ESA to UC migration info

FannyAdamski

Hello, 

I've just received my UC migration notice and am in need of some clarification, if anybody here could kindly offer it. 

I receive ESA Support Group, but am uncertain if it's entirely, or partly, income-related. I have some reason to think it's possibly contribution-based with an income-related top-up, but I don't have my original award letter and my last uprating letter seems ambiguous. The letter states : "The payment of ESA is based on your National Insurance Contribution records and any additional amount the law says you need to live on." 

Then it states my weekly amounts:

Living expenses: £90.50

Disability Income Guarantee £20.85 

Support Group £47.70

Finally, it states: "Which gives a total income-related amount - £159.05", suggesting that actually my entire ESA is income-related.

I read somewhere that the Disability Income Guarantee is the IR top-up to contribution-based ESA and, as I understand it, that would stop and be replaced by UC while the contribution ESA would continue outside UC, but be subtracted from the total UC entitlement. 

Assuming my ESA is as above, I've done a calculation to establish how much UC I would get, replacing the IR ESA and how much contribution-based ESA would continue in payment:

Minus the IR top-up, my weekly ESA is £138.20, but UC calculation is monthly:

£138.20 x 52 = £7,186.4 % 12 = £598.86 - to be subtracted from monthly UC entitlement, so:

£809.64 UC

- £598.86 CB-ESA

= £210.78 UC  

Alternatively, if my entire ESA award is IR, then all of it stops and my UC monthly amount would be £809.64 (standard single rate, over 25 + LCWRA).

With either scenario, my income would be higher than my current ESA, so transitional protection would not apply to my UC claim. However, Regulation 19 would apply to my UC claim, replacing the  ESA Support Group with the equivalent LCWRA. 

Am I right, or wrong, about any, or all, of the above? I'd be very grateful indeed for any feedback. Thank you.

FA

Robbie64

If you get an amount listed as Disability Income Guarantee then at least some of your ESA is income related. The DIG is also known as the Enhanced Disability Premium and this is only paid under income related ESA.

Re: one way to tell if you get contributions based ESA- do you get a £10 Christmas Bonus with your ESA in early December? If so then you are also on the contributory version of ESA. If you can't remember, do you get a P45 every year? If your sole source of income is ESA and yoiu get a P45 you can tell from the P45 if you get conts based ESA as well as income related ESA. There will be an amount entered in the Taxable and Pay and Taxable Benefit boxes. For fully income related ESA the amounts in these boxes is £0.00.

You will transfer from the Support Group in ESA (IR) to LCWRA.

KxMx

Your calculations and scenarios look spot on to me 😊

FannyAdamski

@Robbie64

Thank you for your reply. Yes, at least part of my ESA is income-related, hence the UC migration notice (I don't receive any other legacy benefit). I don't remember claiming ESA (though I remember at least one WCA); it was that long ago and it was handled mostly by support workers. But I claimed not long after losing my last job and presumed that I would have met the eligibility criteria for contribution-based. Also, in the past I'm sure that I recall receiving the £10.00 Xmas bonus. But I think that my last P45 was £0.00 payable.

FannyAdamski

@KxMx,

Thank you 😊

Robbie64

FannyAdamski said:

@Robbie64

Thank you for your reply. Yes, at least part of my ESA is income-related, hence the UC migration notice (I don't receive any other legacy benefit). I don't remember claiming ESA (though I remember at least one WCA); it was that long ago and it was handled mostly by support workers. But I claimed not long after losing my last job and presumed that I would have met the eligibility criteria for contribution-based. Also, in the past I'm sure that I recall receiving the £10.00 Xmas bonus. But I think that my last P45 was £0.00 payable.

The above would suggest you are wholly on income related ESA. The only way to be sure is to phone the DWP.

The wording on DWP letters ("Which gives a total income-related amount - £159.05", as you posted above) doesn't always help identify if the payment includes conts based ESA as the latters are notoriously dreadful and sometimes misleading).

Your P45 is the best indicator of whether you receive some conts based ESA, along with whether or not you get a £10 Christmas Bonus. The latter is only paid with conts based ESA claims. If it is all income related then you won't get the £10.

FannyAdamski

@Robbie64,

I have tried to find past P45s, which I had forgotton about until reading your previous reply, but they must have gone the way of the shredder. However, I'm almost certain that they stated £0.00 payable. As for my much more vague recollection of getting the £10.00 Xmas bonus, I think it was likely the cold weather payment (I've always received a one-off extra winter amount of some sort).

Have thought about phoning DWP, but can't face it at present 😳 Instead, I'm going to assume that my ESA is entirely income-related.

Thank you, Robbie, for taking the time to respond with your helpful info.

Robbie64

You'll find out if you get a Christmas Bonus in the next month as, if you get conts based ESA, the £10 will be paid with your fortnightly ESA that includes a payment for the first week in December. You'll also find out when you make your UC application as any conts ESA will continue to be paid fortnightly and will be taken into account as income for UC.

The one thing I'm not sure about is whether you need to know whether you are on contributions based ESA when you apply for UC. Hopefully another forum member can clarify this.

FannyAdamski

@Robbie64,

It'll be interesting to see if I actually get the Xmas bonus in the coming month! I doubt it though, because I do now think that my ESA is income-related, based on what you pointed out re: my P45s. But something has just occurred to me: I used to get DLA, so maybe I did get the Xmas bonus back then, and that's why I thought I remembered getting it. 

I have to admit - as daft and ostrich-like as it sounds - that I hadn't considered what type of legacy ESA award I have until the prospect of UC managed migration started to loom large. I know that cont-ESA remains outside UC and continues in payment fortnightly, but I'm going to assume that the whole of my ESA will stop 2 weeks after claiming UC, to be replaced by whatever amount is the UC equivalent of ESA Support Group. 

Thanks again Robbie 😀

TimeLord1

As others have said in your last changes to Social Security benefits letter.

It will state on the first page Your circumstances mean you will qualify for a Christmas Bonus of £10 this means your ESA is contribution related.

But you can also be entitled to Disability Income Guarantee and be contribution related with an income related top up. Depending on savings. 

Just check the last changes letter.

TimeLord1

Are you also getting local housing  allowance being paid to a landlord or housing association?