ESA disability premium

bjorky

I was really interested in the topic, maybe someone can tell me the answer to this cos i have tried and retried to find out what i should get as i have just came off incapacity benefit and getting my 1st ESA payment this friday, i get the following benefits :-

ESA (Support Group) £????
High Rate Dla in both Care and Mobility
I am exempt from paying any Council Tax to due Severe Impairment
I dont know if i have a disabilty premium, i havent got no paperwork saying what i am getting and i forgot to say am 39 so over 25.

Thank you if you can help.

Horseunderwater

bjorky wrote: »

I was really interested in the topic, maybe someone can tell me the answer to this cos i have tried and retried to find out what i should get as i have just came off incapacity benefit and getting my 1st ESA payment this friday, i get the following benefits :-

ESA (Support Group) £????
High Rate Dla in both Care and Mobility
I am exempt from paying any Council Tax to due Severe Impairment
I dont know if i have a disabilty premium, i havent got no paperwork saying what i am getting and i forgot to say am 39 so over 25.

Thank you if you can help.

You should get income related ESA Support group of £106.50/week along with Severe dis premium of £59.50, but because you have just been moved from incapacity benefit - you will not be on income related ESA at present - or at least I don't think you will. This is because IB was contributions based, so any migration will be to contributions based. So you need to get in touch with DWP urgently and ask for form ESA3 to get you onto the right type of ESA. And you need to tell them to back date it to start of ESA support group award. Then you will get the SDP in payment. Do this as soon as you can.

nannytone_2

if you are transferred grom icapacity benefit to ESA. the IB rates is often higher than the amount due on ESA.
transitional protection is given and the amount paid should not change.
but no benefit tises will be paid until the amounts paid on ESA match those for IB

Indie_Kid

Premiums are only added automatically if you're on income based benefits.

Indie_Kid

You would only be able to appeal on the basis of law.

I am confused - you said he was transferred from IB, which means his ESA is contributions based. And now you're saying it's income based?

pmlindyloo

Which group of ESA is your son in? WRAG or Support group?

Horseunderwater

Judging by amount quoted he is in Support group of ESA, but gets a top up to his old IB levels as there is transfer protection involved. If as you say the letter says IR ESA, then he should be getting the EDP from when he was moved. Ring them up & tell them he is entitled to this automatically.

epitome

jamapo wrote: »

On his award letter it says income-related amount. £108.15 However because you are entitled to contributions-based ESA we will pay you. £110.85.

What is the date of this letter? It must be post April 2014 because it is using the rate £108.15 and if it is from this date and he is in SG (he must be) then it does not make sense because it would say Income Related amount is £123.70. So I can only assume it is an error when it was written. It is actually referring to the ESA Contributions rate of £108.15 but "because you have a transitional amount your ESA will be £110.85"

When he was on IB did he have an award for Income Support aswell?

When he was migrated to ESA from IB in 2012 there would have been a letter saying his ESA Contributions based will be £110.85...and it would also have said "You may be entiled to more if you claim ESA Income Related, please ask for further information"

It is YOUR responsibility to claim what he is entitled to. He would maybe have been eligible to Income Support when he was IB, are you going to say that you should have been given Income Support automatically? No, because it is your responsibility.

If he had no Income Support top up on IB, then Citizens Advice don't know what they are talking about. I'll say it again it was his (or your) responsibilty to investigate ESA IR - EDP in May 2012. ESA IR is not automatic, you have to apply for it. EDP is automatic only if you have or apply for ESA IR

When you apply for ESA IR it can be only backdated a maximum 3 months.

The other people you are talking about on the web having their premiums backdated will have already had ESA IR on their claim, and they will be applying for SDP which will then be backdated to the point at which they were first eligible.

Torry_Quine

jamapo wrote: »

I'm sorry, but I really don't understand what you are saying. Nor do I much like the tone of your response. I asked for advice, not a grilling. I did not apply for ESA for my son, who by the way can neither read, write, or speak. (just to clarify that), He was automatically transfered onto it from Incapacity benefit in 2012. I do not have his award letter from 2012, but I do have it for both 2013 and 2014, neither of which have any mention of applying for the enhanced disability premium. How was I supposed to apply for it when I didn't even know about it. I'm quite sure that his IB did include an amount of Income support to take him up to the "applicable rate". His rate has not changed since being moved to ESA. I thank you for taking the time to respond, but a bit more humility towards people like me who are obviously not as well informed as yourself, would not go amiss.

the only thing I can help with is this. the top up to make his ESA the same amount isn't an Income Support amount, it's just so that his money didn't go down. His ESA will stay the same until the amount he gets is the same as the rate for new claimants.

Parva

jamapo wrote: »

Thank you Torry. Have given up on it now. So much conflicting advice. Sometimes the internet can have 'too much' information. Will just accept that son has now got enhanced disability premium, and make sure I keep on top of things in future.

All I see are people trying to answer your question and spending a fair amount of time doing so. You have been given the answers to your questions and none of them were in an abusive manner, I'm sorry that it's so complicated and hard to understand but this is the situation that the government puts us in.