Help! (SDP arrears, capital disregard, moving in with partner)

DashMill

Hey. 

This is my first post in this community. I’m really hoping that someone can help me out… it’s a convoluted situation, so I’ll try to explain it as clearly as possible. 

I have been in receipt of ESA (and previously DLA) for years because of my very poor mental health. As a result of this, I received the Severe Disability Premium. In 2012, I was sectioned and subsequently in hospital for three months. I left hospital and thought nothing more of it. My mental health issues mean it is difficult for me to keep on top of financial issues, and so when I received a phone call today from ESA telling me my SDP was never reinstated after it was paused while I was in hospital for over 28 days, I was completely unaware. They told me they believe I am owed money. 

Okay. This is one strand of the story. 

I have lived alone all of my adult life until four months ago when I moved in with my partner. She works full time. I went through a middle man company to inform DWP (and my doctors surgery, water, etc.) of my change address (my MH also affects my ability to do adult admin), and thought my ESA would automatically stop because my OH earns enough to support me. When I stopped getting payments after I moved, I assumed that was why. ESA started trying to call me and leave voicemails, but, as I mentioned, my anxiety meant I avoided the calls until today. And this is where the two strands merge. 

The woman I spoke to today was very nice, and explained that my benefits had stopped because they had record that I had moved address but it hadn’t come directly from me, and they couldn’t process anything further until they had confirmation of my new address from me. She then said they had been looking into my ESA history and had noted that I hadn’t been paid SDP since 2012 (when I was in hospital for three months). She can’t tell me about possible money owed until she receives the form stating my change of address. She asked about my current circumstances and I told her I was living with my partner, and explained that she works full time. As well as sending me out a form for change of address, she is also sending me one so I can add the missus and her details to my information. 

The ESA worker also asked if I had any savings and if so, how much. I explained that PIP had just issued a back payment but she told me that didn’t count as savings as it should’ve been paid all along, and therefore it wasn’t classed as capital. Outside of that, I have about £1000 in savings.

So. Here’s where I’m at. And here is my long list of questions:

Is it possible I will have a backdated SDP payment? If so, what does that mean for my capital? I have no idea what any of this means… do I have to pay tax on it? 

If my OH can support me financially, does that mean my ESA will stop? I have always been on income-related ESA. As I’ve always lived alone, I’ve never had to navigate this before. I’ve tried this afternoon to do some research and it looks like my SDP will stop (can anyone explain why- I’m not disputing it, I just am
trying to figure it out), and most or all of my ESA?

I would really appreciate anyone offering up any insight and/or advice. My anxiety has heightened as I’m trying to make sense of it all, so my hope is that I can assuage it somewhat by reaching out on here. Thanks in advance. 

poppy123456

SDP can be backdated to the date you became entitled to it, so when you came out of hospital in 2012. Up until you moved in with your partner, providing no one was claiming either carers allowance or carers element of Universal Credit for looking after you. 

For your ESA now if all of it is definitely Income Related and your partner works more than 24 hours per week then your ESA will stop. 

If they work less than 24 hours per week there will be a £20/week earnings disregard and after that your ESA will be deducted £1 for £1 so there maybe no entitlement even if they work less than 24 hours per week. 

For means tested benefits any money that’s owed to you for the SDP is likely to be classed as an official error and payments of more than £5,000 will be disregarded for the life of your ESA claim. 

If your ESA ends because of your partners earnings you can check entitlement to Universal Credit by using a benefits calculator. You will need to put both your details into it and see what it comes out with. 

If you were in the Support Group for ESA then you’ll be entitled to the LCWRA element from the start of your claim. 

For the SDP you just need to wait to hear back from ESA but it may take longer than usual because of the length of time they need to look back to. 

DashMill

Thanks so much for your reply. That’s helped me sort through some of it in my head. 

A couple of other questions: 
Does the life of my ESA claim mean until it stops? Which would mean that any money disregarded up until that point would then be… regarded? What does that entail? Essentially, that would mean, if my ESA is stopped from the point I moved in with my partner, I will get the payment due and it immediately wouldn’t be disregarded… right?

Thanks, again!

poppy123456

It means until you're no longer entited to ESA. What other means tested benefits are you claiming? If you're not claiming any then it will make no difference anyway.

DashMill

Oh, right. I had no idea what it being disregarded meant. I now assume it means that it has bearing on how much benefit you can be awarded, which makes sense. 

Thank you again for your help. 

poppy123456

Yes, it means it doesn't count for benefit purposes because it would be an official error. That information should be on the decision letter (if you're owed all that money)

You're welcome.

DashMill

A little update and a couple more questions:

The Change of Circumstance form arrived and holy hell it was huge. Far more than I was expecting. Few questions made sense for my situation so I called ESA up to try to
figure it out. The agent I was put through to (after being on hold
for 37 minutes 🙄) was horrible. Condescending, unhelpful, and made an already anxiety-inducing call even more so. I finally asked to be put through to the woman who had called me last week and who had said she was my case worker, but the agent took some persuading. Ultimately, I was told my case worker would call me the next morning. 

She did indeed do that, and I asked her if I needed to fill out the form if I wasn’t trying to claim for ESA since moving in with my OH. She double checked that I realised that would mean closing my claim and I agreed that I knew and was okay with that. She then told me there would likely be money I would owe for the few weeks they had continued to pay me after August 2023, but said if I was owed money, she might be able to offset that payment. When I asked when I would know if I was owed money, she said she would look into it that day and call me that afternoon or the following morning. That was on Wednesday morning. 

Yesterday she called me to tell me I was in fact owed money, £25k, after she’d taken out what I owed. It will be in my account by the end of next week. I’m still trying to process that. 

She also said I was entitled to ESA Contributions Based, and that she could switch me over on the database without me needing to fill out any forms. I agreed. I’ve never looked into ESA CB before, as it’s not been something I thought I’d be eligible for (and had no need to as I was on IR). She didn’t explain how I could transferred from IR (which I know I’m no longer entitled to) to CB, but I double checked that my OH’s circumstances wouldn’t have any impact on it, and that this lump sum SDP back payment wouldn’t, either. She assured me that neither was an issue. Here are my questions:

How am I eligible for CB ESA in the support group? I haven’t ‘contributed’ for years due to my ill-health. 

Does CB ESA cover prescriptions, COL payments, dental, or Christmas Bonus, or is that all IR benefits?

I cannot remember the last time I was reassessed for ESA. I’ve had a bunch of PIP assessments over the years, but it has been at LEAST seven years since I’ve been reassessed for ESA. Is this usual? Is it a mistake on their part? Should I expect to be called for a reassessment now I’ve been moved to CB based ESA? Especially as they automatically placed me in the support group?

I feel like I’m trying to navigate everything from scratch all over again, so any important info about CB any folks think it’s helpful to know going into it as a newbie would be much appreciated. 

I’m concerned that I’m getting something I shouldn’t be and that it’ll come back to bite me in the ****, so wanted to check and try to cover my bases. 

TIA

poppy123456

The old legacy ESA can be either CB, CB with an income Related top up, which would be known as Income Related, or all Income Related. If part of your ESA is CB that that part will continue regardless of partner earnings, savings/capital and pensions of up to £85/week. 

If you were claiming Incapacity benefit before ESA then this would be why part of it is CB. Or if you worked in the 2 tax years prior to claiming ESA then this would also be why part of it is CB.

The reason you probably didn’t realise was because ESA letters are well known for making no sense at all. Even for myself with all my knowledge they are often difficult to understand. 

CB doesn’t entitle you to free prescriptions, dental or eye tests, neither does it entitle you to any further cost
of living payments. 

You will not need to be reassessed because you’re already in the Support Group. Some people have been left for many years without a reassessment but they will catch up at some point in the future. 

It’s a good thing that your ESA was part CB and that will now continue for as long as you remain entitled to it. 

Great news on the SDP too!