Cont. ESA (WRAG) Question?..

johnkat

Hi i've been placed in the (cont) esa wrag group which is time limited to 365 days. My prognosis from the WCA is 18 months.

What happens after 365 days, do i make a claim for income related ESA. I'm single and my savings are well below the £6,000 threshhold, so I think i probably meet the criteria for IR ESA. Or do I do nothing and and the transfer is done automatically? It is not made clear on the award letter what happens once the 365 day time limit expires.

Thanks.

HB58

You will need to fill in an ESA50 in order to assess your eligibility for income related ESA after the contributary benefit has ended. You can do this now if you think you might be entitled to an income related 'top up' due to your low income.

HB58

Sorry - I actually intended to type 'ESA3', I don't know how/why ESA50 slipped in instead!!

johnkat

HB58 wrote: »

Sorry - I actually intended to type 'ESA3', I don't know how/why ESA50 slipped in instead!!

OK thanks..Is there a risk that this might trigger a re-assesssment and god forbid a reversal of the original decision which I only received last week!?

Horseunderwater

Filling in the ESA3 is just asking for a change in your circumstances to be considered. Which in your case is same as mine - low income. They will still keep you in the Wrag group unless you know of a reason why they would not. You will still get the same amount of ESA, but as this is a passport benefit, it will help you get things like free NHS treatment(dental/eyes/med's), help with housing (council tax benefit - poss housing benefit). Those are the obvious ones.
Mine was approved inside of a week and is now on way back to me.