UC and workplace pension
Hi all, I’m wondering if someone can help me please as me and my partner are absolutely stuck with what’s happening to us.
Me and my partner are in a joint claim on UC, he’s out of work due to Limited Working Capabilities and I work full time
We’ve been on UC together since January 2023
I have a workplace pension, which my employer deducts from my wages, this shows in the ‘deductions’ section of my wage slip alongside of tax and NI
I’ve only just noticed in the last month, that on the UC statement, it says my net/take home pay is roughly £300 higher than what I actually take home. I did some maths and it was the same amount as my pension contributions. I finally saw on UC that it states my pension is £0, this is not the case
I rang DWP, two people we spoke to were stunned as my pension should be on there. They recommended to raise a dispute on my journal, which we did. We were asked to submit evidence, which we did. On Friday we received this response:
“Pension contributions to a work pension managed by your employer, are not disregarded from your earnings. This is because, whilst you do not receive them immediately, it is money that you will benefit from eventually. As such, universal credit policy, means that they are not deducted from your Earnings before considering them regarding your Universal credit entitlement.”
I rang DWP to double check as the above statement confused us. The person on the phone said the statement is correct. However, it states on government legislation that any relivable pensions should be deducted before UC calculate my income. Even multiple websites back up the fact that UC should take into consideration my pension.
I’m really sorry it’s a relatively long read, but we’re quite lost on this now. Each month is a struggle as it is, so any support or advice would be greatly appreciated