ESA and IS

Spicelady

Hiya

I wonder if anyone can help please

The scenario...... I have a partner and we have claimed as couple

I am on ESA Support Group ( Also DLA)
My partner has carers allowance and Income support

My Esa has not been paid since early Aug, after some letters sent from me and no reply. My partner phoned and we were told that I was down as single ( which hasn't been the case for at least 2 or 3 years)

They never said why they stopped paying it by the way

Now on the phone she said we could only claim for one or the other as a couple , meaning ESA or IS as it was an Income based Benefit ?

Would this be true ?

We had a letter sometime in mid August from IS stating I was on ESA and my partner IS and Carers Allowance as a couple etc, So how can that be right if you can only have either ?

The thing my partner has Housing Benefit as well. So we will need the IS to make sure that is paid.

Also we want to make sure we do the correct thing, as we obviously want to have enough money

She said she would send a letter through etc but I want to try and get more info asap

I will keep checking back if anyone can help with advice
Thanks

epitome

Spicelady wrote: »

I am on ESA Support Group ( Also DLA)
My partner has carers allowance and Income support

My ESA has not been paid since early Aug, after some letters sent from me and no reply. My partner phoned and we were told that I was down as single ( which hasn't been the case for at least 2 or 3 years)

Maybe your ESA is ESA Conts, in which case you could be down as single because marital status on ESA Conts is not important so sometimes it remains incorrect or not known.

They never said why they stopped paying it by the way

Maybe you failed a recent WCA, did you fill in a ESA50 prior to August?

Now on the phone she said we could only claim for one or the other as a couple , meaning ESA or IS as it was an Income based Benefit ?

Would this be true ?

Absolutely 100% true.

We had a letter sometime in mid August from IS stating I was on ESA and my partner IS and Carers Allowance as a couple etc, So how can that be right if you can only have either ?

Because your ESA could be ESA Conts, and is not claiming for your partner.

How much was your ESA paying you when you last were getting paid...?

Spicelady

Hello
Thanks for response. ( I do not know how to use the quote system)
Ive looked at my letter it states I am entitled to Contribute and Income ESA

I also thought as I was in the support group I would be able to stay in the contribute group for more than a year

I did the ESa50 last year, and my entitlement was from 7th Aug 2012. ( I was on Incapacity benefit before that)

Thanks for the info on the IS and Income related ESA and you can not be on both as a couple.

My last payment was on 9th August £243.30 for a fortnights money

We are trying to work out if we should move over to IS in total and not the income related ESA, if we have to choose one.

hope that helps.... thanks for the help my head is spinning today

epitome

Spicelady wrote: »

Hello
Thanks for response. ( I do not know how to use the quote system)
Ive looked at my letter it states I am entitled to Contribute and Income ESA

Hmmm

I also thought as I was in the support group I would be able to stay in the contribute group for more than a year

You can indeed.

My last payment was on 9th August £243.30 for a fortnights money

Oh dear, that means you were claiming ESA IR as a single person in addition to your partner claiming IS as a couple. This is not allowed. and depending if you choose to keep the IS or the ESA IR you will have to pay back any overpayment.... unless you can show that when you filled in your ESA3 to get ESA IR last year... you did declare your partner.

We are trying to work out if we should move over to IS in total and not the income related ESA, if we have to choose one.

If your DLA care is "high" rate then you should keep Income Support as it will pay more money. If your DLA care is middle rate then the ESA IR will pay more than the IS.

What is your history of ESA ?
How long you been claiming ESA?
What were you claiming before ESA? was it IB? or were you working?

Your ESA is most likely frozen until you contact them to decide to keep ESA IR or keep IS in your partners name, then they will work out any overpayments and resume paying your ESA.

Spicelady

epitome wrote: »

Hmmm

You can indeed.

Oh dear, that means you were claiming ESA IR as a single person in addition to your partner claiming IS as a couple. This is not allowed. and depending if you choose to keep the IS or the ESA IR you will have to pay back any overpayment.... unless you can show that when you filled in your ESA3 to get ESA IR last year... you did declare your partner.

When I filled in the ESA50, was put as my carer.
We also declared we were a couple a few years ago to the iS
When we filed in the a2 Is form we said we were a couple and exactly what we got and from where
When we got a letter from the IS this August it states everything there as well. That I was ESA and he had IS etc etc
On that it states the government gives you X to live on and they take off all the money we have declared on the stated facts

If your DLA care is "high" rate then you should keep Income Support as it will pay more money. If your DLA care is middle rate then the ESA IR will pay more than the IS.

My DLA is high care and low mobility
Do you mean to stay on IS as a couple with my partner claiming, or myself ?


What is your history of ESA ?
How long you been claiming ESA?
What were you claiming before ESA? was it IB? or were you working?

My history is since last year, when I moved over from Incapacity benefit
Claim was from 7th Aug 2012
before incapacity benefit long term

Your ESA is most likely frozen until you contact them to decide to keep ESA IR or keep IS in your partners name, then they will work out any overpayments and resume paying your ESA.

I have a feeling that will happen, freezing it although they haven't paid me since Aug and never even sent a letter to state why that is. I mean I should have some money paid from August from somewhere surely ?

So basically we cam only claim Income support as a couple OR Income Employment support allowance as a couple.

Thanks for your help[

Spicelady

Sorry my whole post quote didn't work.... sorry about that !

Spicelady

By the way Ive remembered we had a letter in Sept 2013 about overpayment of IS of about £400 which was from 25th aug 2012 til the present day. Which we paid, when my partner phoned they said it was due to me being on ESA now instead of Incapacity benefit.

epitome

Spicelady wrote: »

When I filled in the ESA50, was put as my carer. We also declared we were a couple a few years ago to the iS
When we filed in the a2 Is form we said we were a couple and exactly what we got and from where
When we got a letter from the IS this August it states everything there as well. That I was ESA and he had IS etc etc
On that it states the government gives you X to live on and they take off all the money we have declared on the stated facts

Yes but this is all in relation to his IS claim, I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about your ESA claim having the incorrect details the ESA50 saying he was a carer is not relevant. see below.

My DLA is high care and low mobility
Do you mean to stay on IS as a couple with my partner claiming, or myself ?

As your DLA care is high you will be better off with him claiming IS for both of you. You can keep your ESA Conts just for yourself ... your rate will drop to £106.50 a week or the rate your IB was before it ended whichever is the higher.

My history is since last year, when I moved over from Incapacity benefit
Claim was from 7th Aug 2012
before incapacity benefit long term

So how long have you been getting ESA £121.65 a week?
You must have completed an ESA3 to get the extra increase over what you were getting on IB. Did you declare your partner on the ESA3?

So basically we can only claim Income support as a couple OR Income Employment support allowance as a couple.

You can only claim *as a couple* ESA (IR) or Income Support
But you can claim Income Support as a couple and keep your ESA (C) open at £106.50. The 106.50 will be deducted from the IS as it should be doing now, so his IS should be paying him about £40 a week now yes?.

epitome

Spicelady wrote: »

By the way Ive remembered we had a letter in Sept 2013 about overpayment of IS of about £400 which was from 25th aug 2012 til the present day. Which we paid, when my partner phoned they said it was due to me being on ESA now instead of Incapacity benefit.

But did they continue to pay the IS?

Spicelady

hello
Thanks again for your input and help
On the ESA50 it was stated he was my carer and partner in a few statements

I don't remember filling in a ESA3, Ive googled it and it says its quite long, so I would have remembered, Im sure

I will go and look in my files and see when I can see any change in the money

Also I can give a breakdown of what is on the IS letter ( although I know that's not what u asked)

The is is 30.40 a week as a couple.
We paid the overpayment of £400 and it there was no break in claim

I shall go and have a look in my files and see if I can see when any money amount changed

Spicelady

Hello again
Ive found some info, this is the current info which we had from the IS addressed to my partner

What the law states u need 112.55
Partner sick disabled 44.20
Caring for someone 33.30
Disability income guarantee 21.75

Total 211.80

ESA for partner (me) 121.65
carers allowance 59.75

(DLA for me not included)

Income support 30.40


The other info Ive found some older letters before they changed it to ESA, stating I was on Incapacity benefit and had a partner and nothing has changed etc

The ESA between 25th aug 2012 and nov 2012 was 119.85 ( 71.40, 34.05,14.80 ...support group money and also Disabilty Income guarantee

Thanks again for your help