Severe disabilty premium

gaz907

as an update to this, it seems that the DWP are not providing the correct information to people. If you are on contributions based esa and in receipt of middle or high rate care component of DLA, you have to ask for a top up under esa income based and complete yet another form in order to receive severe disability premium and enhanced disability premium. Just contacted the benefits advice line. This gets more confusing as it go's along. After completing 3 is10 forms, then being told I wasn't entitled it seems like they don't know what there doing or fobbing people off. Does anybody know anything about these income related top ups while on contribution based esa ?

creditcardhelp11

The DWP is in a crisis just imagine when the Universal Credit comes into force, oh dear!

Cpt.Scarlet

gaz907 wrote: »

as an update to this, it seems that the DWP are not providing the correct information to people. If you are on contributions based esa and in receipt of middle or high rate care component of DLA, you have to ask for a top up under esa income based and complete yet another form in order to receive severe disability premium and enhanced disability premium. Just contacted the benefits advice line. This gets more confusing as it go's along. After completing 3 is10 forms, then being told I wasn't entitled it seems like they don't know what there doing or fobbing people off. Does anybody know anything about these income related top ups while on contribution based esa ?

You can only get an ESA(IR) top up to your ESA(CB) if you are on a low income, if your income is over the limit for ESA(IR) you won't get it. It has nothing to do with your receiving DLA or not.

dave030445

creditcardhelp11 wrote: »

If you are entitled to Income Related ESA then you can get two disability premiums:

1. The severe disability premium (SDP) if you receive Middle or Higher Rate DLA Care and are classed as living alone and
2. The enhanced disability premium (EDP) if you receive the Higher Rate DLA Care.

So if you receive the higher rate care component of DLA you would get the SDP and EDP added to your ESA-I applicable amount from the beginning of the claim. However, the premiums are for ESA-I so if your income or savings are too high and you only are entitled to ESA-C you will not get these premiums.

One month to appeal any ESA deicison you are not happy with - use form GL24. In order to determine if you should be entitled to ESA-I I would need to know your total income (excluding ESA so, private pensions etc) and savings above £6000 and if you have any other property. However, this is not the place to submit that info so I suggest going to the CAB.

or the support group of ESA

uganda

Whether you get ESA (IR) or not depends on the means test. Now that you qualify for higher premiums you are more likely to pass that means test, so it is not irrelevant in that respect. But if you fail the means test even with the extra premiums, then those premiums won't come into play. Why don't you tell us what your household income and capital is other than DLA, so that includes any partner, and the number and ages of any children, so someone can work out whether you might qualify for ESA (IR) or not?

gaz907

uganda wrote: »

Whether you get ESA (IR) or not depends on the means test. Now that you qualify for higher premiums you are more likely to pass that means test, so it is not irrelevant in that respect. But if you fail the means test even with the extra premiums, then those premiums won't come into play. Why don't you tell us what your household income and capital is other than DLA, so that includes any partner, and the number and ages of any children, so someone can work out whether you might qualify for ESA (IR) or not?

I have no savings or other income, I just get contribution based esa and DLA and I live on my own. Further to this how do I get it backdated to when my DLA was awarded ? december. I was on incapacity benefit then but going through the transition to esa which started on the 13th of this month.

uganda

gaz907 wrote: »

I have no savings or other income, I just get contribution based esa and DLA and I live on my own. Further to this how do I get it backdated to when my DLA was awarded ? december. I was on incapacity benefit then but going through the transition to esa which started on the 13th of this month.

I don't know the answer to any of that, as my field of expertise is really in housing and council tax benefits. I have a good working knowledge of other benefits, but I am not qualified to say whether you should be on ESA (IR). It sounds like you ought to be. I thought you were going to say you had other sources of income - sorry.

gaz907

uganda wrote: »

I don't know the answer to any of that, as my field of expertise is really in housing and council tax benefits. I have a good working knowledge of other benefits, but I am not qualified to say whether you should be on ESA (IR). It sounds like you ought to be. I thought you were going to say you had other sources of income - sorry.

Thank you uganda, I am still confused myself. As I understand it because I have no savings and income, get high rate care component of dla, receive contributions based esa I am entitled to a top up from income related esa of 69.35 per week which is the severe and enhanced disabilty premium. So I still get contributions based esa but also get income related esa due to the applicable amounts
The applicable amount

The applicable amount is made up of:

1. Your prescribed amount
2. Either the support component (£31.40 per week) or the work related activity component (£25.95 per week)
3. Any entitlement to additional premiums
4. Any allowable housing costs

bigbill

I would say you have no chance of getting the ESA backdated to December as you were not getting it then you had Incapacity Benefit so you should have put in an Income Support claim at the time.

You should get any rent and council tax you have paid since December once you tell them you have high care since December.

You now need a weekly income off £169.20 LESS your Contribution Based ESA leave you the IRESA top-up your now due weekly.

(Ignore the DLA)

gaz907

bigbill wrote: »

I would say you have no chance of getting the ESA backdated to December as you were not getting it then you had Incapacity Benefit so you should have put in an Income Support claim at the time.

You should get any rent and council tax you have paid since December once you tell them you have high care since December.

You now need a weekly income off £169.20 LESS your Contribution Based ESA leave you the IRESA top-up your now due weekly.

(Ignore the DLA)

Thanks big bill, the problem I have is that I did put a claim in for severe disability premium in december, after my DLA award and was wrongly advised by the benefits agency. I was also being transferred from incapacity benefit at the time to ESA. I was telephoned by the esa in december to tell my I had been accepted for the benefit and was told they were aware of my new DLA award. DIAL who have been representing me are furious as they also asked the benefits agency about severe disability premium and were told I wasn't entitled to it, no mention again about putting in a claim for a top up via income based esa, they actually told DIAL I couldn't claim income based, even as a top up. My esa started on the 13/01/12, due to there incompetence I could of been awarded the premiums form the 7/11/11, if it is not backdated from then I will have have lost 10 weeks of both premiums through no fault of my own.