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income related esa and occupational pension

hi
am currently on contributory esa in the wrag group
i get hrm dla which i use for my motability car and mrc dla
i also recieve industrial injuries of approx £126 every 4 weeks
i also recieve a work pension of approx £400 a month because i was medically retired
after my 365 days and i apply for income related esa does anyone know if these amounts would stop me getting iresa
i believe under cesa the first £85 of any pension is disregarded but under iresa it isnt
many thanks for any help
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Comments

  • epitome
    epitome Posts: 3,199 Forumite
    edited 30 June 2012 at 9:22AM
    When was the last time you worked and paid National Insurance?

    If you did have to claim ESA IR I have an idea of what the answer to your actual question would be but I will let someone else answer it first.
  • john_doe1
    john_doe1 Posts: 14 Forumite
    hi
    i last worked 11 years ago and paid national insurance then.
  • john_doe1
    john_doe1 Posts: 14 Forumite
    forgot to add i was migrated from incap benefit.i dont know if that makes a difference
    thanks
  • pmlindyloo
    pmlindyloo Posts: 13,071 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    john_doe1 wrote: »
    hi
    am currently on contributory esa in the wrag group
    i get hrm dla which i use for my motability car and mrc dla
    i also recieve industrial injuries of approx £126 every 4 weeks
    i also recieve a work pension of approx £400 a month because i was medically retired
    after my 365 days and i apply for income related esa does anyone know if these amounts would stop me getting iresa
    i believe under cesa the first £85 of any pension is disregarded but under iresa it isnt
    many thanks for any help


    Have a look at this:

    http://www.nhs.uk/CarersDirect/moneyandlegal/otherbenefits/Pages/ESA-how-much.aspx

    After reading, click on Income at the bottom where you will read that most pensions are counted in full as income for income based ESA and there is not diregard as there is on contribution based ESA.
  • john_doe1
    john_doe1 Posts: 14 Forumite
    thanks
    if ive read that correct you can earn up to £95 and still receive esa ir
    would this amount be the same for a pension?
    as i get nearly £400 a month work pension plus industrial injuries(no mention in article) i wouldnt qualify?
    sorry im just a bit confused
  • pmlindyloo
    pmlindyloo Posts: 13,071 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    john_doe1 wrote: »
    thanks
    if ive read that correct you can earn up to £95 and still receive esa ir
    would this amount be the same for a pension?
    as i get nearly £400 a month work pension plus industrial injuries(no mention in article) i wouldnt qualify?
    sorry im just a bit confused



    It's confusing isn't it? :)

    As I understand it you can do 'permitted work' and earn up to £96 and still be eligible, but if you do this your earnings will be taken into account (I think they ignore the first £20) and you will get less ESA.

    As for pensions they take off the amount in full from what you would be entitled to.

    So, for example, if your total ESA was £60 per week and you got £50 per week from your pensions then you would only get £10 per week ESA.

    But it is still worth applying because you might get extra money because of your disabilities. Even a little bit of ESA gives you an entitlement to other benefits such as Housing Benefit and Council Tax benefit.

    I would just apply when the time comes!

    By the way, we haven't asked (and we should have :)) income based ESA is based on your household income.

    So if you have a partner their income will be taken into account.

    Hope I've helped a little.
  • epitome
    epitome Posts: 3,199 Forumite
    edited 30 June 2012 at 2:01PM
    john_doe1 wrote: »
    hi
    i last worked 11 years ago and paid national insurance then.

    Ok, I am not familiar with the rules for migration claimants. So I just looked up some of the legislation and found this
    The Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008
    Relaxation of the first contribution condition
    8.—(1) A claimant who satisfies any of the conditions in paragraph (2) is to be taken to satisfy the first contribution condition if—

    (a)the claimant paid Class 1 or Class 2 contributions before the relevant benefit week in respect of any one tax year; and

    (b)the earnings factor is derived—

    (i)from earnings, on which primary Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as paid, which are not less than that year’s lower earnings limit multiplied by 25; or (ammended to 26times now)

    (ii)from Class 2 contributions multiplied by 25. (ammended to 26times now)

    (2) The conditions referred to in paragraph (1) are that the claimant—

    (a)was entitled to a carer’s allowance in the last complete tax year immediately preceding the relevant benefit year;

    (b)had been engaged in qualifying remunerative work for a period of more than 2 years immediately before the first day of the period of limited capability for work and who was entitled to working tax credit where the disability element or the severe disability element of working tax credit specified in regulation 20(1)(b) or (f) of the Working Tax Credit (Entitlement and Maximum Rate) Regulations 2002(1) was included in the award;

    (c)in respect of any week in any tax year preceding the relevant benefit year—

    (i)is entitled to be credited with earnings or contributions in accordance with regulation 9D of the Social Security (Credits) Regulations 1975(2) (credits for certain periods of imprisonment or detention in legal custody); or

    (ii)would have been so entitled had an application to the Secretary of State been made for the purpose of that regulation; or

    (d)on the first day of the period of limited capability for work, had received a contributory allowance in the last complete tax year immediately preceding the relevant benefit year in which entitlement to a contributory allowance is now being decided.
    The bits relevant are bolded. I can't gaurantee it, but it reads to me like if you received ESA C (or JSA C or even possibly Incap Benefit) at any point during tax year 10/11 you will be taken to satisfy condition 1.

    For your information you will also satisfy condition 2 because you've had NI Credits throughout your benefit claim....but when your ESA C runs out you should ensure the claim remains open for NIC only

    But I must be missing something because this would suggest anyone who has exhausted ESA C WRAG can claim again in the following benefit year and get ESA C WRAG again.

    I would advise you call or preferably write a letter to the Benefits Centre quoting ESA Regulations 2008 Regulation 8(2)(d) and ask them to explain it's meaning.........you don't have to write it out in full just the words ....."ESA Regulations 2008 Regulation 8(2)(d)" will do and ask does this mean that you will qualify for ESA C again if you were to make a new claim....and if so, from what date?
  • Cpt.Scarlet
    Cpt.Scarlet Posts: 1,102 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary
    Go and see a trained advisor either at the CAB or Welfare Rights. The advice on here is often accurate but when you are talking about the amount of money you should get it shouldn't be trusted.

    epitome the clause you are referring to was rescinded in 12/2011 and no longer applies.
  • john_doe1
    john_doe1 Posts: 14 Forumite
    thanks everyone for the help
  • epitome
    epitome Posts: 3,199 Forumite
    epitome the clause you are referring to was rescinded in 12/2011 and no longer applies.
    Hmmm, thanks for the heads up on that one.

    It's still listed in the DMG guidance which is where I got it from that page updated in Feb 2012, however there is a note "see memo DMG 11/12"

    Found on google 2nd result down
    http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Memo+DMG+11%2F12

    that clause rescinded on 01/04/2012

    I suppose it's still listed in the guidance for retrospective claims.

    OP, ignore my lengthy post above it seems it no longer applies.
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