ESA disability premium

epitome

When he was in Incapacity Benefit he was getting £110.85
He could also have gotten Income Support
71 + 14.80 + 30.35 = £116.15
subtract IB £110.85
IS = £5.30

So, if in 2012 pre-ESA, he was getting a total of £116.15 weekly award, then you have a case to argue, if not, then you don't.

GirlFromMars_2

I had my ESA Enhanced Disability Premium backdated for a year.

In my case I was switched from IB and received Contribution Based WRAG-ESA for a year until my appeal was heard at which point I was switched to the Support Group.

At the point I was switched into the Support Group I became entitled to the Enhanced Disability Premium because I was also in receipt of DLA.

I didn't apply for IR benefits before I won the appeal, as the WRAG Transitional Top up was the highest award available to me in the WRAG, but after I was switched to the support group, I applied for the IR benefits backdated for the previous year, as the premium made it higher than contributions based benefits.

In my case, the appeal meant my circumstances were changed, so they had to allow me to backdate the IR premium.

In your son's case, it doesn't sound like anything has change, other than that you now know he would have been entitled to something had you applied for it.

Sadly the benefits system requires us to know we are entitled to something and apply for it.

Incidentally as I am on IR-ESA benefits when my DLA award increased and I became eligible to apply for the Severe Disability Premium I was sent the forms without actually having to ask for them.

I think in your case, they're relying on the obscure wording in the original award letter that mentions that you may be entitled to a higher level of benefits if you apply for income related benefits. But I know in my case, when I read that the first time I knew nothing about the premiums, and assumed that as I was transferred from IB and there was a transitional top up, that I was already on the highest rate available.

It may well be worth talking to your MP about the obscure nature of these award letters, but other than that I'm afraid I don't think the DWP have to back date your son's award.

I'm assuming your son's not entitled to the Severe Disability Premium? As it doesn't sound like he's living alone?

epitome

GirlFromMars wrote: »

I had my ESA Enhanced Disability Premium backdated for a year.

Did you have DLA HRC at the time you were migrated to WRAG?

If you did, you could have gotten EDP/SDP at that time
If you didn't, then it was the fact that you were in SG from that date that allowed you to have EDP backdated.

If you already had DLA HRC at that time it might have been allowed in your case as there had been a change on your claim dating back to the date of original decision, so it was not unreasonable therefore to also allow an application to ESA IR back to that date. (which is what you said).

GirlFromMars_2

epitome wrote: »

Did you have DLA HRC at the time you were migrated to WRAG?

If you did, you could have gotten EDP/SDP at that time
If you didn't, then it was the fact that you were in SG from that date that allowed you to have EDP backdated.

If you already had DLA HRC at that time it might have been allowed in your case as there had been a change on your claim dating back to the date of original decision, so it was not unreasonable therefore to also allow an application to ESA IR back to that date. (which is what you said).

No, it was LRC, and again that was backdated though an appeal, so at the time I received the WRAG award I didn't have DLA in place at all ...

... the DLA was backdated subsequently to LRC to back before the ESA switchover ...

... and the Support was backdated to the switchover ... so it was only once I was in the Support group that I was able to apply for it (so far as I can tell?)

... presumably I could have been in receipt of an Income Support top up prior to the switchover ... BUT ... I had a house I didn't live in, and at the time I though it counted as capital ... (it didn't because of the relative with a disability rule) ... and again, I only found out it didn't count as capital at the time I won the appeal to be put into the support group ... so I would never have bothered applying for IR benefits before then anyway ... so in a way I benefited from the appeal taking so long.

GirlFromMars_2

jamapo wrote: »

Hi girlfrommars. Thank you for your response. My son lives with me, so I know that SDP is not applicable. I have gone through all his DWP paperwork going back to Feb 2013 and can't find anything suggesting he should apply for anything else. As I said earlier, he's got his EDP now so I don't think its worth pursuing any more.

It would have been a single line in the award letter. So if you find the letter where it says he was place in the support group, and what his award would be, then somewhere there it would have mentioned Income Related benefits.

As I said, it was a throw away line, you probably wouldn't have noticed it at all at the time, and if you did you may well have dismissed it like I did.

Parva

jamapo wrote: »

Hi girlfrommars. Thank you for your response. My son lives with me, so I know that SDP is not applicable. I have gone through all his DWP paperwork going back to Feb 2013 and can't find anything suggesting he should apply for anything else. As I said earlier, he's got his EDP now so I don't think its worth pursuing any more.

Just give up and roll over then, instead of fighting for your son. And you know I don't mean that! You have to fight for everything.

epitome

GirlFromMars wrote: »

... and the Support was backdated to the switchover ... so it was only once I was in the Support group that I was able to apply for it (so far as I can tell?)

Yes that's right.

... presumably I could have been in receipt of an Income Support top up prior to the switchover ... BUT ... I had a house I didn't live in, and at the time I though it counted as capital ... (it didn't because of the relative with a disability rule) ... and again, I only found out it didn't count as capital at the time I won the appeal to be put into the support group ... so I would never have bothered applying for IR benefits before then anyway ... so in a way I benefited from the appeal taking so long.

If you had no DLA prior to switchover, you might not have been eligible for IS top up.
As an example: in 2012 you would have got IS £71 + £30.35
And so at the time your IB might have been worth equal to or more than £101.35

GirlFromMars_2

epitome wrote: »

Yes that's right.

If you had no DLA prior to switchover, you might not have been eligible for IS top up.
As an example: in 2012 you would have got IS £71 + £30.35
And so at the time your IB might have been worth equal to or more than £101.35

Thanks. I'm pretty sure my IB was higher than that, and my DLA only started shortly before my ESA switchover (I should have claimed it sooner!)

Whether I was due some extra cash or not, I couldn't face trying to explain that to the DLA and getting them to sort it out, so I'm quite happy to live with not knowing!

pilsthedoughman

Hi - I'm new to the forum, so please bear with me.

I was medically retired from my job in April this year (2014) and for the first time in 37 years had to start claiming benfits.

Well, what a shambles - the criteria for benefits is just so confusing and i guess many people just give up trying to get around all the "brick walls" that are placed before you. Its a disgrace IMHO !

However, I'm not one who gives up and just want to make sure that I get what i'm entitled to.

I need help with Income related ESA payments during the assessment phase; this is what I was placed on mid March and its just ended having failed the medical assessment.

my circustances are as follows;

My wife does not work and receives DLA at the highest rate for both components.

Last week I was awarded PIP at the standard rate for both compnents backdated to Feruary 2014

I was awarded Carers allowance (looking after my wife) 2nd May 2014 and did not recieve anything as my ESA payments were greater so, therefore had an underlying entitlement.

As already stated, Income related ESA payments started March 2014 and at that time we had no other income at all until the end of May 2014 when I started to receive my ill health pension of £100 per week. I have received the full Housing benefit and CTR throughout

I need someone to explain exactly what weekly payments I should have been receiving (I have found the benefit Calculators to be fairly misleading and the two come up with differing results ! ) ;

1) March 2014 when income related ESA started to 1st May 2014

2) 2nd May 2014 when I had an underlying entitlement to Careaers allowance to 30th May 2014

3) 31st May 2014 when I started receiving £100 per week pension to mid august when my Income related ESA ended.

Thank you in advance to anyone out there who know how all these premiums work and is prepared to take the time to help me - its just that having only just been awarded PIP I suspect I owed a back payment and want to know what this might amount to.

TELLIT01

When a customer is transferred from IB to ESA, and has an added element of IS associated with the IB claim, they will receive a Transitional Amount on top of ESA to ensure that they aren't any worse off by moving to ESA.
BUT the amount they receive on ESA will remain unchanged year on year until the standard ESA equivalent payment reaches the same figure.
For example (and the figures are for illustration only) a customer receiving a total of £120 IB & IS transfers to ESA. The normal rate of ESA is £80. £40 transitional allowance is added. Each year ESA is increased by £10 - the customer will not get any increase in their payment until ESA passes £120, in this example that would mean no increase for at least 4 years.
I hope that makes sense.