ESA - other allowed income

Bluebird2

New to this so sorry if this has been covered somewhere else but have trawled through and couldn’t find anything.

My husband (aged 58) had a subarrachnoid haemorrhage in September 2009 and has subsequently been off work on long term sick leave. When SSP ran out we applied for ESA and he was awarded this in July 2010, being placed in the support group, but no indication of when / if this would be reviewed. He was also still receiving half-pay from his employer through their sick leave scheme. He has been very lucky and has not been left with any physical problems, but does have problems with short-term memory, concentration, information processing, ‘executive’ skills etc which do affect his day to day living. His one goal had been to return to work and had hoped to be able to do this early this year, albeit on a long phased return to work programme. However, things changed last autumn when at a meeting with his employers he was advised that due to reorganisation his job would no longer exist, but that they could offer him redeployment into another post or there would be the opportunity to take voluntary redundancy and early retirement. This was obviously a very stressful time but he eventually decided to take redundancy/retirement, and I really think it was the right decision.

My question therefore is how does the fact that he is now receiving a work pension (approx £850 per month since November) affect his ESA. We did the right thing and wrote to advise the DWP of his change in circumstances straight away but heard nothing back. I have phoned twice. Explained what had happened to the first girl, but she just said they would be in touch. Second time, managed to confirm that they had received letter, but again was just told we would receive a letter. Have looked on the DWP web site and find it a bit confusing, but feel it seems to indicate that his ESA would be reduced.

Can anyone offer any help or advice – would be very grateful. Worried that at some point they will turn round and say he has been overpaid! Sorry this is such a long post.

MrsManda

If he's been working I presume he's on contribution based ESA? - Have a look at his award letter it should say somewhere either ESA(C) or ESA(IB).

If he's on ESA(C) then he's been awarded it on the basis of his National Insurance contributions so household income doesn't matter.

I'm not sure what the boundaries are for ESA(IB) as I think it depends on your situation, except you need to have less than £16,000 in savings.

Just as an aside, if he feels he wants to do some work in order to keep his mind active and improve his mental health he should be able to 'permitted work' without it affecting his ESA.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/FinancialSupport/esa/DG_171909

Bluebird2

Thanks for that - sorry should have made it clear in the first post, but yes it is contribution based ESA. Relief to know that he will continue to receive the payments as obviously makes quite a difference to our annual income.

Does anyone know if he is likely to be reviewed for eligibility ? There has certainly been some improvement since the time he was first assessed, but his Rehab Consultant, whilst supportive of him trying to return to work, has always warned that it would probably be a much bigger challenge than he appreciated and that it might not work out. My worry, having read so many other posts on ESA themes, is that if he were to be reviewed, because his 'disabilities' are not now so obvious he would no longer be considered eligible for the support group.

With regard to the 'permitted work' yes, I think this would be good for him (and me!!). Unfortunately, however, we live in a fairly rural area and there are not a lot of opportunities around. He is still not allowed to drive and public transport isn't brilliant so that limits options too.

Thanks again

Indie_Kid

I don't know if the following applies to him:

Pension income rules
If you receive contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance and have a gross pension income of more than £85 a week, the amount of benefit payable will be reduced by half of the excess.
The excess is the difference between £85 and the actual pension income. For example, for a pension income of £100, the excess is £15. The amount of Employment and Support Allowance payable is reduced by half of that, which is £7.50.
If you receive income-related Employment and Support Allowance, any pension income you have will be taken into account, regardless of the amount.

Source - http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/FinancialSupport/esa/DG_171896

Bluebird2

Thanks - yes that is the bit I found on teh DWP site and was a bit worried about, as this would seem to indicate that his benefit would be cut by about £64 a week based on his gross pension - the £850 is net - which would have quite an impact on our income, not to mention the overypayments since November.

Uncertain

Oddly this only applies to PENSION income. It seems you could have unlimited income from other investments and still qualify.

dave030445

If he is trying to get back to work surely he would be better off in the wrg so that they can help him back to work as well with the pathways to work programe i think you can still ask to go on these pathways to work even if you are in the support group might help him get back to some sort of work quicker good luck anyway.

dmg24

Uncertain wrote: »

Oddly this only applies to PENSION income. It seems you could have unlimited income from other investments and still qualify.

This is because pension income is designed to replace employment income, so has the same purpose as ESA. Income from investments would very rarely be income from employment.

Bluebird2

dave030445 wrote: »

If he is trying to get back to work surely he would be better off in the wrg so that they can help him back to work as well with the pathways to work programe i think you can still ask to go on these pathways to work even if you are in the support group might help him get back to some sort of work quicker good luck anyway.

I think he has more acceptance now of the difficulties returning to work could pose. The whole of his working life has been spent with the one employer, a publisher in a nearby city, and he has always worked in editorial for the comic/boys papers section so in some ways his 'transferable skills' are limited. Whilst his Consultant has been supportive of his wish to return to work, this was on the basis of him returning to the same job in a familar working environment, and he was also quite clear that this would involve a considerable amount of support from his employer. The possibility of him returning but to a "new" job would be a very different situation and as I have said in a previous post we live in a rural area where the job opportunities are very limited, particularly in the current climate.

dave030445

thought you said his old job no longer exist and he was pensioned of so how can he return to his old job. unwanting to do something new this is where the pathways to work could help him over come his fear of the unknown also CMP (condition management pro gramme) may be able to help him.

Bluebird2

dave030445 wrote: »

thought you said his old job no longer exist and he was pensioned of so how can he return to his old job. unwanting to do something new this is where the pathways to work could help him over come his fear of the unknown also CMP (condition management pro gramme) may be able to help him.

Yes you are correct, as I stated his previous job no longer existed due to reorganisation, although his employer did offer redeployment into another post within the organisation.

Whilst I don't want to be rude, especially as a newbie, he is still recovering from a substantial brain injury and very few people unless they have been through this experience themselves appreciate the considerable impact these 'invisible' disabilities have - I certainly didn't. It certainly is not a case of him not wanting to do something new, more the case of his ability to do so in terms of learning new skills because of his short-term memory problems, concentration, information processing / organisational difficulties, and his ongoing periods of fatigue, which although becomingn less, are a well documented feature of brain injury. His Occupational Therapist is continuing to work with him and is a great support.

Sorry if I sound very defensive, don't mean to upset anyone.

Anyway this is all getting away from my original question and I am still a bit confused ????