clarification needed on ESA please...

March2012

my other half is unwell and obviously affected our situation. he did not have enough contributions and this put us on income esa but i would eventually like to get some extra work.
can i try and put him on contributions esa ? how would this change things for me?
how does htis work ? at the moemnt we get some help wiht the interest only mortgage and council tax and £200 approx i believe every fortnight. any help to clarify things would be appreciated. thanks.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

your assesed for cont-esa as soon as you apply, you if you have not paid enough national insurance contributions then you could qualify for income based ESA, you cant switch back or forth.

how long has he been working?

benefitbaby

March2012 wrote: »

my other half is unwell and obviously affected our situation. he did not have enough contributions and this put us on income esa but i would eventually like to get some extra work.
can i try and put him on contributions esa ? how would this change things for me?
how does htis work ? at the moemnt we get some help wiht the interest only mortgage and council tax and £200 approx i believe every fortnight. any help to clarify things would be appreciated. thanks.

As the previous poster noted conts-based ESA is awarded only if sufficient NI conts have been made (in the 2 tax years immediately before the benefit year in which a claim is made).

As this is not the case here your entitlement falls to be considered in relation to the means test and what the law says you need, this is called your applicable amount.

You applicable amount is based on:
- A personal allowance £111.45 per week, and
- Relevant mortgage interest costs £? per week, and
- The work-related activity group component or support group component of ESA (once assessed)

This gives a maximum figure, from this any income, earnings and income from savings (tariff income) is deducted - the remainder is paid as income-related ESA.

If IESA is awarded then you qualify for full CTB.

Based on the info given it would appear at present all of the above is in payment, so if you undertake work the first £20 is disregarded (or ignored) and the rest is taken into account in full and will reduce your IESA.

I don't know if it is relevant but could your OH qualify for DLA? If this is a possibility then DLA is ignored as income for IESA and CTB.

princessdon

If he doesn't have the qualifying entitlement for cont based then it is income based.

Many partners are expected to support their OH when working and I know it's not ideal with disabilities it is the way the govt think and can't see that changing (and rightly so) anytime soon.

Can he claim cont based due to working and his contributions?