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ESA backdated and Disability Premiums

GG44

Hi , I cannot get help I need in my Local area as it is so busy and not yet as familiar as it seems your Forum seems though I cannot find how certain Benefits may work myself yet , in particular the possible back payment regarding ESA , and if possible to claim for Disability premiums if I am entitled to.

I am a single male aged late 50s and living alone. I had been receiving Incapacity benefit since around late 1980s and then when I was migrated to ESA around 2014 or so I was told that I was automatically put onto Contributions based ESA Support Group and am still on CB ESA , though I'm not sure if they maybe top it up with some Income Related ESa. When I phoned the DWP last year they said that I would be worse off if I claimed Income Related ESA and they were not sure if I was entitled to any Disability Premiums anyway. I mentioned that I may be entitled to backdated Disability Premiums but they said I probably wasn't and anyway because I receive some Reduces Earnings allowance and Industrial injuries then if I claimed any Premiums or Income Related ESA then if I was paid any more then they would take my REA/ IIDB from me and thaat would not just be the case now but also when I was Migrated from IB to ESA several years ago.

I have always been single , living alone , no carer. I was receiving DLA at time of Migration to ESA but not Higher rate. not longer after migration to ESA CB Support Group I went onto PIP aat Enhanced rate on Care and Mobility components. I am currently on PIP Standard care from review this year but still on Enhanced Mobility. Another person from DWP said he could not help with possible Back dated ESA payment from the time of Migration to ESa because my PIP enhanced care only started shortly after my Migration. Your Benefit calculator seems to work out that I could receive more Council tax help and that it also points me to claim SDPremium. Any advice appreciated

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poppy123456

Hi,

They are in the process of contacting everyone that transferred across from IB to ESA. There's thousands of people to contact so i'm assuming there's a backlog.

Contributions based ESA from April this year is £111.65 per week. Add on the Enhanced disability premium and it's £128.45 per week. The SDP is extra again on top.

However, you mention you're claiming IIDB, is that correct? If so then this is counted as income £1 for £1 when calculating any income related top ups (premiums). Whether you're entitled to anything will depend how much IIDB you receive each week.

You also mention reduced earnings allowance, is this a pension?

A benefits calculator is only as accurate as the information you put into it.

I can't help with council tax reduction because all local council have different rules so for this you will need to contact them.

GG44

Hi , thanks for reply. I have no pension , the awards of reduced Earnings allowance and Industrial Injuries are banded together and paid in one 4 weekly amount. I rang the DWP last year and they said it would not be worthwhile claiming IR ESA because of my IIDB , though I thought I already had some IR topping up my ESA CB Support Group amount.

I thought I would still be entitled to at least one of the Premiums regardless of being on ESA CB Support Group , regardless of any IIDB payment. Regarding backdated ESA from Migration from Incapacity Benefit I was automatically put on CB ESA Support group and not offered IR ESA , I'm still on CB ESA and at point of Migration I was on DLA but maybe my DLA Award at time didn't qualify my for Premiums but a few months or so later I went onto PIP Enhanced rate on each Award. When I rang Oldham they said they couldn't deal with my possible backdating because at point of Migration I was not on PIP , but they said another Dept' may look at it , I rand DWP but to no avail. I was to believe regardless of ESA Award I would still be able to have a Premium , on my Housing Benefit award I still pay some rent and some Council tax but it says in Applicable amount a mention of : Single to Pension £73.10 , Enhanced Disability - Single £16.80 , ESA support £38.55 , Sev Disability Premium Single £68.85 , total applicable amount £194.30.

My ESA Award is : Living expenses £73.10

Extra money because severly disabled £62.45

Extra money because of Disability income guarantee £15.90

Limited Capability for Work addition:

Extra money because in support group £36.55

Which gives a total income-related amount of £188.00

Income and Benefits

Ind Injuries Dis Benefit for you £138.02

PIP not counted for ESA

Your total income £138.02

Your total income-related amount is £188.00 less £138.02 so you would have been entitled to £49.98

However because you are entitled Contribution-based ESA we will pay you £115.10 per week.

Top up payment

Included in your ESA Aloowance entitlement is a top-up payment ensures you won't see a reduction in

your benefit as a result of the change to ESA

The amounts on this page apply from 6th April 2018 to 12th April 2018.

My ESA CB support Group has been £115.10 per week for about 4 or 5 years , no increase at all.

I'm not sure if claiming IR ESA will give me full Housing and Council Tax benefit or that doing so will

make me have to then claim Universal Credit.

Advice always appreciated as I've searched online for so long but found no one in similar

circumstances to me regards

poppy123456

I can see that they have assessed you for the income related tops up a couple of years ago because i can seen both of the premiums in your reply.

As your IIDB is £138.02 per week then this counts as income £1 for £1 for the income related related top ups. This is because your IIDB comes to more than the Income related tops so it reduces them to zero.

As you're claiming Contributions based then you get to keep all of this part, which is £111.65 per week from April 2019. As you transferred from IB then you're receiving slightly more because of the transitional support protection.

This means that your ESA amount is correct. A benefits calculator most likely wouldn't take into consideration your IIDB, which is why benefit calculators are not always the best thing to use.

For your housing benefit as you're a single person then you'll be entitled to the 1 bedroom rate and you can check what this is for your area by putting your details into this link. https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/

I can't advise about your council tax because all local councils are different and for this you'll need to speak to them.

GG44

Hi Poppy , thanks. I was never considered for IR on migration around 5 years ago. I was also on less IIDB at point of Migration so for two years I was receiving IIDB of around £103.00 not the amount they looked at in 2018 of £138.00 per week. I phoned Oldham who said that if I was on less IIDB of £35 per week for two years then because my PIP Enhanced started after Migration ,( Not Sure if Low Rate care DLA was sufficient at time of Migration ), they could not deal with it , told me to ring Job centre and did to no avail.

Not sure if anyone else has received the exact same amount of £115.10 ESA for 5 years with no increase.

Not sure if I'm entitled to any Premium on top of my ESA CB or if claiming Income Related ESA will give me a Premium

poppy123456

Even when you were claiming £103 per week IIDB that would have reduced the income related top up to zero. Both premiums from April 2019 are £82.65 per week, they would have been less than this is previous years. This means that your IIDB will reduce it to zero, even in previous years.

I'm afraid you're not entitled to any premiums on top of your ESA because you're claiming IIDB. If all of your ESA was income related then you would only be receiving approximately £56 per week ESA but because you're receiving Contributions based then your IIDB doesn't affect that/

The reason why you've never had a an increase in your Contributions based ESA is because you're claiming £115.10 per week, which is more than Contributions based amount because you receive a transitional support protection from when you transferred across from IB.

If you still don't understand what i'm trying to advise then please take all of your paper work to a local advice agency near you and they will explain it all to you. Very often it's much easier to understand when someone is talking to you face to face.

GG44

Hi , I've not been told of any possible increase in my weekly £115.10 CB ESA from first payment 5 years ago and for foreseeable future then.When I was on Incapacity Benefit and still receiving IIDB and DLA , my Incapacity Benefit went up by some amount each year , though it seems there is no yearly increase in my ESA award.

I haven't come across anyone receiving IIDB and having possible claim for backdated ESA but I will share this information and advice you've given should I do so online or off.

poppy123456

From April of this year Contributions based ESA is £111.65 per week, it will have been less in previous years. As you're ESA is £115.10 per week, this exceeds the Contributions based ESA amount and this is why you haven't had an increase. If ESA contributions based was more than the amount you receive then you would have a yearly increase.

Unfortunately when receiving IIDB it is counted as income £1 for £1 when calculating some income related benefits.

Please see this link and scroll down to the bottom to 4.4 effects of Industrial injuries disablement benefit on other benefits.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-injuries-disablement-benefits-technical-guidance/industrial-injuries-disablement-benefits-technical-guidance

GG44

I'll share the info regarding CB ESA as I have heard one or two mention this and it seems that say for instance in 2 years' time CB overtakes the £115 then you would automatically receive it in your weekly ESA.

Regards the IIDB link you sent it says CB ESA is not affected on my IIDB. I was told by the DWP that I am not on Income-related ESA and not to claim it and have a letter saying from 2014 onwards I am not entitled to ESA ( IR ) , from Oldham

poppy123456

That's correct CB ESA is not affected by your IIDB and that's why you're still receiving the £115.10 per week (which includes the transitional support protection)

DWP are correct you're not entitled to any Income Related tops ups (premiums) because of the amount of IIDB that you receive.

If for example all your ESA was income related then you would be receiving approximately £50 per week, which means by claiming CB ESA you're better off.

GG44

But I've seen that you can still receive Dis Premium if you are on CB ESA Support Group and the IIDB does not affect CB ESA anyway

poppy123456

You are totally missing the point and don't seem to be understanding what i'm trying to explain.

Yes you can receive Income related top up when claim CB ESA BUT your IIDB is £138.10 per week, even when it was £103 per week, you would not have been entitled to and income related ESA because the amount of IIDB you receive is more than the income related top ups. This means the IR part is reduced to zero, meaning you're not entitled to any IR top up on your ESA.

I have explained it to you in great detail as best as i can and i have given you all the figures for the amount of IR ESA (premiums). I can't explain it any better than i already have. As you're still not understanding it then please take all your paper work to your local CAB or Welfare Rights and they will explain it all to you.

GG44

I have been told by the DWP that I am not entitled to IR at all. Did you see your post on UC and the point you made about you cannot go back onto Legacy Benefit once going onto UC ? Did you reply to the person/s who corrected you on that point ? You can go back onto ESA etc from UC and receive all backdated monies owed if you were wrongly put on UC , thought you would have replied on that thread as you certainly made sure you told that person who queried it they were wrong , in fact you were wrong , do reply to them

poppy123456

I don't like your tone. As a community champion here on scope i have spent the last couple of hours going into great detail trying to explain everything to you. Even to the point of quoting all the premium figures and posting a link that states IIDB affects Income related ESA but not CB ESA.

I have a disability too and it takes a lot for me to sit and give the advice that i do. I won't comment any further on your thread. Good night.

GG44

Cannot believe you have not responded to the person you told so emphatically ' you can never return to Legacy benefit from UC ' thankfully someone corrected you on their behalf. Do not ever respond to this or any other thread of mine.

poppy123456

I did not see mike's comment on that thread which i why is didn't respond. Please mine your tone.

GG44

You were quick enough to incorrectly point out to that person they could not get a certain benefit , then not quick enough to respond when someone addressed it properly. Mind your attitude and do not respond on my threads again.

GG44

Not meant to sound nasty just that some people may need more reassurance than others.

poppy123456

I was genuinely trying to help you, which is why i spent so much of my time this evening. As a community champion here on scope my knowledge on the benefit system is fairly good, although i'm not an expert. My knowledge comes from my own experiences and a huge amount of research over many many years.

It can be very difficult to explain something on an internet form and i explained the best way i know how. I do realise that some need more reassurance than others and i also realise you just want to claim the benefits you're entitled to and rightly so. The benefits system is a minefield if you don't understand it.

I can honestly say that i'm 100% positive that the advice i gave you this evening is correct.

I will leave it at that for now but i'll tag another person and when he comes online first thing in the morning he'll see the tag and confirm what i advised you is correct.

@Adrian_Scope I would appreciate your help and advice here please. Thanks in advance.

GG44

No worries , thanks anyway

Adrian_Scope

I think the confusion may lay here:
GG44 said:

But I've seen that you can still receive Dis Premium if you are on CB ESA Support Group and the IIDB does not affect CB ESA anyway

@GG44, what @poppy123456 has been trying to explain is that although Contribution Based ESA is not affected by IIDB, any premiums and top ups are. The premiums are income-related top ups, and, in short, as your IIDB is a higher rate than the premiums are paid at, it zeroes your entitlement to them.

Additionally, your CB ESA won't increase, because of transitional support protection you are already receiving a higher amount than the standard CB ESA rate of £111.65. If that increases in line with or above your amount, you'll start to receive those increases.