Esa review?

ankspon

After a long fight i was awarded the support group until 2015,every April i receive a form to declare my occupational pension and any rise i may get.I have just had a call saying they are reviewing my claim again and to provide pension details again.Is this normal as i thought i would be left alone until 2015 or my circumstances changed which they haven't.I really thought my nightmare would be over until 2015 after getting my MP involved and having a long drawn out battle.
Is it usual to review claims when the award date has not been reached and the fact i gave my pension details in April,this will not change until April next year and i do not always get a rise.

HB58

Who told you that your ESA was due for review in April 2015?

edit - sorry, that sounds a bit aggressive! I'm trying to find out whether your review date is really 2015, or whether there is room for misunderstanding.

epitome

Sometimes claims are randomly selected for review if they have asked you for an up to date report on your income then you have to supply it.

It's the price you have to pay to get free government money.

help4help2013

the time limit is not set in stone it never is if you won an esa appeal they the time initial is usually only a recommendation which the dwp always ignore

the op has an occupational pension and has more than likely paid into the system and is entitled to help in the way of any form of benefits so if you pay in like lot of people do i would not say it was free money from the government

mikey_bach

It depends if you are on ESA conts or ESA IR.
the occ pen effect both differently
I would just supply what they have asked for, its done and dusted then

tumboodle

help4help2013 wrote: »

the op has an occupational pension and has more than likely paid into the system and is entitled to help in the way of any form of benefits so if you pay in like lot of people do i would not say it was free money from the government

There is a misconception that money paid to the government via VAT, Income Tax or NIC is kept in a little pot with the payers name written on it.

When a benefit payment is made it comes out of what other people are currently paying in. If the amount of money going to the Treasury now is lower than it was last year then 'reductions' are made to what can be paid out.

If this 'pot' did actually exist I would be dead and buried before I could ever get round to taking back what I have paid in. For many years my gross annual salary exceeded £100,000, I paid to keep to cars on the road etc, and in all that time up until a few years ago all we have had back is minimal attention from the NHS and the old family allowance for 16 years.
These 'reductions' can take the form of a reduction in amount or a 'hardening' of what you can have.

In the OP's case they are taking money from others so indirectly it is 'free money' - they aren't actually doing anything to qualify for it ie working.

Reviewing a claim is another way of trying to reduce the amount paid out.

ankspon

HB58 wrote: »

Who told you that your ESA was due for review in April 2015?

edit - sorry, that sounds a bit aggressive! I'm trying to find out whether your review date is really 2015, or whether there is room for misunderstanding.

I received a confirmation letter in 2012 that i was in the support group until 2015,this was after getting my MP involved when they refused to look at my claim again.I get a letter every April asking about my pension and if there has been a rise,i return the form with all the info they need and i usually hear nothing until the next April when it starts again.As for the poster who said free money i worked for 30 years,i even worked for 6 years after my diagnosis and refused several attempts of ill health retirement until i could no longer physically do my job.Thanks to all the other replies who offer helpful advice.

HB58

Thanks ankspon,

I asked because it is unusual for a claimant to be told when to expect reassessment without asking so wondered if there was any room for misunderstanding.

However, it sounds to me as if you have not actually been reassessed - this would entail another ESA50 form +/- a face2face assessment.

I also have an occupational pension and get several letters a year asking for details. It's a bit of a pain when nothing has changed, but the info is easily to hand so I just send it in (again).

ankspon

Sorry i meant they was reviewing it not reassessing,but that is twice this year they wanted my pension details,i just found it strange when it is normally once.

epitome

ankspon wrote: »

I received a confirmation letter in 2012 that i was in the support group until 2015,this was after getting my MP involved when they refused to look at my claim again.I get a letter every April asking about my pension and if there has been a rise,i return the form with all the info they need and i usually hear nothing until the next April when it starts again.As for the poster who said free money i worked for 30 years,i even worked for 6 years after my diagnosis and refused several attempts of ill health retirement until i could no longer physically do my job.Thanks to all the other replies who offer helpful advice.

I was the only one to answer your question.

Whatever you say, you are getting free money and in order to continue to get that money you have to comply with their requests for information.

tumboodle

epitome wrote: »

I was the only one to answer your question.

Whatever you say, you are getting free money and in order to continue to get that money you have to comply with their requests for information.

And that response, like your others when you harp on about benefits being 'free money', is of no value whatsoever to the OP or anyone else.

You seem to have a problem with benefit claimants who complain - why don't you just either deal with the original question in a civilised way or move on and join the rest of the trolls on this site - I am sure you will be in good company!