Esa income based to contribution based help please

Alipops

Hi,
Was ordering if anyone can help me. I should have researched this before now but I've been totally at a loss dealing with a family bereavement.

I am in the support group of sea income based. I have just got married and my husbands earnings will be too high to continue income based.

Can I switch to contribution based? And if so, how do I got about this? Do I need to re apply ?

Any advise very much welcome, thanks!

pmlindyloo

If you are in the support group of ESA then you may already be on contribution based ESA with an income based 'top up'.

If you look on your award letter for ESA it should tell you whether you were eligible for contribution based ESA as part of your claim. If you were then you would continue to get the contribution based part of ESA.

Contribution based ESA is based on your NI contributions. Usually you would have had to have been working and paying class 1 NI contributions in the two tax years before you applied for ESA or have been transferred from Incapacity Benefit.

Contribution based ESA is always paid before income based so if you were not eligible when you applied then you won't be eligible now.

You need to inform ESA of your change of circumstances. They will tell you if you are eligible for the contribution part of ESA if you cannot find the information in your award letter.

Torry_Quine

Were you living together before you married because if you were then his income would have menat you weren't entitled to income based.