New style ESA and personal pension

baconandegg

Hi, my husband has recently been able to start claiming new style ESA and he's in the support group. He has a v small personal pension that he could draw down from. He says that he can't get money from it on a weekly basis, it can only be monthly/every 4 weeks. My understanding is that he could receive £85 per week from the pension before it affects his ESA, but what if he can only get the pension as £340 every 4 weeks? Is this still acceptable to the DWP?

Robbie64

baconandegg said:

Hi, my husband has recently been able to start claiming new style ESA and he's in the support group. He has a v small personal pension that he could draw down from. He says that he can't get money from it on a weekly basis, it can only be monthly/every 4 weeks. My understanding is that he could receive £85 per week from the pension before it affects his ESA, but what if he can only get the pension as £340 every 4 weeks? Is this still acceptable to the DWP?

It wouldn't be a problem. I'd imagine these days most personal / works pensions are paid monthly. The DWP will look at the annual amount of pension and divide it by 52.

TELLIT01

The pension works out to about £78.50 per week so there is no problem.

Secretsusie

Or he could draw irregular lumps sums (if the pension allows this) which will be treated as capital and not income, so wouldnt affect new style esa at all.

calcotti

Secretsusie said:

Or he could draw irregular lumps sums (if the pension allows this) which will be treated as capital and not income, so wouldnt affect new style esa at all.

But as the regular amount is in any case below the level which would affect the ESA at all there really isn't much point in doing that.

Alice_Holt

Secretsusie said:

Or he could draw irregular lumps sums (if the pension allows this) which will be treated as capital and not income, so wouldnt affect new style esa at all.

        "But as the regular amount is in any case below the level which would affect the ESA at all there really isn't much point in doing that."

  Absolutely.
      And if the "irregular lumps sums"  are a consistently taken, then the OP runs the risk that a DWP decision maker could determine that this represents income rather than capital  

baconandegg

Thanks everyone 

Secretsusie

Alice_Holt said:

Secretsusie said:

Or he could draw irregular lumps sums (if the pension allows this) which will be treated as capital and not income, so wouldnt affect new style esa at all.

        "But as the regular amount is in any case below the level which would affect the ESA at all there really isn't much point in doing that."

  Absolutely.
      And if the "irregular lumps sums"  are a consistently taken, then the OP runs the risk that a DWP decision maker could determine that this represents income rather than capital  

Yes I was just highlighting it was possible if the op wanted a little more than the £85 for another use as a one off, eg a new car, or home improvement.