Esa and NI.

alisonmorton89

Hi, not sure if I'm posting this in the right place, please tell me where to post if not.
I've applied for new style esa. I know I haven't paid the ni to qualify because I was earning less than the lower bracket and self employed.  ( I have paid enough towards my pension though but I know this is different)  I was told that if I do qualify for esa they will tell me that after my application is looked at I'll be given the opportunity to back pay the NI as a lump sum in order to start getting the esa payments. Citizens advice told me they'd never heard of this being possible and now I'm desperately anxious that I might not qualify after all. I also can't get UC and I'm appealing for PIP.  I'm single and have very little income ,sometimes only £60 a week sometimes due to health reasons nothing at all.  Can anyone here advise me if it will be possible for me to pay the NI after my claim is assessed? If I will be rejected there is no point to pay money I can't afford if I will get nothing for it. I'm almost 62 years old. Don't get pension until I'm 67. 
Thank you for reading.  I'm.feeling very desperate to find an answer to this and can't get through on the benefits helpline, was waiting almost 3 hours today. Then they closed.

Rosie_Scope

Hi @alisonmorton89, you're in the right place! But I'm afraid I don't know the answer to this as it's not something I've come across before, hopefully some of our members have been through something similar and can share their thoughts.

In the meantime I'll do some research and see if I can come up with an answer for you. I just wanted to say hello and welcome you to the community first

Adrian_Scope

Hi @alisonmorton89, do you mind me asking why it is you can't claim UC? Many people think they're unable to when actually they might qualify.

I've spoken to our benefit information specialist about your NI and NSESA query and we feel you could do with more detailed one-to-one advice than we are able to provide. It's my understanding that whether you can make voluntary contributions depends on your profit in previous tax years and ideally you'd need to go through your earnings, costs and potential gains to work out whether it's actually possible or even worth it.

If you're struggling to get through, there might be some other options available to you. Advicelocal can be a great place to start as it shows many of the different options that are local to you.

It is usually worth double-checking whether you qualify for Universal Credit too. 

alisonmorton89

I don't qualify because I have savings over their limit. 

poppy123456

Just to be clear if you have savings/capital of more then £16,000 you're excluded. For capital between £6,000 and £16,000 there's a £4,35/month deduction for every £250 or part thereof over that amount. 

Adrian_Scope

What stage are you at with your PIP appeal @alisonmorton89?

alisonmorton89

Just asked for the mandatory reconsideration.