why have DWP sent me this WCA form?

System

This discussion was created from comments split from: ESA and Pension.

abouttoretire

I have been on IR ESA and in the Support group for some years now. I have claimed my full State Pension which starts shortly on November 9th this year when I will be 66.
DWP sent me an ESA50 WCA form to fill in and return by October 3rd, I am baffled as to why.
Does anybody know why DWP have sent me this WCA form, which I am guessing won't possibly be processed before my retirement date?
Thank you.

poppy123456

Not sure why my comment here was moved when a thread was split but it makes no sense to remain here, so I've deleted it.

To answer your question, I agree that it makes no sense to send you that form now due to reaching SP age quite soon. They often do things rather oddly, especially as reviews for those in the Support Group have been suspended for so long.

Unfortunately, you will need to make sure you return that form by the date in the letter because if you don't you could be found fit for work and your payments could stop.

Albus_Scope

Hey there @abouttoretire and welcome to the community. 😊

I just wanted to let you know I've split your question off into its own separate discussion, just to avoid any potential confusion. 😊

abouttoretire

I did manage to get through to the DWP HEALTH ASSESSMENT ADVISORY SERVICE by phone, after waiting for around 1:20 mins. I asked 'nicely' why I had been sent an ESA50 WCP form just before I was shortly to receive my State Pension and the clearly rattled and unpleasant chap replied 'why should we not send you a WCA form just before you retire? You may owe us money'…
He would not reply to any more questions I asked and hung-up on me…

poppy123456

It's ESA that refer you and then the forms are sent out by the assessment providers. They are not responsible for who receives the form as such. They are just doing what they are told to do.

Tonawanda17

Hi, i was under the impression that support group reviews are still suspended. Am i wrong?

Thanks

abouttoretire

I thought so too, however, searching in great depth about this (including A.I responses) all appears to show different answers that conflict each other. Who knows for sure what the 'current official answer' is, perhaps with an official government link?

Albus_Scope

I'm afraid I've been unable to find any official announcement, but I have found several people on other forums, close to retirement age, stating they've been called for reviews.

abouttoretire

I can only conclude there must be other reasons for this, not readily available to see, for those close to receiving their State Pension. All appears very strange without knowing the reasons why and does not make the DWP/Gov appear efficient or transparent.

Meg24

I don't know whether is applies to pensions or pension credit but I know that PIP cannot be increased once you retire even if you get worse. Is there some extra benefit to being LCWRA at the point of retirement? If there is, it might be worth making sure you fill the forms in as carefully as you can to make sure you don't lose out.

abouttoretire

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/911866#Comment_911866

Thanks. I don't have PIP, but maybe with a new Government the DWP now assess one's capability to possibly receive PIP once retired, I don't know. Just wish all this information was officially available somewhere.

Jimm_Scope

A lot can be found on gov.uk but it can require quite some searching unfortunately. The system is quite complex.

abouttoretire

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/912061#Comment_912061

Indeed, spent much time searching there, but so badly laid out and links lead you round in circles. Many links appear to have not been updated to reflect recent DWP news seen since the general election. Very frustrating.

poppy123456

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/911866#Comment_911866

If a single person then no there's no benefits to LCWRA/support group once you reach state pension age because it completely stops. It only applies to mixed aged couples that need to continue to claim Universal Credit.

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/911871#Comment_911871

That would be impossible because you can't start a new claim for PIP once you reach state pension age. It would be Attendance Allowance and there's no automatic entitlement unless it's for end of life with a diagnosis of 12 months or less.