Has my brother paid enough NI to claim?

Ponsienella

My brother is on long term sick leave and his SSP is due to run out on 11th May, at which point I will need to complete a claim for ESA for him.

Looking at another thread it appears that in order to claim contributions-based ESA he needs to have paid enough NI in the 2013-14 & 2014-15 tax years.

For the tax years 2013/14 & (2014/15) my brother's P60s show:
Pay £12,177.31 ( £7,548.98)
Earnings at the LEL £5,668 (£3,108)
At the LEL up to the Primary Threshhold £2,093 (£1,176)
Above PT and including Upper Actual Point £4,416 (£1,946)
NIA paid £529.23 (£233.62)

For much of 2014/15 tax year he was off sick and claiming SSP. When this ran out in December 2014 he claimed contribution-based ESA and then returned to work on a phased return in early March 2015.
I presume when he was on ESA he would have NI contributions credited.

Can anyone advise from the figures given, whether he has paid sufficient NI in the period to make a contributions-based claim for ESA?

Ponsienella

teddysmum wrote: »

I believe that 'enough NI' refers to a minimum number of contributions and not just the amount paid.

Thank you for your quick reply.


Do you know how I can determine whether he has made the appropriate amount of contributions to claim contribution-based ESA?

teddysmum

There is a calculator on the Government website.

Ponsienella

Can anyone help by telling me whether you get NI credits when you are receiving SSP from an employer and the amount is therefore not enough to pay NI contributions on?

TELLIT01

teddysmum wrote: »

There is a calculator on the Government website.

Surely the calculator can't tell you how many NI contributions you have made, just how many weeks minimum it equates to. The only way to know how many weeks contributions were actually made will be by contacting HMRC.

Brighty

Ponsienella wrote: »

Can anyone help by telling me whether you get NI credits when you are receiving SSP from an employer and the amount is therefore not enough to pay NI contributions on?

When on ESA and SSP, you only get class 1 credits, which count towards your pension, but not benefits, for that you need class 2 or 3. Makes sense really, being on a sickness benefit does not not make you eligible to receive more sickness benefit

https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance-credits/eligibility

Brighty

Ponsienella

I thought from an answer on another thread that the NI contributions had to be made in 2013/14 & 2014/15.

I have just looked at another website and it states that (If I understand correctly) Claimants must have worked the full number of weeks of 26, that the weeks don't have to be consecutive, but they must fall within one of the two tax years before the benefit year in which the claim is made or in which the limited capability for work began. It states the benefit year runs from Jan - Dec.

I'm confused. My brother has been off sick since the end of October 2015 and claiming SSP via his employer. Does this mean his limited capability for work began when he went sick or is it from the day of his ESA claim which will be in May when his SSP runs out?

I'm sorry to ask so many questions but can anyone help me with the following questions?

1. When is the benefit year for my brother?
2. What tax years do his NI contributions have to fall into?
3. Does he only need to have made 26 NI contributions within that two year period to make a contributions-based claim for ESA? (e.g. If 2013/14 is a relevant tax year and he made 26 weeks contributions in that tax year, does that cover him?)

Thank your in advance for your help. He had to claim ESA at the end of 2014 when his SSP fell out that time too but, because he'd been working for years and not had time off before, we just knew he'd made enough contributions. It's different this time as in 2014/15 tax year he was claiming SSP and some months he paid NI (whilst on Company sick pay too) and then when just on SSP he didn't pay any.

bspm

Ponsienella wrote: »

I thought from an answer on another thread that the NI contributions had to be made in 2013/14 & 2014/15.

I have just looked at another website and it states that (If I understand correctly) Claimants must have worked the full number of weeks of 26, that the weeks don't have to be consecutive, but they must fall within one of the two tax years before the benefit year in which the claim is made or in which the limited capability for work began. It states the benefit year runs from Jan - Dec.

I'm confused. My brother has been off sick since the end of October 2015 and claiming SSP via his employer. Does this mean his limited capability for work began when he went sick or is it from the day of his ESA claim which will be in May when his SSP runs out?

I'm sorry to ask so many questions but can anyone help me with the following questions?

1. When is the benefit year for my brother?
2. What tax years do his NI contributions have to fall into?
3. Does he only need to have made 26 NI contributions within that two year period to make a contributions-based claim for ESA? (e.g. If 2013/14 is a relevant tax year and he made 26 weeks contributions in that tax year, does that cover him?)

Thank your in advance for your help. He had to claim ESA at the end of 2014 when his SSP fell out that time too but, because he'd been working for years and not had time off before, we just knew he'd made enough contributions. It's different this time as in 2014/15 tax year he was claiming SSP and some months he paid NI (whilst on Company sick pay too) and then when just on SSP he didn't pay any.

Contributory Employment and Support Allowance provides financial help to people who are unable to work because of illness or disability.

You qualify for contributory Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) if you have paid sufficient National Insurance contributions. You must have made the following level of National Insurance Contributions:

in one of the last two complete tax years, you must have paid Class 1 or 2 contributions to the value of 26 times the lower earnings limit; and
in both of the last two complete tax years, you must have paid or been credited with, Class 1 or 2 contributions to the value of 50 times the lower earnings limit.
The 2 tax years that are relevant are the ones that were completed before the benefit year in which your period of limited capability for work began. The tax year runs 6 April - 5th April. The benefit year runs from the first Sunday in January.

The lower earnings limit for the 2013/2014 was £109 per week 2014/2015 tax year was £111 per week.

nannytone_2

15/16 earnings are irrelevant as they will not use that tax year.
the years they use change on the first sunday in janyary and are the last 2 complete tax years ( so in jan 2016 the 15/16 tax year hadn't finished)

the relevant years are 13/14 and 14/15

Ponsienella

Hi there,

I'm so sorry. I must be missing something here as I'm still having difficulty understanding this.

If I take the 2013/14 tax year:
The LEL was £109 per week so to qualify my brother needs to have paid NI of 26 times that amount in NI which would be £2,834?

He only paid £529.93 in NI yet was in full time employment so surely anyone on minimum pay would have no chance of qualifying for benefits?

For 2014/15 tax year 26 times the LEL of £111 per week is £2,886.

50 times the LEL is £5,450 and £5,550 respectively.

He paid NI of £529.93 in 2013/14 and only £233.62 in 2014/15 tax year.


Any help is very much appreciated.

bspm

Ponsienella wrote: »

Hi there,

I'm so sorry. I must be missing something here as I'm still having difficulty understanding this.

If I take the 2013/14 tax year:
The LEL was £109 per week so to qualify my brother needs to have paid NI of 26 times that amount in NI which would be £2,834?

He only paid £529.93 in NI yet was in full time employment so surely anyone on minimum pay would have no chance of qualifying for benefits?

For 2014/15 tax year 26 times the LEL of £111 per week is £2,886.

50 times the LEL is £5,450 and £5,550 respectively.

He paid NI of £529.93 in 2013/14 and only £233.62 in 2014/15 tax year.


Any help is very much appreciated.

In 2013/2014 he needs to have earned at least 26 weeks at £109.00 per week.
In 2014/2015 he needs to have earned at least 26 weeks at £111.00 per week.

LEL stands for Lower Earnings Limit, not 26 x the LEL