Contribution based esa and uc

SashaD

Hi 
Does anyone know what advantage there is in continuing to claim new style/contribution based esa alongside uc , with it being deducted from your uc payment, only advantage I can see is that you get some money paid fortnightly?
Will new style esa be ending soon anyways like income based esa?
Thanks!

HillStreetBlues

SashaD said:

Hi 
Does anyone know what advantage there is in continuing to claim new style/contribution based esa alongside uc , with it being deducted from your uc payment, only advantage I can see is that you get some money paid fortnightly?
Will new style esa be ending soon anyways like income based esa?
Thanks!

If you happened to have a windfall the ESA would still be payable.

Muttleythefrog

Absolutely advise keeping the C-based/NS ESA in payment even though it will be deducted in full (at a monthly calculated rate) from UC. As above it isn't means tested so if circumstances changed it could remain in payment when means tested benefits do not. There are benefit changes ahead as we know but the detail surrounding the new benefit the government want to create by merging it with C-based/NS JSA equivalent and the terms, qualification, amounts and duration of entitlements to the benefit remain obscure. Such changes likely some way off and subject to amendment even once defined given political processes. Keep option open seems best advice and yes more regular payments can be helpful than the single monthly larger UC payment. I can't see any obvious disadvantages at present to keeping the entitlement to ESA other than another strand of the DWP to advise if any changes like address.

SashaD

Thanks hill street blues and mutley for your advice and guidance
Much appreciated 👏 

Robbie64

Don't forget the £10 Christmas Bonus! You get that with your conts / NS ESA but not UC...

huckster

New Style ESA also comes with class 1 NI contributions, which also provides for possible qualification for future contributory based benefits. So if the OP moved in with a new partner and due to new partners earnings they received zero or very small UC payment as a couple then being able to receive New Style ESA in their own name, may be useful.

Spoonie_Turtle

I tend to be of the view of: keep your options open.  If you are claiming or can claim both, do, until/unless something changes and you need to reevaluate the situation. 

That way you almost certainly won't later look back and regret the benefits you claimed, but you might regret not claiming something that was open to you at the time - e.g. in the case of an inheritance or an unexpected win on something large enough to no longer be eligible for UC, you'd regret not claiming nsESA when you were able to.  Or e.g. if claiming both only gave a small amount of UC so you just stuck with ESA, you might later regret not claiming the UC if something like cost-of-living payments or other unexpected help predicated on receiving UC came about.