New style ESA and Group Income Protection

ash5896

Hi,

I originally was in the support group from 2010 onwards up until August 2021. I decided to go back into work with help from access to work. I and loads of reasonable adjustments and was given a contract to work from home permanently. Just my specialist chair was £7K. Anyway I was really struggling and off sick regularly and in May last year was signed off long term as my condition really deteriorated. I have been off sick since and in November my SSP finished and was told to apply for ESA. I filled in the forms and was told I was entitled to New Style ESA. At the time I was asked if I received any pension income which i did from my original employer pre 2010 but this did not make any difference to my ESA. I have now had letter from my employer that I am entitled to the group income plan and will get paid regularly and have to pay NI and tax. I am still employed and have not been finished off so have a contract of employment. My question is do I need to declare this income as I don’t think it’s a pension and I am still employed and the payment will end after 5 years if I wasn’t back in work by then. 

Any advice greatly appreciated 

PS I have now been placed in the support group letter received today. 
kindest regards 

ash5896

Anybody?

Rosie_Scope

Hi @ash5896, sorry you haven't had a reply to this yet. Sometimes it can take a little while for the right person to find your post. Lots of our members have conditions that mean they might not be able to reply straight away, but hopefully someone comes along soon who can offer their thoughts.

When you say you're receiving the 'group income plan' is this 'group income protection' benefit paid by your employer? 

ash5896

Hi Rosie 

Thank you for your reply 
yes that’s correct from my employer. They’ve said it’s not a pension and it’s really confusing. I e just had a letter after my assessment that I’ve been placed in the support group for contributory based ESA. I’m still off long term sick leave also from work so absolutely confused. I spoke to a lady at the job centre and she was saying she’s never come across it and someone will call me back and that was over a week ago so I not sure what to do.

Hi @ash5896, sorry you haven't had a reply to this yet. Sometimes it can take a little while for the right person to find your post. Lots of our members have conditions that mean 

poppy123456

You will need to report this to ESA. I think it's disregarded but can't be 100% certain so I'd advise you to get some expert advice from an agency near you. 

ash5896

poppy123456 said:

You will need to report this to ESA. I think it's disregarded but can't be 100% certain so I'd advise you to get some expert advice from an agency near you. 

Thanks Poppy, I’ll write into them then as I think it will be easier to explain in writing. 

poppy123456

That may not be the best idea because they don't always acknowledge letters. 

ash5896

poppy123456 said:

That may not be the best idea because they don't always acknowledge letters. 

I’ll send it by recorded delivery as going by previous experience some advisors have no clue about things and I can’t be going round in circles with them. I can’t really find any information online and what I have found isn’t really clear or from a long time ago. 

poppy123456

Proof of posting is free from any post office and all you need to prove you actually sent it. Recorded delivery doesn't prove it was received by DWP. It proves it was delivered to the sorting office and signed for by someone from Royal Mail. It's not treated as arriving until it's been added to the system. 

ash5896

poppy123456 said:

Proof of posting is free from any post office and all you need to prove you actually sent it. Recorded delivery doesn't prove it was received by DWP. It proves it was delivered to the sorting office and signed for by someone from Royal Mail. It's not treated as arriving until it's been added to the system. 

As far as I’m aware recorded delivery requires a signature at the receiving end. As long as I’ve got evidence I’ve sent all the information in it should be ok. I did it with my ESA claim and evidence and when tracking it showed a signature and name of person signing for it. CAB also advised to send any letters by recorded delivery. My main concern is over the phone could end up with someone who doesn’t have a clue and just cause more issues. 

poppy123456

Yes a signature but it won't be someone from DWP that sign it. It will be someone from the Royal Mail sorting office. This doesn't mean it's arrived with DWP. 

ash5896

It would be helpful if there was info around this as really can’t find anything. When I went to the job centre the lady there said she’d never come across it and said she’ll get someone to get back to me but they never did. I’ll see what happens I’ll just write in as I know I’ll end up going in circles over the phone from previous calls. 

ash5896

hi, I’ve received a response finally from DWP about this but really don’t understand the letter. Is there anyone that can help me with it as I don’t want to post the letter on here. It really would be appreciated

poppy123456

I’d advise you to get some expert advice from an agency near you. https://advicelocal.uk/welfare-benefits

ash5896

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/895469#Comment_895469

ok thanks