ESA Under-payment

bigjock123

Hi, i have been claiming esa contributions based since 2011/12 after previously being on incapacity benefit. I also receive a small monthly private works pension of £85. I am also in receipt of DLA, high rate mobility & low rate care, my question is, will i be eligible for this back rated payment of esa? Thank you in advance for any help.

Liam_Alumni

Hi @bigjock123,

Welcome to Scope's online community! It's great to have you on board.

The Government has published a document on the ESA underpayments which might be of interest to you. They say:

"Largely between January 2011 and October 2014 some people receiving Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance had their claims converted to contributory ESA. However, the possibility of whether they may also have been entitled to income-related ESA was not considered for all cases. This means they may have missed out on the payment of premiums, such as the Enhanced Disability Premium."

I hope this helps. Do let us know if you have any other questions!

bigjock123

Thanks very much for your response Liam, don't know if this means i'll be eligible, but fingers crossed. Thanks again for your help.

poppy123456

bigjock123 said:

Hi, i have been claiming esa contributions based since 2011/12 after previously being on incapacity benefit. I also receive a small monthly private works pension of £85. I am also in receipt of DLA, high rate mobility & low rate care, my question is, will i be eligible for this back rated payment of esa? Thank you in advance for any help.

Hi,

The pension you receive will be counted as income £1 for £1 for any income related top up on ESA. How long have you been receiving the pension?

bigjock123

Hi Poppy, sorry i've not replied sooner, not been to well for the last month, so haven't been up to going online. I've been receiving my occupational pension since approx 2004, it started off at about £60 per month & increased annually to where i now receive £85 per month. This is a deferred occupational pension as i had to leave my employment for health reasons in 1999 & after 5yrs the pension scheme awarded me a deferred pension as they accepted that i would not be able to work again.

poppy123456

This pension will be counted as income £1 for £1 for the income related top up of ESA. Hope you're feeling better.

bigjock123

Thanks for the quick reply Poppy, i'm feeling much better. Do you think with the level of pension i receive, will i be eligible for any under-payment. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

poppy123456

The best thing you can do is fill the form in and answer all the questions, send the evidence you need to send and let DWP assess you. Decision could take 12 weeks. If they owe you money you'll receive it.

bigjock123

Received my form this morning, completed it & just need to look out my evidence to put in with it & get it post. I'll let the forum know how i get on as soon as i hear from them.

Aud3150

Why do we have to provide 6yrs of bank statements.

poppy123456

Aud3150 said:

Why do we have to provide 6yrs of bank statements.

If that's how far back you're asking to be assessed to then proof of income/savings will be needed.

bigjock123

Quick update, been nearly 5wks since i sent back form & just had a phonecall from dwp to ask me a couple more questions before they begin to process my claim, is this usual & does anyone know if it takes 12wks since i returned my form or 12wks since they start the process. Thanks in advance for any replies.

poppy123456

It will be 12 weeks from them receiving your form but this in just a guide.

bigjock123

Thank you poppy.

bigjock123

Update, letter arrived today & i'm happy to say i have been paid back money of £4951, absolutely over the moon. This only took just over 8wks since i sent back form.Thank you everybody for all the help & advice yous have given me since i joined this group.