.83 monthly £240.86 universal credit (less than I actually get) and £360.97 on carers which is what I get currently for carers allowance. Why do these differ so much and why are none of them the correct amount that I receive? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou.

Spoonie_Turtle

Can you copy and paste what your UC statement says so that knowledgeable members can see if anything's missing?  (Redacting personal details, of course.)

Jay_1987

Standard allowance

£400.14

You get a standard amount each month. You said you're single

Carer

£201.68

You said that you are caring for someone.

Transitional protection

£143.73

You get this because of other benefits you were on before you moved to Universal Credit.

The payment will continue until you have a significant change of circumstances.

Total entitlement before deductions

£745.55

Jay_1987

What we take off (deductions)

Other benefits

We take money off your payment

As this is an average of other benefits that you're continuing to claim

Carer Support Paymentminus‑ £360.97

Money, savings and investments

minus‑ £0.00

We have taken £0.00 off your Universal Credit payment because you have money, savings and investments of £0.00.

You must tell us if this changes so that we can pay you the correct amount on time.

The first £6,000 of your money, savings and investments does not affect your payment. If you have over £6,000 up to £16,000, every £250 reduces your Universal Credit by £4.35. For any remaining amount that is not a complete £250, a further £4.35 is also deducted.

Advance Payments

minus‑ £16.67

Need help understanding advance repayments?

We take £16.67 off your payment to pay back your advances.

Check what advances you've had and what you owe.

Total deductions

minus‑ £377.64

Your total payment for this month is

£367.91

Jay_1987

Turn2us estimate

Total benefits: £ 1016.06 per month

Universal Credit

£ 606.17 per month

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Carers Support Payment

£ 360.97 per month

If you are getting Carers Allowance your claim will be switched over to Carer Support Payment sometime before Spring 2025. Read about the move to Carer Support Payment on the mygov.scot website(Opens in a new tab).

We show amounts as weekly or monthly. Carers Support Payment is usually paid every four weeks. There are 13 four-weekly payments in a year, so the monthly figure is more than the four-weekly payments. Every four weeks you will get £333.20.

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Carers Allowance Supplement

£ 48.92 per month

People who live in Scotland and who get Carer Support Payment or Carer's Allowance are entitled to extra support(Opens in a new tab). You will be paid an extra £293.50 every six months, in lump sum payments that go out twice a year. Payments go out in June and December. This amount won't affect your other benefits at all.

Jay_1987

Entitled to estimate

Total benefits entitlement

£601.83 / monthly

Our estimate is based on the information you have entered and does not guarantee entitlement. It uses 2025/26 benefit and tax rates.

This amount is made up of the following benefits:

Universal Credit

£240.86 / monthly

We estimate your monthly Universal Credit award will be £240.86. 

Use the   to check your payment dates and amounts.

Carers Allowance / Carer Support Payment

£360.97 / monthly

Client Carers Allowance / Carer Support Payment entered by user. For more information see 
You are likely to qualify for a Carer's Allowance Supplement, an extra payment of £293.50, twice a year, for people in Scotland who get a Carer Support Payment. You do not have to apply for this. You'll get a letter from Social Security Scotland before the payment is made. For further information see the 

Spoonie_Turtle

Without doing any actual calculations this is my impression of those results:

The Turn2Us looks like it might have calculated based on you having LCWRA (which would have been the Support Group for ESA) instead of LCW.

Entitled To looks like it's not included any transitional element.

UC I can't see anything wrong, the carer amount is worth more than the LCW amount (applicable if your ESA claim began before April 2017) which is why that's on there not LCW.

However if anyone else spots anything untoward, I defer to them and their brainpower!

Jay_1987

Thankyou. 

So because I receive carers allowance then some gets deducted from the universal credit  £606.17 figure that is shown on Turn2Us? Is that right? 

huckster

Yes whatever you receive from Carers Allowance should be deduced from UC.

Agree with Spoonie, looks like you entered on benefit calculator that you had LCWRA, when you had LCW

Jay_1987

huckster said:

Yes whatever you receive from Carers Allowance should be deduced from UC.

Agree with Spoonie, looks like you entered on benefit calculator that you had LCWRA, when you had LCW

I must have got confused. I was on ESA WRAG so assumed that was LCWRA? Is LCWRA ESA Support group then?

KxMx

Yes ESA Support Group is LCWRA.
ESA WRAG is LCW.

As advised in one of your previous threads, when someone is entitled to both LCW & Carers Element, only the higher amount is paid. For you that's Carers Element.