Repercussions of closing ESA claim in favour of Pension Credits.

murrayfan_2

oK bigbill, and thanks.

epitome

murrayfan wrote: »

If the appeal doesn't work then he will be expected to attend work focused interviews, yes bigbill.

Yes, but appeals take a long time, at least 6 months and usually about a year.

We'd get less on Income Support than we do now on PC and ESA, or if we stopped ESA and just had the PC, because our savings stand at £11,000

Yes, that makes sense..... stick to PC

murrayfan_2

Wow, I had NO idea that appeals would take so long!!!. Thanks for that, I guess we haven't lost anything if we appeal then.

epitome

Yes Pensioner Premium is on Income Support. The 11,000 savings would cause a £20 deduction off Income Support and ESA IR.

If PC was abolished and the PP on IS was also abolished you'd probably get on IS, Disability Premium £43.25 instead. Not EDP (Enhanced DP) I made a mistake there.

Yes, might aswell appeal for now and leave all this until (if) you lose the appeal.

murrayfan_2

Thanks, I think we'll probably do that. It's annoying that they (ESA) don't tell us how they arrive at their decision, because when I read through the criteria I thought my husband would be eligible for the support group without a doubt.

bigbill

Back now eat all you want Indian so quite full.

Anyways!

He can give up on ESA if he wishes without any penalty or he could appeal the ESA and go onto PC at the same time, but he cannot keep the Income Based ESA and PC at the same time but the conrtibution based ESA is fine along with PC.

The advantage of PC is the capital limit is higher as had been mentioned and the tariff is lower so he will be better off weekly on this anyways.

I noticed you have carers allowance for the disabled child?

This gives you an extra £32 weekly income in the form of the carer premium, If you claimed carers for your partner instead and he then claimed it for the child you would gain another £32 extra weekly well worth doing?

Another very good reason for him to go onto PC now that has not been mentioned is that Universal Credit starts in some areas in April but for most areas October.

As you are younger than him if he is not on PC before the change he will lose out big style as he will need to claim Universal Credit which will be a big loss in income, if he is already on PC before the change he stays on that.

helentay_2

murrayfan wrote: »

Hi

I'm new here and have searched a bit but can't find the answer I need, sorry if I'm repeating though

My husband is nearly 62 and was, til recently, on long-term Incapacity Benefit, and has also been receiving Pension Credits since last summer. He's been assessed (on paper only) for ESA and put in the work related group, which has upset me :mad:. He has severe Arthritis of his major joints which has been getting worse for the last 5 years to the point where I had to stop work to care for him. He also has a bad tremor and severe Depression.

I rang the Pension Credits team and asked if we could simply stop my husband's claim to ESA and have the money made up by the pension credits. They said yes, and advised we do it. However, my husband was suspicious that this was too simple. I then rang the Job Centre Plus for advice and they strongly advised against doing this . They claimed he would have to state that he was no longer unfit for work in order to stop his ESA claim, and "if Pension Credits is ever abolished he'll be in a difficult position" :eek:.

So what I really, deperately need to know, is who is right. What are the legal or other implications of stopping his ESA claim?. Will this impact on his DLA?. Will he be considered 'fit for work' in other scenarios?. Will Pension Credits likely be abolished?. I'm so confused, and only have a month if I want to appeal against the ESA decision to stick my husband in the work related group.

My husband can't even manage steps, the council moved us into a sheltered bunagalow with alarm system. He walks with 2 crutches and can't walk on slopes or hills. He can't sit in 'normal' chairs. He takes painkillers at night because the pain wakes him. He's occasionally incontinent. He has 'substantial' needs according to a recent Adult Services report, and as I say, is 62 and already in receipt of Pension Credit. The extra worry is just what we didn't need.

Any advice would be hugely appreciated .

For a start thank goodness there is a GPC award in place. As from this year Universal Credits will stop all such claims being made for Pension Credit if both claimants (husband & wife) aren't over State Pension age.

In your case with the ages you are, Pension Credit will no longer be an option until you (the youngest) reaches the time when you can draw your State Pension.

Yes Pension Credit is moving towards being closed down, we see this in Universal Credit now. What will happen in the future who knows.

All I can say is that my mum & dad are in the same exact situation as you are. Dad gets ESA Contributory and is fed up with having to keep proving his inability to work PLUS failures or bad results arising out of the ESA assesments can and do cause the DWP to remove the DLA award if there is one. So ESA is a risk to DLA.

All benefits are at risk of being closed/changed etc as the government are moving into the next phase of reducing the Welfare budget.


All I can suggest is that you use the turn2us website and play around with the options.

helentay_2

bigbill wrote: »

As you are younger than him if he is not on PC before the change he will lose out big style as he will need to claim Universal Credit which will be a big loss in income, if he is already on PC before the change he stays on that.

In most cases the loss amounts to approx 50% of what could be claimed at the moment through Pension Credit.

My own parents are at this cross road now, dad won't be 65 until June 2014, yet mum is 69. Do they claim PC now or wait until UC comes in hoping that something will change to improve the figures - only time will tell. Dad wants to claim PC, mum wants to wait and see what happens with UC.

murrayfan_2

I'm thankful for all the answers but not looking to increase our benefits (just want to safeguard what we have now). I think we're lucky to get what we do, but I hate the fact that my husband is being worried sick by this ESA :mad:.

I wouldn't change the carers thing around bigbill (although I appreciate your suggestion, thanks), because my husband just isn't capable of being anyone's carer and we'd feel fraudulent doing that .

My husband does already receive Pension Credits but I had no idea there were any plans to get rid of it - I knew the rules were changing though (e.g for partners of different ages) - didn't know how soon though :eek:!. I'm glad my husband already gets his.

murrayfan_2

Has anyone on here done this - given up their ESA claim in favour of Pension Credits, and if so, how did it work for them?.

I think we'll appeal the ESA decision but if it fails I don't understand what happens at the end of the one year claim, it's very confusing.