ESA closed claim, health issues, employment and NI

djljcd1

Hi, I hope somebody can help me with this. I was in LCWRA IB ESA group from 2018 until 2023 when I got married and moved in with my husband and therefore had to cancel my claim. I still receive standard PIP. My husband (just) earns over the earnings threshold so we are not eligible for UC. We have no children. I’m not eligible for new style ESA because I had not worked in the last 2 years when my ESA claim ended last July but I had received NI credits for having LCWRA whilst on IB ESA.

When I asked the job centre what I should do after my claim ended they told me that “my husband should support me”. They did not offer me any help or advice even searching for work as they said I was not eligible for help because I was now not eligible for any benefits. I had no income other than PIP so my only option was to try and search for work myself. I took up 2 temporary, part-time, ad-hoc/casual jobs. I earned below the lower earnings limit and I did not receive any NI contributions. I really struggled with working even just a few hours a week and it made my health problems significantly worse.

It’s now been over a year since my claim was closed and these temporary contracts have ended. I still have the health issues that caused me to be placed in LCWRA group as well as several other health issues that have developed since. I am frantically searching for another flexible job but my health is deteriorating, I have regular hospital appointments and tests and I’m worried about how I will even manage working again and adapting to another new job. I’m also worried about the future and having a huge gap in my national insurance record despite working as much as I have been physically able to whilst still being very ill. My husband does “support me” in every way, but I am still a person and I feel like I’ve fallen through a crack in the system.

Is there anything I can I do to improve my situation? If I were to obtain a fit note, would the DWP process a “credits only” ESA claim to help protect my NI record? I just don’t feel like I can continue the way things are. Any advice would be much appreciated as I am really unwell and struggling. 

Thank you.

poppy123456

Although your ESA claim would have ended for payments. NI credits should have continued automatically based on LCW. Have you had a state pension forecast to check your NI contributions? You can check here https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

Once you’ve checked you will know if your NI credits have continued. Please come back and let me know and I will advise you further if needed.

Have you ever used a benefits calculator to check entitlement to UC? If your PIP includes the daily living part then your partner can claim carers element for looking after you as there’s no earnings limit to this like there is with carers allowance.

djljcd1

Hi @poppy123456 thank you so much for your response.

It says my forecast is based on my NI record up until April 2023 when I was still receiving ESA, unfortunately my record for 2023-2024 is not available yet but my claim was closed July 2023. I received a letter a couple of weeks afterward to say that they had completely closed my ESA claim. There was no mention of the continuation of NI credits and they did not mention this was even an option to me on the phone call when I closed my claim. It’s something I’ve only recently researched and found out about myself out of desperation for my situation.

The benefits calculators said that I wasn’t eligible for any benefits unfortunately apart from my PIP (due to my husband’s earnings). I had no idea about carer’s element, I do receive standard care and standard mobility for PIP.

Thanks again

poppy123456

Yes the claim would have ended due to your partners earnings and the claim would have closed. However, your NI credits should have continued to be credited due to having LCW. When a claim is for NI credits only it's not actually a live claim as such. I'd advise you to ring ESA to ask them if your NI credits continued from July 2023 and hopefully they will be able to tell you.

If they didn't then you can claim New style ESA as a credits only claim but you'll need to go through another work capability assessment and you'll need to provide fit notes. If found to have LCW then you'll receive NI credits only.

For the carers element, this isn't a benefit on its own and it's part of Universal Credit. If there's no entitlement then there will be no entitlement to carers element.

djljcd1

Thank you very much @poppy123456 for your help with this. If the ESA credits have not continued when they should have been is there any way they would backdate them or a way I could request to have this rectified or do you think that is unlikely?

I really don’t think I can handle the thought of another WCA.

poppy123456

I'm afraid I don't know if there's a way for them to credit you with the N credits if they didn't continue.

The first thing you need to do is ring ESA to ask if your NI credits have continued due to having Limited capability for work. Yes, your claim closed and I would expect that to happen because as I advised, a credits only claim isn't actually a claim for ESA as such.

As your state pension forecast hasn't updated your NI contributions for 2023/24 then the only way of knowing is to ring ESA. It's a good sign that they haven't yet been updated because if they had been and your NI credits stopped then the year would only show part year due to ESA ending.

djljcd1

Thank you very much @poppy123456 I will call ESA tomorrow and ask them about it, hopefully the credits are still being added to my record.

WhatThe

HMRC will be able to tell you if ESA can't

djljcd1

Hi, thanks for your help. I asked HMRC and they confirmed that my record unfortunately has no credits or contributions for this past year so it seems my ESA claim was closed and the credits stopped immediately. They’ve advised me to apply for new style ESA but the thought of a WCA is giving me severe anxiety and they couldn’t say whether ESA would backdate my credits. I feel really distressed and disheartened about all of this.

poppy123456

Did you actually contact ESA as I advised? Please do not rely on HMRC.

Your NI contributions record hasn't yet been updated for tax year 2023/24, if it was then I would have expected part of that year to at least include some NI contributions due to your ESA claim.

djljcd1

Hi @poppy123456 They couldn’t confirm specifics but they did confirm a 30 week shortfall for that year. Presumably from after the claim was closed in July 2023 as I’ve not been credited with or contributed anything since then but I am going to contact ESA about it now. I just feel utterly depressed about it all! Thanks so much for your help with this.