employment support allowance

biggaz50

I am in receipt of esa support group and would like to know if anyone could tell me if it is means tested. I know imcome related/incapacity is but unsure about support group. Many thanks:)

Muttleythefrog

To clarify.... there is income related (means tested) ESA and there is contribution based ESA. (To complicate matters you can technically get a bit of both). Obviously these depend on recent NI contributions/income,savings etc. Depending on how disabled you are then you will be placed in either WRAG or Support group. So separate the two matters in your mind.... IR and contrib based ESA is one issue.... the actual group you get placed in is another issue depending on how you do in the work capability assessment.

The government has passed legislation that means you can only get contribution based ESA payments for 12 months if in WRAG.

Your award letter hopefully states on the back page whether you are getting income related or contrib based... and of course which group you are in (if any).

Owain_Moneysaver

There are two types of ESA - Contributions-based, which is not means-tested, and Income-based, which is.

If you are on Contributions-based ESA you don't get thinks like free prescriptions (England) and dental care. If you're on Income-based you do. Your award letter should tell you which you're getting.

Most Contribution-based benefits are time-limited to 1 year but Contribution-based Support Group ESA isn't.

Horseunderwater

biggaz50 wrote: »

I am in receipt of esa support group and would like to know if anyone could tell me if it is means tested. I know imcome related/incapacity is but unsure about support group. Many thanks:)

Look at the award letter - it should have a page that tells you the group, and one which tells you what sort, contribution or income related. At least my original one did. Subsequesnt changes were all on white paper set out stating what was what. But that first one was beige and came in 3 different envelopes. Oh and the 3rd told me end date.
Once you know exactly which one you are on - contrib/ income related, you can come back here for further help.

biggaz50

Thanks for information. I think initially I was placed on income however I have now been placed on contribution due to an error on their part. Would just like to know if my ESA is means tested if contribution based and now placed in a support group.

Muttleythefrog

biggaz50 wrote: »

Thanks for information. I think initially I was placed on income however I have now been placed on contribution due to an error on their part. Would just like to know if my ESA is means tested if contribution based and now placed in a support group.

Contributions based is not means tested by definition... it's based on contributions record rather than income, savings, partner circumstances as it would be for income related.

The group you are in is irrelevant regarding your query here suffice for the fact that if you end up in WRAG after a future reassessment then be aware that payments of contrib based ESA are limited to 12 months. In Support group they are indefinite. I understand that you can ask to be assessed for IR ESA at any time.. form ESA3 I think is required.

biggaz50

Thank you for your reply. I have spoken to my benefits agency today and they duly informed I was initially placed in the WRAG group but won my appeal and was then placed in a support group contribution based. He also told me that it isn't means tested. However, forgive me for be naive but does this mean I won't be able to have any savings or would I have to declare it. Very confusing just want to be sure I'm doing everything right.

Horseunderwater

With contribution based ESA you can have savings over and above the £6k-£16k reducing limitations. Should you want to.
With income related ESA, savings upto £6k are ignored and anything over that to the £16k is then reduced by I think it is £1/£250 of savings held. If you have over that then the ESA will not be paid, but you may still get NI credits even if you get no income. Others have said that even if you only got £1 of IR ESA - you would qualify for other benefits like housing benefit/council tax benefit and free NHS sight tests, prescriptions and dental treatment.
The question here is - does your household income total come to more than your ESA support group payment per week and do you have over £6k of savings? If not, then Do a change of circumstances form ESA3 to change it to Income related ESA. What also happens is that you will get a further premium of £14.80/week if on IR ESA. (Enhanced disability premium). that is automatic. It would be backdated to start of claim as well since they made a mistake.
Hope this helps you to get it sorted out.

John_Clark

Regarding Contributions based 12 month rule.
I read the Government are changing it so the 12 months will run from last April, irrespective of when you are placed in the WRAG, Contributions based ESA will run out in April this year.
Maybe someone can confirm or otherwise?

Horseunderwater

Contributions ESA - WRAG version lasts 12 months from last April, so for many who had been on it for longer than that, their awards stopped dead at that point. For anyone awarded WRAG contributions after this date it runs 12 months from award date if after April 2012.
For the support group version of ESA contributions it runs indefinitely upto a point with regular reviews to see if you still need it or not. Awards usually between 12 months-3 years or so, (but in meantime Universal credit will be rearing its ugly head, so yet another hurdle to get over).
Then there is the income related version of both WRAG/Support group. That is means tested, but if you have very little income and savings below £6k, you will get the full amount of the IR ESA. Whether WRAG or Support. Savings over the £6k means that there is a taper down of I believe £1/£250(?) of savings between £6k and £16k. The WRAG version of IR applies after the 12 month rule if you have a very low income and so the claim can continue. However if you have a partner or another source of income then this stops. Support group IR just continues on with regular reviews. Also if on IR ESA in support group you may get further premiums paid for disability. I do. Single currently £14.80 and couples £21.30 - this is added automatically. There might be other premiums I am not aware of. And should you have a mortgage, you could be entitled to SMI mortage interest help at 3.63% after 13 weeks of your claim for new claimants or straight away if you have been on contributions which has converted to income related due to a low income/savings. They (DWP) only pay this out for the original borrowed amount + a small percentage of any extra capital borrowed for certain home repairs - not for consolidation and beautifying your home - just basics like one sink in kitchen 1 cooker 1 worktop - I should know as I recently had to go through it all with them. An example on mine - we had a large bath fitted which cost quite a lot, they allowed for the basic cost of a plastic one. So although they allowed all the items we costed out, they reduced them to real basic costs. Cheap and cheeful is the DWP! But hey ho I am not complaining, just grateful to get some help.