Passed ESA medical exam, what can I expect now?

SlySymbol

I finally had my ESA medical exam a couple of weeks ago and was recently
informed that I had passed.

I was told by help line staff that it looks like I will be paid around £101 every
week although the decision wasn't final yet. I was also told that I could expect a
lot of backdated pay because it took so long for me to be called in for my medical.

I still have a lot of questions though but couldn't really afford to stay on the line too
long because of the cost.

Which group does it look like I have been placed in based on this information and what
does being in that group entail?

How long can I expect to wait for the backdated payments and how long will it likely be
before my weekly payments are increased to £101?

I have also read that the payments are only backdated for 3 months but this goes against
what I was told on the phone, which is true?

Any other information about what I can expect or anything you feel would be useful would
be appreciated.

djrx

This is personal experience, others may be better placed to answer technicalities.

I don't think there is a way to tell from the amount, which group you are in, both are something like £73 a week, then the rest is made up from which disability premiums you get. With the basic disability premium i think it would add up to £105 a week, they stopped giving the basic premium to people in the work related group, in April of this year AFAIK, so that could point to you being in the support group, however that may depends if you claimed before April.

The 3 month backdate is to before you started your claim, again only AFAIK someone may know better, So if they owe you pay it can be much more than 3 months - however long it took them to sort it out.. the three months is for say you make a claim in July, but want to be paid from May because of some extenuating circumstance meant you couldn't or didn't claim until July..

edit:

just an addition to that, now that it has been processed, your very next payment should reflect the new payment rate. Also Any backdated payment usually comes through very quickly - mine was sent out the day it was processed.

SlySymbol

I applied near the start of the year definitely before April.

Thanks for clearing up the backdating issue.

djrx

Yeah so there is no way really to tell from the amount which group you will be in.

poppy12345

SlySymbol wrote: »

I finally had my ESA medical exam a couple of weeks ago and was recently
informed that I had passed.

I was told by help line staff that it looks like I will be paid around £101 every
week although the decision wasn't final yet. I was also told that I could expect a
lot of backdated pay because it took so long for me to be called in for my medical.

I still have a lot of questions though but couldn't really afford to stay on the line too
long because of the cost.

Which group does it look like I have been placed in based on this information and what
does being in that group entail?

How long can I expect to wait for the backdated payments and how long will it likely be
before my weekly payments are increased to £101?

I have also read that the payments are only backdated for 3 months but this goes against
what I was told on the phone, which is true?

Any other information about what I can expect or anything you feel would be useful would
be appreciated.

ESA WRAG payment for those who claimed before April is £102.15 per week.

Support Group £109.65 + £15.90 if entitled to Income Related (not paid on Contribution Based)
These are based on a single persons claim. The extra money is backdated to week 14 of your claim.

TELLIT01

SlySymbol wrote: »

Which group does it look like I have been placed in based on this information and what
does being in that group entail?

How long can I expect to wait for the backdated payments and how long will it likely be
before my weekly payments are increased to £101?

I have also read that the payments are only backdated for 3 months but this goes against
what I was told on the phone, which is true?

From the amount you have been told you will receive each week it looks as if you have been placed in the WRAG.
The backdated payment should be made within a few weeks. Exact timescale isn't possible to give as it depends on the workload in the managing office.
Claims can only be backdated a maximum of 3 months. That means that if you claim on the 1st of November the start date can only be backdated to the 1st of August. That is not the situation you are in. Your increased payment will be backdated to the start of the 14th week from the start date of your claim.

epitome

Important to note, that a lot of claims have 7 waiting days at the start.

WRAG arrears will be paid to the start of the 14th week after payments began...if you had waiting days this would be the 15th week of your claim.

What date did you claim from?
What date did they pay you from?

WRAG is £102.15 per week.

SlySymbol

Thanks for the help everyone.

What exactly does the work related activity group involve? The name itself doesn't sound
very promising considering my limitations.

poppy12345

SlySymbol wrote: »

Thanks for the help everyone.

What exactly does the work related activity group involve? The name itself doesn't sound
very promising considering my limitations.

https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/esa-glossary/1345-work-related-activity-group

SlySymbol

Is there anyway to get the backdated pay more quickly such as phoning up or
visiting the job centre? Or is that useless?

poppy12345

SlySymbol wrote: »

Is there anyway to get the backdated pay more quickly such as phoning up or
visiting the job centre? Or is that useless?

have you recieved the decision yet? Your first post stated that the decision wasn't final.

If you haven't had the decision yet then i advice you ring and ask if it's been made. Nothing is certain whether you're in a group until that decision's been made. If it's been made they'll tell you.