Uc and backdated carers allowance

[Poorenough]

I've been on uc for a year. Two weeks ago I received a carers allowance payment, backdated to June 2021. Universal credit now say because of this they've been over paying me since june 2021 and I have to payback that money. Surely not as I didn't receive CA in June and needed the UC to live on? Is this correct, does anyone know?

Am on UC but claimed care allows and i been payed back payment will uc take give me Notting next month or take slowly off me

They will take it back in instalments and notify you via a letter. You also have the choice of paying all of it at once.

Hi can you help .me my husband had to quit his job cause of my disability the thing is wr was never told about carers element and we been on just uc plus hes wages.but we was never told about the carers element so we just put in for it now cause we didn't know will we get are carers element back dated so angry we was told especially causebim on high carevl and mobility high so angry causd wasn't told. We been on uc since January just want to know if it backdated

Hello, yes just explain that you were not aware before and that's why you didn't claim it. Hopefully they will backdate it for when the carer duties started (PIP started dated). They are usually understanding as I know a few people who were in the same position and they also got it backdated. Good luck

Do you know how much will get have daughter to
There haven't told us a thing just that it's been added but I have been on pip for years
But like I said we been on pip since January. I put in for it but haven't a clue what we get

Carer element is £168.81. So should get this for each eligible month (qualifying period). If joint claim (couple) and both are caring for different people then both get it. Do you also get LCWRA?

Sorry I text again I been on dla to pip for 9 years
I think.uc pay 2.29 pound a month plus I get on uc 344 for my self but that's it .then I get full pip for both .but now my husband looking after me .plus there never said about this money even when he was working and still looking after me .it was a friend that told me .not them so wonder how long there back dated cause I put in my journal that we didn't know nothing about this extra money

I have just got it backdated for one of the people I support at work. they backdated for well over a year with no quibbles. I just wrote on their journal that they didn't know they could claim it. Have you reported a change on the jurnal now that your husband is caring for you?

Yes I done a change of circumstances about my husband looking after me so just have to wait now

I’ve been receiving carers allowance for my son for over a year now. Only just found out about the carers element after calling DWP to query a deduction. I was never told about having to update a change in circumstances in my journal. I was told it was £168 a month but not sure if this is based on each individual’s circumstances. I’m now waiting for a decision to be made on backdating CE.

When you make the initial claim it asks if you are a carer. However if for example your child is awarded DLA after your initial claim is made, there is no way of knowing you can claim it and a lot of people think that if they can't claim carers allowance ( because they earn too much ), then they can't claim carers element either. Many don't realise that you can claim carers element no matter how much you earn. I help people a lot with Uc claims as part of my work and there are so many claims that are missing elements. I have one ongoing which was missing carers and LCWRA elements. They have backdated the carers element straight away no problem but the LCWRA is taking longer. My client is in ESA support group so should have had LCWRA added when he was awarded that a year ago but again no-one told him so they have been getting zero payments for a year ! God knows what case managers are doing but you would think that if they see a child disability element on a claim and carers element is missing, they could deal with it. They seem to have no obligation to make sure people's claims are correct.

I did say to DWP that UC clearly know I’m receiving CDP for my son and Carers allowance because it’s being deducted from my allowance from the very start, so why hasn’t anyone mentioned this before now. The way Universal credit works is just a joke. I’ve had nothing but problems since moving from tax credits to UC.
I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease middle of last and had to give up my job. I’ve had regular contact with a work coach since then and was put into the limited to work group. I only found out this month after querying the deduction with my work coach, that I shouldn’t be attending back to work appointments, looking for work/courses etc because I’m a full time carer to my son. She even said herself that she don’t understand why no one has pulled this up by now. No wonder so many people go through unnecessary stress and struggle financially. I’m glad you can help people and advise them on what they are entitled to. I’ve mentioned to to a few friends/ mum’s at school to look into the carers element. It’s honestly a joke that UC can’t do a simple a job of informing people.

Just an update on my last post. I have just heard back about my claim/backdate of Carers Element. I was told it was under special circumstances therefore they will backdate from Nov 2021. I really wasn’t expecting this and shocked at how easy it was. That’s one less thing to worry about now 😁

Hello all
Found this forum while searching Google for some help on UC and Carer's Allowance.
I am part of a married couple.
We've had a joint universal credit account since June 2020.
I had a mental health illness and was assessed as LCWA approx 12 months ago.
My partners assessment took much longer, she has various physical issues along with mental health issues, she was assessed as LCWRA about 8 months prior.
My partner has been receiving lower rate pip since August 2019, we applied for a Change of Circumstances in January this year and was assessed for a further 3 years on the lower rate just a few weeks ago.
Due to my health, I've worked as a self employed driver for about 18 months now, earning approx £300 per month nett (after expenses) reporting this each month to UC.
At present we receive approx £980 per month on Universal credit.
What I'd like help with is the applying for carers allowance as I'm caring for my partner more now than before.
What confuses me is applying for backdated Carer's allowance affects our Universal credit payments of past received. I haven't put in an application for carer's allowance as carer of my wife as yet due to all the confusion.
Can an application for Carer's ELEMENT be backdated with a 100% positive result?
I understand I need to put an updated in our universal credit account in the COC tab about me now being my partners carer, for the Carer's ELEMENT to be Applied and paid.
Does the fact that I have been caring for partner previously and not updating this to UC have any detrimental effect or any course to trigger anything?
The simple reasons here are, i wasn't aware of the Carers allowance and the fact that I can be carer, for me the information and resources sites are a bit confusing, as I and we are new to base benefits and other benefits available that go along with base benefits.
I'm fairly confident pay from the backdated CA allowance will be accepted and paid in a lump sump.
In my calculation the backdated CE will be £76.53 × 12 or 13 weeks = £995.28 and this will be paid back to UC As an overpayment.
What do I need to say to UC To affirmingly receive 13 weeks of CARES ELEMENT? Which im my calculation would 13 weeks = 3 months £185.86 Per month = £557.58
The reason I haven't applied for Carers allowance is honestly and basically not knowing about and how it worked.
I know i need to do a COC on UC account and inform that I spend 35 hour per week caring for my partner, and that I have been doing for quite a while.
A and the main point that confuses me, is adding the UC journal note saying I've been her carer for the past 13 weeks to corroborate with the backdated CA claim, would UC question as to why I didn't update my journal, to say I was a carer and caring for my 13 weeks prior??
TBH and upfront I/we didn't want to apply the CE and the CA until the PIP reassessment was completed and fully knew where we stood for the next few years.
Would the backdating request to have the CA and CE applications have any serious effects and complications???
UC asking why I/We didn't notify a COC of being a carer of my with 13 weeks prior??
I have an understanding any overpayments that UC deem, will and be claimed back, but not in a lump sump, but at an agreed percentage rate per month.
We are new to Universal Credit, and find some things that may be simple, are a minefield and sometimes very difficult to understand.
Just to give you a good and better understanding, by having the CE and CA would see is about £150 per month better off financially.
Which will help financially and of course mentally.
Your understanding, answers and responses will be accepted and greatly appreciated!

You can ask for CE to be backdated to the start date of your CA. Did you write in your Journal or speak to your Work Coach about your CA claim? If you did and no one advised you re CE, put that in your CE appeal as they will ask why you didn't claim CE.

It's a terrible system. You have to wait for such a long time to hear about CA, then this huge chunk of money turns up when it's successful, then they write and say you owe them money. At no point do they tell you that if you apply fir CA, you should put in a CE request too.

Who gets the LCWRA element on your statement because one person can't claim LCWRA and carers element. If it's your wife who has the LCWRA element and being paid that element then it's fine for you to claim the carers element and ask for it to be backdated. If you apply for Carers allowance and ask for it to be backdated then yes that lump sum when you receive it will need to be clawed back from your UC although I think they are limited to how much they can take each month.

Just to add, there is no financial gain at all by claiming carers allowance. It gives you a better class of Ni contributions towards your state pension if you need them and it helps some people to budget more easily as it can be paid weekly but some people find it much simpler just to claim carers element and not bother with carers allowance. The thing with claiming carers allowance is that you are also limited by the earnings threshold, so if you wanted to do some extra work one month, you wouldn't be able to without messing up the carers allowance claim.

Thank you, for your reply.
I can only work so much per week/month.
I've looked at my monthly nett earnings over the past 12 months, and haven't seen my weekly earnings go over the £139 per week limit, to be adversely affected on the carer's allowance.
By claiming the CA and receiving it, I see I'm about £150 per month better off financially, which will help immensely taking into consideration the "cost of living" increases and any further pending increase in the future.
Looking into it a little further, if I successfully claim for backdated CE, and it's successful, this will offset some of the CA overpayment UC will apply. And also by reading on cases reported by others in similar CA overpayment situations, repayments can be made by installments of affordable monthly set amounts monthly.
TBH if we were to receive any lump sum of backdated payments of CE and CA, they would be of a great help to ease our current financial situation.

Claiming carers allowance won't make you better off - it is deducted pound for pound from UC.
Claiming carers element makes you better off by £168 per month.
But you do not need to claim carers allowance to get the carers element added, so it may be far simpler for you just to claim the carers element. However, as I said above if you need to still be gaining NI contributions to give you a full state pension it may be worth claiming carers allowance as that gives you a better class of NI credits.

Hi, to answer your question, I was on Carers Allowance till my best friend who I cared for passed away, I rang up because apparently 8 weeks after the passing, Carers Allowance will pay you, because I didn't get the pay it's being backdated but when I receive it is another question. Financially I'm struggling and with my mental health since his passing. Ring them up find out what's going on or speak to Citizens advise Bureau. Sorry it wasn't the answer you were probably looking for.