ESA and private pension and paying tax

lma

I'm.currently I'm recept of new style esa at £148.50.I have been awarded a private pension on ill health grounds Yet to claim.I understand that esa allow £85. Per week of private pension, my pension will be above this. I understand that this will reduce the amount of esa I get,I've have worked this out as as a reduction to a payment of £70 per week ESA.


A friend has told me that for Hrmc purposes the Dwp will still say im getting the the full award at £138.50 per week, not £70 per week.So it might not be worth me claiming ESA at all, as the whole amount of ESA per month will count as earnings for tax purposes, despite me  only getting reduced amount?They say I need to balance whether it’s worth claming ESA as it will push me further over my personal tax allowance and it might be counterproductive.




Holly_Scope

Hi @lma sorry you've not heard back yet. That does sound very complicated and something I'm not greatly familiar with, unfortunately. Have you managed to make any progress with this since the original post?

westpest

hi I am on new style esa and you can have savings of any amount and it won’t affect your esa. New style esa is the only benefit that you can claim that doesn’t take into consideration any savings etc. it’s different from other benefits as you wouldn’t get any passported benefits with it. For example free dental care etc. I was concern as I had a refund from HMRC and was worried about how this would affect my esa. So I called them and they said you could have a million in your account and it still would make any difference. I do keep checking this every so often to ensure it hasn’t changed. You just need to ensure you are on NEW STYLE ESA.

westpest

Your situation	New Style ESA	Universal Credit
You’ve lost your job and you’re too sick to work. You need help with living costs e.g. rent. You’ve paid and/or been credited with NIcontributions in the last 2 to 3 years (employed or self–employed).	You can claim New Style ESA– even if your partner works or you and your partner have savings over £16,000	You can also claim UC if you (and your partner) have £16,000 or less in savings between you. Your partner’s income will be taken into account as you will need to claim UC as a couple.

Alrightdave

I would suggest you need to explore whether your ill health pension will affect any benefits your receive because if you receive a ill health pension which is non taxable, it may not affect your claim at all. You need to check this.