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Can the work capability assessment process for LCWRA element of UC continue if it is not completed before a claimant reaches state pension age?
The client is a lady aged 65 DOB 27/06/1956. She will reach state pension age on her birthday this year. She is physically disabled and lives in supported accommodation.
The client is currently in receipt of Universal Credit standard element which I assisted her to claim in August last year. (Not especially relevant but rent is paid through HB.)
When I assisted the Clt to make the claim, I also helped her to request a fit note from her GP. I explained to her about the LCWRA element of UC (which I believe she is definitely entitled to) and the three month wait period. She told me that she would call UC as soon as the fit note arrived from her GP and report it. She had spoken to them on her own before and there had been no issues. I of course asked her to call me if she had any problems reporting the fit note and she did not get in contact.
Through a combination of me being extremely busy and the client frequently having her phone switched off I was not able to get back in touch with her to follow up until this month. She had not received the capability for work questionnaire. When I investigated this it turned out that she had got the fit note from the GP and another one three months later but had failed to understand that she needed to actually tell UC that she had these fit notes. As a result the fit notes were never registered on her claim.
Normally I would just register the fit notes now and get the capability for work assessment started. However because she reaches pension age in June and her UC claim will close, I am concerned that if the assessment process is not completed by then (which it will likely not be knowing how long these things take) that UC won’t continue it as she is no longer entitled to the benefit. I have not been able to find anything about the law here.
My question is, if a claimant was possibly entitled to the LCWRA element before she turned pension age but reached pension age before a decision was made, are UC required to a) complete the assessment process and b) pay any backdated payments that the claimant is awarded as the result of this assessment?
(This lady is in pretty poor health and has got worse last year and I don’t think there’s any point in dragging her through this process if the LCWRA element application will close along with the UC claim when she reaches pension age. However she is definitely entitled based on her disabilities and if this LCWRA element application would continue after she reached pension age and any resulting money paid as a backdated lump sum then I advise her of this.)