Change of circumstances with contributions based ESA

Rubyroobs

If anyone can help I would be grateful. 
If someone has been claiming CB ESA for some years and their circumstances change so that they may now be eligible for some Income related ESA also is it still possible to claim this or does it have to be Universal credit. The person in question has been living with his dad who has now gone into care. The person is only claiming contributions based ESA. If he is awarded PIP ( claim in progress) and therefore likely to become eligible for sdp if PIP awarded and because he is now  living alone, can he still ask for Income related top up still  ? I understand that even if this is still possible he will likely be migrating to UC soon. I just wondered if having the old style contributions based ESA in place means he can still qualify for income related too.

huckster

The last older legacy ESA migration to UC letters will be posted in September 2025. If they are on legacy ESA claim, then yes they could ask ESA for IR top ups such as SDP from the relevant date, before claiming UC. 

If they are on New Style ESA then there are no top ups available such as SDP. And they would need to assess whether to claim UC. Use an online benefits calculator. They can have both New Style ESA and UC running at the same time, with UC deducting New Style ESA as other benefit income.

Rubyroobs

huckster said:

The last older legacy ESA migration to UC letters will be posted in September 2025. If they are on legacy ESA claim, then yes they could ask ESA for IR top ups such as SDP from the relevant date, before claiming UC. 

If they are on New Style ESA then there are no top ups available such as SDP. And they would need to assess whether to claim UC. Use an online benefits calculator. They can have both New Style ESA and UC running at the same time, with UC deducting New Style ESA as other benefit income.

Thank you.

Robbie64

Is the person not already on ESA-IR as well as the conts version? Unless they have another source of income (eg occupational pension) that removes the income related element, or have savings in excess of £16,000, I would have thought the person would be getting both conts based ESA (in the Support Group) and the enhanced disability premium, which is part of income related ESA.

If its conts based ESA only then they will be getting £140.55 per week (£281.10 per fortnight). If there is an income related top up (the EDP, £21.20 per week) then they will be getting £161.75 per week (£323.50 per fortnight).

Rubyroobs

Robbie64 said:

Is the person not already on ESA-IR as well as the conts version? Unless they have another source of income (eg occupational pension) that removes the income related element, or have savings in excess of £16,000, I would have thought the person would be getting both conts based ESA (in the Support Group) and the enhanced disability premium, which is part of income related ESA.

If its conts based ESA only then they will be getting £140.55 per week (£281.10 per fortnight). If there is an income related top up (the EDP, £21.20 per week) then they will be getting £161.75 per week (£323.50 per fortnight).

Thanks. They are getting the £140.55 a week only. They have around 10k in capital. I have only just become involved but yes I think they likely have been missing out on some IR ESA for a while. I will encourage them to give ESA a call thanks. I think they were wrongly advised a few years back that they would need to make a claim for UC to get any more money and they didn't want the hassle of that at the time. thanks for your help. Now PIP is being applied for so would make a big difference if they now become eligible for sdp but may not be sorted before migration I guess ( Pip process only just started )..

KxMx

Even if they've migrated, should PIP get awarded it would be backdated to the date they asked for application*.
A retrospective claim for SDP can then be done for application date - migration date, once that's in place UC can look at backdating of Transitional Protection.

*If Dad was previously getting one of these benefits, SDP would be payable from PIP application date. 

• PIP daily living component
• DLA care component at the middle or highest rate
• Attendance Allowance
• Constant Attendance Allowance paid with Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or War Pension
• Armed Forces Independence Payment

If not, SDP would be payable after Dad moved out.