Esa Help needed

JUSTJULIE_2

I am hoping to get some help with a friends problem.
I have posted about them before.

My friend is in the Wrag on contributions based esa so she gets around £110 per week.

Her husband has been ill a couple of years and in the support group getting around £120 per week.
They believed his esa was contributions also, but were never quite sure as they got differing replies each time they asked.

He recently had a medical and got a new award letter stating he had been put in the wrag and the amount he would get.
He asked them to look at it again.
He got a new letter saying he had been put back in the support group, and a new award letter stating how much he will get.

The amount of money is the same as it was before the medical roughly around £120, but it states clearly that it is income related.

His wife rang up about it, as they have to inform council tax etc, and she was told it is income related.

What we can not understand is how he could get the full rate esa income related when she already gets £110 per week contributions.

We are basing this on the fact that when her money stops after a year they will have to claim as a couple and they will lose her money.

Can a couple have separate claims, one contribution, one income? It could be that he is on contribution with an income top up, but is this possible?
Have they made a mistake somewhere?


Thankyou

rogerblack

JUSTJULIE wrote: »

Can a couple have separate claims, one contribution, one income? It could be that he is on contribution with an income top up, but is this possible?
Have they made a mistake somewhere?

In short - no, and yes.
If one partner has contribution based, and the other income based, the contribution based will be taken into account in the income based award, and reduce it.

Unfortunately.
It sounds like they've (assuming they are living together) been overpaid, and the income-based award has not been reduced appropriately.
If they have told the DWP about all their conditions, then this would not be repayable.

Two singles in the support group are entitled to:
(over 25)
£71+15+34 * 2 = £240

A couple gets £112+28+34+34 = £208

epitome

She is on ESA C - this will stop after 1 year.

He is on ESA IR probably composed of an ESA C underlying award & an ESA IR "top up" if you like.

However, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me because his ESA IR "top up" would be wiped out by her ESA C amount.

The only way to explain his £120, is, if he gets "ESA C £120" which means he has a Transitional Amount (TA) of £13 ish from a previous IB claim? He could still have an ESA IR top up above this which is being wiped out.

If as you say, he has only been ill a couple of years and made a fresh claim to ESA after leaving work. Then I would suspect there is an error.

Because to get to £120 without a TA it would mean:
Personal Allowance £71.70
Support Group £34.80
Single Enhanced Disability Premium £15.15 (only available on ESA IR)
TOTAL £121.65

Unless there is something missing like Pensioner Premium or Carer Allowance/Carer Premium

If it was as a couple with no other known premiums it would be:
Personal Allowance £112.55
Support Grp £34.80
Couples Enhanced DP £21.75
TOTAL £169.10
If he has an ESA C award, this would be reduced to £106.50 by her ESA £110 unless he has a TA in which case it would be more.
If he has no ESA C, this would be reduced to £59.10 by her ESA £110


What they need to do is phone on his claim and ask "What is the breakdown of my award?" or more specifically "does it show a personal allowance of £71.70 or £112.55 ?"

If it says £71.70 there is an error
If it says £112.55 it is unlikely there is an error.

JUSTJULIE_2

Thankyou I will advise them to ring up again