nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

We want to hear from you: please tell us about your experience of the online community.

ESA and Applying for Severe Disability Premium

Her_Thing

I'm new to the site, so hello everyone....
Looking at .Gov website it states that any eligibility to disability premium will automatically be added to claims. I am astonished to discover that despite meeting eligibility criteria for over a year for severe disability premium, I have never been automatically awarded it. On contacting Jobcentreplus, I was told I had to apply for it. I have now done so and await a decision. My questions are... Is this normal? Has everyone else had to apply for it? I wasn't even aware of it until someone pointed out to me that I was receiving substantially less in benefit than they were, despite having a similar situation. It makes me wonder just how many folk out there struggle to get by but have an entitlement to this premium and don't receive it.

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

Pippa_Alumni

Hi @Her_Thing, and a warm welcome to the community! Hopefully some of our community members will be able to share their thoughts on this.

anniesnooks

Hi, When i was awarded Pop the DWP wrote to me and said i was now eligible to receive Severe Disability Premium. I had never heard of it before this. I filled in the form they sent me and now receive it. It was so.e very quickly as and i can't believe what a difference this extra money has made to me. Good luck, if you receive pip you should automatically get it.

Her_Thing

anniesnooks said:

DWP wrote to me and said i was now eligible to receive Severe Disability Premium.

Thanks for answering Annie. I never received any notification about this at all. I can imagine the difference it makes and hope they soon sort it out for me. They told me they used to send information out but my concern now is how many people are like me and have missed out x

poppy123456

Hi,

The SDP is not a premium that's automatically awarded. You have to apply for it yourself because of the criteria. Sometimes they may send a claimant the form but not always. When i claimed it 5 years ago i was never sent a form.

Her_Thing

poppy123456 said:

Hi,

The SDP is not a premium that's automatically awarded. You have to apply for it yourself because of the criteria. Sometimes they may send a claimant the form but not always. When i claimed it 5 years ago i was never sent a form.

Thanks for replying, Poppy. Your answer highlights the problem. The .Gov website implies it is automatically awarded and gives no indication that it has to be applied for. More fool me but I assumed I was being paid whatever I was entitled to. As people are not (always) automatically informed of the premium and how to apply, there is no wonder people like me soldier on obliviously x

anniesnooks

Had they not informed me and sent.me the form i would have been like you none the wiser. I literally got the form exactly a week after my Pip was awarded. They seem to change things whenever they feel like it. I wish you all the luck with yours and don't give up umgkl you receive it.

poppy123456

I'm just looking at the gov website and i can't see where it says the SDP is automatically awarded. It's never been automatically awarded because of the criteria that comes with it.

On the website it says "You can get the disability premium on its own. You might get the severe or enhanced disability premium as well if you’re eligible for them". It's doesn't say anything about the SDP being automatically awarded. I agree it doesn't say you need to apply for it.

The problem with this is that it's the claimants responsibility to know what they're entitled to, not DWP because of the criteria.

Her_Thing

https://www.gov.uk/disability-premiums-income-support/how-to-claim

The above is the link from 'Disability Premiums' eligibility page and is at top of page when you click on 'How to claim'.

poppy123456

That doesn't apply to the severe disability premium because of the criteria. You must live alone or be classed as living alone, claim PIP daily living, DLA mid/high rate care or Attendance allowance and no one must be claiming carers allowance for looking after you.

Her_Thing

Pleased to say I just got a phone call to confirm my entitlement and because they should have contacted me, they will also be backdating it appropriately. Such a relief as it means I can pay off the debts I have racked up over the last year. Hopefully anyone who comes across this thread, and are in a similar position, will now know the DWP should inform the claimant of their additional ESA entitlement when they are awarded PIP daily living.

poppy123456

Great news! However, i still disagree that the SDP is automatically awarded because it's not. The good news is it's always backdated to the date you qualified anyway.

Her_Thing

I am not disagreeing with you Poppy. What I am saying is the DWP never sent me a form or advised I needed to apply for anything more. I didnt have a clue I was entitled to an additional premium. By chance someone with similar conditions to me mentioned it and only because of that did I look at gov website. When I did, I checked the criteria and it seemed to apply. I checked a benefits calculator which concurred. I clicked on 'How to apply' via .gov (above link) and, on a page headed 'Disability Premiums' it said:

"You do not have to claim disability premium. If you’re eligible, it’s automatically added"

That is misleading... as you say it is necessary to apply due to criteria... but nowhere does it explain this nor does it say how people with eligibility should apply.

poppy123456

One other thing i forgot to mention. As you're now claiming the SDP then any change of circumstances in the near future means that you won't be able to claim Universal credit, at least until the transitional support protection is in place. New legislation came out 2 weeks ago and the rules have been in place since 16th Jan 2019. See link for confirmation. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2019/10/made

Her_Thing

That is something I didn't know either, thanks for the link x

Component react.suggestedcontent had an error.

The value must be greater than or equal to 1.

Sign in or register for free

Get more out of your online community by signing in or registering