Income related ESA in support group - I want to change to contribution based ESA

cathysclaim

Hello I am new here and need some advice about ESA - I have been assessed and put on income related ESA in support group - I want to change to contribution based ESA  but am worried that I will have to go through the whole distressing / degrading application all over again. Is it possible to simply change to contribution based ? - any advice very much appreciated -thankyou  Cathy 

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @cathysclaim and a warm welcome to the community! I hope you find it a supportive place and continue to contribute.

Based on other forums online you are unable to just change and it would require another assessment, however I hope others in the community are able to shed some light on this also as I am not qualified in benefits.

If you need anything else then please do not hesitate to ask!

thespiceman

Hello @cathysclaim   Pleased to meet you welcome.  Thank you for sharing.

I do not know the answer to your question.  I know a member of our community or team will know.

I wanted to welcome you. We are a friendly supportive community who care and share.

May I suggest having a look for an answer to your question. Have you spoken to CAB  . They have a wealth of knowledge and information on benefits.

Also consider looking at our benefit advice ESA could be an answer to what you need to know. Lots of information and advice from our members.

Hope that helps.

Take care

@thespiceman

poppy123456

Hi,

If you were placed on Income related ESA when you first started your claim then it's impossible to change to Contribution based ESA.

Are you sure you're not confused and are claiming Contribution based and want to claim for the Income Related top ups?

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hello cathysclaim

When claiming ESA, a check will be first done to see what type of ESA a person is entitled to.  Contributory based ESA can only be claimed if  a person has paid sufficient national insurance contributions.  If you have not paid sufficient national ins. contributions the income related ESA is paid.  National insurance contributions will be based for example on NI conts. paid via a wage. 

As posted above if you are on income related ESA you will not be able to then change onto cont. based ESA. 

Is there however any reason as to why you want to change from income related to cont. based ESA? 

Maria

poppy123456

Same question posted here. https://community.scope.org.uk/discussion/47132/advice-needed-rest-esa-please#latest

SunshineLou

Hello,

As one person has said above you can’t get Contribution based ESA If you haven’t paid enough national insurance contributions but.....
You’re placed on Income based if your current income is too low or you’re not working and don’t have a partner earning enough either. No matter whether or not you have enough national insurance contributions.
Personally I get an amount of both. I get Income based as I can no longer work due to my disabilities but I also receive a small amount of contribution based as I had full national insurance contributions before my disability.

They will have assessed your history and your current status to reach their decision. 
It’s NOT a choice you can make, which type you receive. You can’t decide what you want.

What I can say though is if you think they’ve made a mistake then call and let them know. They made a mistake with my claim at first and when I realised, over a year later, I called and asked them what had happened and after a minute checking my details they said that they had made a mistake and four days later a got a very big backdated amount of money into my account and a letter followed stating their mistakes. 

It’s been hughly publicised that they’ve made large errors with assessments and have been re paying people thousands in backdated money. 

It’s worth asking about. Hope that helps?

poppy123456

The mistake you're talking about was when some were transferred from Incapacity benefit to ESA, they were automatically placed on Contribution based ESA and weren't assessed for the Income Related top up. Those that weren't will receive back dated money, if they're entitled to the top up of Income Related. This doesn't apply here. Contribution based ESA is £110.75 per week. Anything over this you're claiming is the Income Related part.

For cathysclaim it's the other way around and she said she's claiming Income related but as stated you can't change to Contribution based.