Contribution based ESA in support group. DWP asking for info if a change in partners income/savings

Joanie18

I am a full time Carer for my civil partner. He has Primary Progressive MS. He receives (old style) contribution based ESA and is in the support group, he receives PIP and a small company pension after being medically retired. The DWP have sent him a blunt letter saying he did not advise them of a change in his company pension payment. He did send details, like he does every year, as I do it for him. Despite me ringing them a number of times I gave up after holding on for 40mins plus each time SO I posted again the pension information plus a letter detailing his massive decline in health and asking them what proof was required from him to send them to advise on his worsening health. I sent it tracked so have proof of delivery.
However the issue is that in the letter they say that he must advise them if his condition gets better or worse, or if there is a change to his or his partners income or savings. 
I only receive Carers allowance, however I will be cashing in a small pension pot of 5k soon. I though that contribution based ESA is a non means tested benefit so am surprised they asked about my income and savings. I totally understand about his company pension because every April we send DWP details of his pension increase and they adjust his ESA accordingly.
The DWP letter came from Interventions Manager.
This has left me really worried and wondered what thoughts people had on this.

poppy123456

If all of his ESA is contributions based then any savings/capital do not affect the amount he's entitled to. Any pension of up to £85/week is ignored but you still need to inform them (which i know you did) for every £1/week over this amount there's 50p/week deduction in the ESA.

If any of his ESA is Income Related then the pension would reduce it £1 for £1 anyway. Out of interest how much ESA does he receive each week? contributions based ESA support Group is £129.50/week, anything more than this and at least part of it will be Income Related. Savings/capital of more than £6,000 will affect Income Related ESA because it's means tested.

As he's already in the highest group (Support Group) you do not need to inform them of any worsening of condition because he can't be placed into a higher group than this. You need to be very careful when reporting changes like this because they could refer him for a review and then he'll be sent more forms to fill in and return.

Joanie18

Hi Poppy. He receives £129.50 less the pension deduction, as the weekly pension he receives is over £85.00. It is an NHS pension and he now gets £125.52 from that due to a big increase. He has always been on the Contribution ESA and in the Support Group since he was medically retired from NHS due to his worsening M.S.
I did wonder if the 2nd and 3rd pages of the letter were part of a standard template, hence the comments about advising them of conditions worsening or getting better (which will never happen). Oh no.....hope we do not get more forms as I'm the one who has to complete them as he cannot write due to hand tremors. It was bad enough doing the PIP forms. I hoped to get through to DWP to ask them if the PIP side can see documents on the ESA side, or that all data submitted in the past is saved within his account for all of them to access. Maybe one day I'll get through on the telephone.
 Thank you for your response. I had got myself really anxious about it and any anxiety on his part worsens his MS so I have to try and hide my worries.

poppy123456

Yes, it will be a standard letter. ESA and PIP are 2 different benefits and they don't usually communicate with each other for things like evidence. 

Please also be aware that when you ring DWP departments like PIP and ESA you're speaking to someone from a call centre who usually have very limited benefits knowledge. For this reason i wouldn't advise anyone to ring them for any such advice.

Joanie18

Thank you Poppy for the information, especially about the DWP call centre. I read so many negative comments on various other sites about them. I have found the online community here to have posted questions that have been of use to me too, so thank you.

L_Volunteer

I am glad you have found the community informative and helpful @Joannie18. Please don't hesitate to let us know if there's anything else we can do to help