Esa and dla.

jj20

Hello,  I'm really struggling to understand all the new benefit changes starting to begin from next year.  What will happen to people who are currently on cb Esa only (transferred from incapacity benefit around 2018), and also stlll receive dla?   Will they be transferred over to uc now or not?  Is all uc means tested?  If yes, does that mean that people with savings will no longer receive any money?    What is happening with the dla people too?

Sorry for all the questions but it's such a worrying time.  Thanks.  

Rubyroobs

If you are just on contributions based ESA you will not need to go onto UC, you would likely just transfer to New style ESA at some point soon.

KxMx

Are you certain your ESA is 100% CB?

When transferring from IB if applicable an Income Related top up can be payable so a person can be on both CB & IR. 

If you are on 100% CB then this or DLA is not migrating to UC. 

I only advise on current Government policy. 

The recent Government plans are essentially a wish list. What eventually becomes legislation is usually a watered down version of that wish list. 

jj20

Hi, yes, it's just cb Esa. (£276 per fortnight).  I have some savings and although I would have been entitled to claim a little bit of ir Esa when i transferred over, I didn't do it it as I find it really stressful dealing with the dwp which makes my anxiety so much worse and I didnt want to worry about claiming a means tested benefit. 

If my cb Esa is not migrating over to uc, then will I be forced onto the new unemployment insurance benefit?.  It talks about combining cb jsa and Esa into a new time limited benefit paid at current £138 pw, but people would be expected to seek work.   I am chronically ill and housebound and unable to work so it sounds like I would lose my money after the time limit ends.

With regards to dla. I'm told il be moved to pip at some point but with the new pip rules making it harder to get then it's likely that il lose that too.  I'm trying not to get ahead of myself but it is very worrying. 

Spoonie_Turtle

I think the best thing you can do is see if you're entitled to any means-tested benefits.  Just as a first step, so you know whether it's worth thinking about trying to do anything.

Re: the new unemployment insurance, at the moment it sounds like that's what they're planning.  We don't know exactly what will happen or how they will deal with existing claimants.  If you are forced onto the new benefit then you will at some point have to claim UC to survive, unless you can somehow live off just DLA.

But they're also planning to cut the Support Group equivalent on UC, so if you would be entitled to UC already it would be better to claim it sooner rather than later.  For you it should be a simple process, the only snag might be if they can't verify your identity online or over the phone, so they'd normally request you come in for an appointment but they can do home visits where absolutely necessary - and since you're already living on the money you already get, and that won't stop or reduce when you claim UC, the delay while waiting for a home visit shouldn't be a problem.

I know you said dealing with DWP is stressful, and I very much understand, but it would probably be less stressful for you to claim UC now whilst we know how the system works, than stay worrying about how an unknown future system will work and having to engage with that without other people being able to guide you based on established experience.  (If that makes sense.)

jj20

Thanks spoonie, and I will check to see if I'm still actually able to claim any means tested benefits now.  Are all elements of UC means tested?  Why do you need to pass a verification process when they already know who you are?  I really hope there will be some clarity soon about what happens to existing long term cb Esa and the new unemployment insurance soon though. 

KxMx

Yes all of UC is means tested. 
Every claim to UC is treated as a new claim, even if you are migrating from legacy benefits. So everyone has to verify ID. 

Spoonie_Turtle

Also with the ID, logically they have to be certain it's you claiming and not somebody who's intercepted your migration letter and knows enough of your other details to make the claim.

jj20

OK thanks KxMx.   I'm somewhat confused about the NS esa and the legacy Esa one, if I changed from incapacity to Esa years ago then am I classed as ns Esa or not?   Any idea when there will be any clarification about the unemployment insurance and whether existing cb Esa people will be moved onto it or not? 

KxMx

I only advise on the current system. 

When a claim moved from Incapacity Benefit to ESA, this was Contributions Based with an IR top up if applicable. 

From the amount you gave it does seem you are only on CB ESA.

It is not classed as New Style ESA for you because there has been no change (such as a migration to UC) to trigger that conversion. 

jj20

OK I understand.   Yes it is only cb Esa only, as I didn't apply for the ir top up at that time.   If I am not classed as new style esa then what happens next with people like me?