Receipt of pension whilst receiving ib esa

stephbryan58

Hi, I am 58 yrs old and in receipt of ib esa plus the disability premium, housing benefit and council tax benefit. I have the opportunity to take a small pension of £900 per year, apprx £75 pw plus a lump sum of £4.5k if i want to. Could you advise if i did take it, how this would affect my benefits please. I am also in receipt of enhanced personal and mobility pip.

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hello. As a general rule, any weekly pension you receive will be taken off your income based ESA pound for pound. The lump sum  will only count if it takes your capital above £6000. If your capital does exceed £6000, you will lose £1 of ESA for every £250 you have above £6000. You will not be eligible for income based ESA or housing benefit if your capital exceeds £16,000. 
If you live alone (with some exceptions), and no-one gets carer's allowance for looking after you, and you are getting the daily living component of PIP, then your total ESA should include a premium called the severe disability premium. It might be worth checking just to make sure that your ESA is being paid at the correct rate. You can get further benefits advice from the Scope Helpline on 0808 800 3333, and the Scope website also contains a benefit calculator - you can enter your information (anonymously) and just make sure you are getting the correct amount. Hope this helps. 
Jayne