declaring if you have a partner or not for universal credit with LCW

hello,

I am a bit confused about the universal credit guidelines around single / joint claims.
they state that if you are married, in a civil partnership or live as married then you need to make a joint claim... what about if you have a partner but don't live 'as married' as in, it would not feel normal / possible for your partner to sustain you financially or share their savings with you, you don't have a joint account or any agreements around sharing assets...

I have limited capability for work, am self employed and on UC. If I had a partner who had some savings and a relatively well paid job, would I still be entitled to the same UC support? or would the assumption be that my partner would have to support me financially, and so I would receive little or no UC?

What concerns me about this is that it would put a lot of strain on a relationship (especially if you haven't been in a relationship very long) and remove the small sense of independence I get from UC. It would also probably push me to work more than I have capacity to work with my mental health condition, which would also increase stress and worsen my condition.

I would be really grateful for any insight or other experience with this,

Thanks

Hi haricot

Welcome to the forum.

You might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is; www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/faq/forum .

UC is a means tested benefit, which means that all household income (including your partner's) is taken into account when claiming. If you do not declare your partner, then you are committing benefit fraud.

Gary