Esa entitlement but credits only

calcotti

Alice_Holt said:.

1)  Make the New Style ESA application, understand the ESA criteria and points scoring system, obtain a fit note, get relevant evidence to back up the claim.  Look at the Citizens Advice site for information on this:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/employment-and-support-allowance/help-with-your-esa-claim/fill-in-form/  

OP’s husband is already receiving NI credits due to having a LCW or LCWRA. Hopefully they will not need a new assessment. OP, do you know what the outcome of the last assessment was? I infer he was previously in ESA Support Group but did the latest assessment come to the same conclusion?

calcotti

Claire1985smiley said: Previously before I found all this out I was looking at something I found online it was relaxation rules for the 1st contribution for esa that I thought would apply to him it is called relaxation of the first contribution the rules could be relaxed if the claimant had paid insurance contributions for any year before the relevant benefit year but esa have told me this I would have needed to satisfy the entitlement to carers allowance which I wasn't due to working. 

This is another example of poor advice from DWP, or you have misunderstood what you were told. In order for the relaxation condition to apply your husband would have needed to be entitled to Carer’s Allowance in the previous tax year. Whether or not you were getting CA would make no difference.

Claire1985smiley

sorry for delay in replying.
One child due 6th Feb 21
How much do you earn weekly? 451 per week then take out tax, national insurance and contribution to the standard government backed pension contribution (I am in sales so get a bonus once every year it can range anything from 500 to 2500) will this affect the calculation? I had included it on the online calculation.
just bought my 1st home in March this year (he isn't on the mortgage as he wasn't receiving ESA so had no income that could contribute and then looked like he was a dependant and making it harder to get a mortgage and his age he is 9 years older than me)
What PIP does your husband receive?  awarded June 2020 for 3 years enhanced care pip only (he lost the mobility part he had) 
£2000 savings but £1800 of this is already set aside for gas being installed as current boiler is 20 years old getting 


I think I seen someone else ask what previous awards he had, he got a 2-year support award backdated to March 2018, but he was working full time with a disability focused employer and I then cancelled the claim. working lasted until March 2019 until he had a nervous breakdown and I applied for ESA again and he was awarded another 2-year support group award but as credit only, they used earlier tax years to look at his contributions which didn't include the period he worked in 18/19. it has taken me until last week to get to the bottom of what was wrong and was advised by ESA Maintenance if I had actually made a fresh claim in January 2020 this year he would have been getting the weekly payments since then at £113.55 per week as he would have satisfied both contributions from 5th January 2020

calcotti

What is net monthly pay after NI, tax and pension deductions? Bonuses will be taken into in the month they are received.

Savings below £6000 will be ignored.

if you think the PIP decision was wrong you can request a Mandatory Reconsideration of the decision. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/benefits-introduction/problems-with-benefits-and-tax-credits/challenging-a-benefit-decision/challenging-a-dwp-benefit-decision-on-or-after-28-october-2013/challenging-a-benefit-or-tax-credit-decision-asking-for-a-reconsideration/

your UC calculation would look like this:
Standard couple allowance £594.04 plus LCWRA element £341.92 plus carer element £162.92. Maximum UC = £1,098.88
Unearned income (ESA) £492.05/month this is once Support Group Payment is in place.
Earned income £1,800 (say), work allowance £512, Earnings taken into account £1,288
Earnings tapered at 63% £811.44
UC payable = £1,098.88 - £492.05 - £811.08 which is < 0 so no UC is payable.

Once your child is born the maximum UC will increase by £235.83. If your earnings will be £1,800/month there will be £30 of UC payable.

Are you expecting your earnings to drop after the birth?

Claire1985smiley

calcotti said:

Claire1985smiley said: Previously before I found all this out I was looking at something I found online it was relaxation rules for the 1st contribution for esa that I thought would apply to him it is called relaxation of the first contribution the rules could be relaxed if the claimant had paid insurance contributions for any year before the relevant benefit year but esa have told me this I would have needed to satisfy the entitlement to carers allowance which I wasn't due to working. 

This is another example of poor advice from DWP, or you have misunderstood what you were told. In order for the relaxation condition to apply your husband would have needed to be entitled to Carer’s Allowance in the previous tax year. Whether or not you were getting CA would make no difference.

sorry can i just ask one question on this, i hadnt found this until recently and phoned them to ask. would he have to have been claiming carers allowance to satisy this or what does entitlement mean? ESA told me he has to actually have claimed for this to satisy the condition

calcotti

Claire1985smiley said:

calcotti said:

Claire1985smiley said: Previously before I found all this out I was looking at something I found online it was relaxation rules for the 1st contribution for esa that I thought would apply to him it is called relaxation of the first contribution the rules could be relaxed if the claimant had paid insurance contributions for any year before the relevant benefit year but esa have told me this I would have needed to satisfy the entitlement to carers allowance which I wasn't due to working. 

This is another example of poor advice from DWP, or you have misunderstood what you were told. In order for the relaxation condition to apply your husband would have needed to be entitled to Carer’s Allowance in the previous tax year. Whether or not you were getting CA would make no difference.

sorry can i just ask one question on this, i hadnt found this until recently and phoned them to ask. would he have to have been claiming carers allowance to satisy this or what does entitlement mean? ESA told me he has to actually have claimed for this to satisy the condition

To satisfy the condition a claim for CA has to have been made but there are are circumstances in which, having claimed, someone cannot be paid CA but they still have entitlement. This is the meaning of the condition. However if he wasn’t caring for anybody he wasn’t eligible to claim anyway so it’s all irrelevant.

Claire1985smiley

calcotti said:

What is net monthly pay after NI, tax and pension deductions?
Savings below £6000 will be ignored.
if you think the PIP decision was wrong you can request a Mandatory Reconsideration of the decision. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/benefits-introduction/problems-with-benefits-and-tax-credits/challenging-a-benefit-decision/challenging-a-dwp-benefit-decision-on-or-after-28-october-2013/challenging-a-benefit-or-tax-credit-decision-asking-for-a-reconsideration/

your UC calculation would look like this:
Standard couple allowance £594.04 plus LCWRA element £341.92 plus carer element ££162.92. Maximum UC = £1,098.88
Unearned income (ESA) £492.05/month this is once Support Group Payment is in place.
Earned income £1,800 (say), work allowance £512, Earnings taken into account £1,288
Earnings tapered at 63% £811.44
UC payable = £1,098.88 - £492.05 - £811.08 which is < 0 so no UC is payable.
Once your child is born the maximum UC will increase by £235.83.

thank you for this it was good to know either way on UC entitlement. I didn't appeal the decision for pip mobility and it is probably too late now the decision came back in June? I have had so many problems with them previously with tribunals I just couldn't face going back and I had so much other stuff to get through I know this sounds bad but I just couldn't face having to try and convince them he was entitled to this they can be extremely demeening

calcotti

Claire1985smiley said:. I didn't appeal the decision for pip mobility and it is probably too late now the decision came back in June? 

i do understand why you might not want to put yourself through it however although a request for a consideration will be late because it is more than a month it can be made up to 13 months. If DWP refuse to accept the request that triggers the right to appeal to a tribunal. If you wish to request an MR they will look at the whole award again but make clear you only want to challenge the decision on Mobility. You need to explain why you think the decision is wrong. When he had a mobility award previously was that PIP or was it a DLA award?

Claire1985smiley

it was DLA lower mobility and we have had to go through 0 awards before at tribunal after he had lost previous awards so I didn't want to risk losing everything, he was awarded this latest pip enhanced care in June on paper based only without the need for an assessment

calcotti

The threshold for a PIP mobility award is higher than for DLA so it maybe that the decision is correct. He would need to score 8 points from the two mobility descriptors to qualify for anything   https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf