Hi I know this is an old letter , but is this mean I’m just on income related ESA thank you.

heather12

poppy123456

Yes, it means at least part of it is Income Related. The disability Income Guarantee is otherwise known as Enhanced Disability Premium and this is only payable when claiming Income Related ESA.

heather12

thank you, I got told it’s both but I don’t understand it , I’ve not worked due to health reasons

Kimmy87

Did you claim the old Incapacity Benefit?

It was possible to claim under youth rules even if you hadn't worked (this is what I did).

If the answer is yes, then your ESA would now be both Contribution Based & Income Related.

heather12

I think so I was on incapacity benefit then ESA, am I entitled to prescriptions, what happens when migrating to uc

Kimmy87

Yes you are entitled to prescriptions and other health costs, as part of your ESA is Income Related.

Upon transfer to UC, IR ESA stops (after one additional payment of two weeks worth), CB ESA transfers automatically into New Style ESA and continues to be paid every fortnight.

The NS ESA will be deducted in full from your UC award.

I see from your letter you get PIP, does your ESA include a Severe Disability Premium?

If so, under UC you will get transitional protection to ensure you aren't worse off at the time of migration. It does reduce over time when UC itself rises etc.

heather12

yeah I get the severe disability premium , I didn’t think that I’d get the new style esa

heather12

the reason I don’t think I’d get new style is because I’ve never worked

heather12

this is the full letter

Kimmy87

If you went from Incapacity Benefit to ESA then that benefit changed into CB ESA.

So you get CB ESA with an IR top up.

Once you claim UC, the CB ESA converts into NS ESA, and the IR ESA gets replaced by UC.

Usually you need two years of NI contributions from work to qualify for NS ESA - but you claimed Incapacity Benefit under youth rules (I presume), thus the benefits changed as I've explained.

Incapacity Benefit - CB ESA - NS ESA

heather12

what’s youth rules, I was over 18

Kimmy87

I believe you had to be under 20, I was 19 when I claimed Incapacity Benefit. It's difficult finding web pages with the information as it's such an old system.

https://www.whereyoustand.org/useful-information/benefits/item/incapacity-benefit#:~:text=Incapacity%20Benefit-,Incapacity%20Benefit%20is%20a%20weekly%20benefit%20payable%20to%20people%20who,All%20claims%20will%20be%20reassessed.

heather12

tbh I can’t remember how old I was, what would happen with migrating to UC

Kimmy87

Once you claim UC, the CB ESA converts automatically into NS ESA, payment of £276.40 will continue fortnightly.

The IR ESA gets replaced by UC.

You'll get one further payment of the IR ESA (two weeks worth), this is not deducted from your first UC award.

NS ESA will be deducted in full from the UC award each month.

Transitional protection will apply so you aren't worse off at the time of claiming, but the TP amount will reduce overtime as the UC rate rises etc.

heather12

at the moment my ESA is 318, so is that what I’ll get.

Kimmy87

Try a couple of benefits calculators for a calculation of your specific circumstances:

https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

heather12

I went through some letters and I was in the WRAG in 2013 first then support group I don’t know if that makes a difference

Kimmy87

No it doesn't. The same will happen when you migrate to UC as I wrote.

heather12

thank you , I am just really worried about it all , is it good having both ?

Kimmy87

There are advantages, the ESA continues to be paid fortnightly, if you had a change of circumstances such as inheritance that would stop UC, NS ESA as a contribution based benefit would continue.

And if you then were eligible and needed to re apply for UC, you'd get LCWRA automatically, same as migration.

heather12

that sounds good , I’m going to be going on LCWRA when I move over, is there anything different in regards to savings, I don’t know much to be honest