Forum Home → Discussion → Universal credit administration → Thread
Overpayment query
Client has been getting Carer’s Allowance even though from time to time her earnings seem to have been over the £128 per week threshold. This hasn’t benefited her overall, however, as the CA has been deducted from her Universal Credit. (Indeed it seems that she hasn’t even been getting the carer element under UC, which you would have thought would be added automatically by the DWP for a claimant who was receiving UC.)
Anyway, so far as her potential CA “overpayment” is concerned, is it:
- not an overpayment;
- an overpayment matched by the right to an equal and opposite UC payment; or
- something else?
.. it seems that she hasn’t even been getting the carer element under UC, which you would have thought would be added automatically by the DWP for a claimant who was receiving UC.)
It isn’t. The claimant needs to declare to UC that they are a carer.
As regards the possible overpayment of CA, where earnings fluctuate there is some scope to average them over a period of time so it will depend on exactly what you mean by ‘from time to time’.
See https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/893673/dmgch15.pdf
Paragraph 15452 and following.
[ Edited: 16 Jun 2021 at 10:45 pm by Ianb ]
Have you checked out if, in any of the weeks in which the earnings exceeded £128, your client was taking a temporary break from caring? Arguable those weeks should not count towards any of the O/P
ICA Reg 4(2)
Thanks both for replies
On the overpayment point, I’m more relaxed having seen this:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-overpayment-recovery-staff-guide/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide#chapter-3—calculation-of-overpayments-and-decision-making
“3.15 Social Security legislation allows for benefit overpayments to be reduced by benefit due under another benefit award in certain circumstances. This procedure is known as offsetting.
Underlying entitlement to Income related benefits.
3.24 This is covered by regulation 13 of the Social Security (Payments on Account, Overpayments and Recovery) Regulations 1988 and by regulation 8(3) of the Social Security (Overpayments and Recovery) Regulations 2013. The regulation allows a deduction from any recoverable overpayment calculated equal to any amount of additional income related benefit, which would have been paid had the correct facts been known.”
So far as the missing carer element is concerned, I can see that it would be best to declare formally to UC that you are a carer even if you are actually receiving Carer’s Allowance which they are actually deducting from your UC, but if (as here) the client hasn’t done this, what are her chances of getting the carer element backdated now?