SDP Payment’s

bluebigboyblue

Hi guys I wonder if anyone can help me I am in receipt of Esa contribution based and enhanced care component I live at home with my son who is about to leave home very soon when he does assuming I do not have a carer and no other adult living with me will I be entitled to SDP as I have no carer and the payments are identical if not why not thank you in advance 

poppy123456

HI and welcome,

It will depend on whether you claim a disability benefit, which needs to be either PIP daily living or DLA mid/high rate care.

If so when your son leaves home will there be anyone else living with you at home?

You also state you're claiming ESA contributions based, Is it New style ESA or the old Contributions based?

If you're not sure then how long have you been claiming ESA and how much do you receive each fortnight?

bluebigboyblue

Hi Poppy thank you so much for your reply! It’s old style Esa contribution based I have been on it a number of years ... there will be nobody else living at the property with me when my son leaves ... I receive enhanced rate PIP Also! What is confusing me is the conflicting information online some places are saying I can claim SDP if I am claiming income based Esa only and a qualifying disability Benefit other places are saying Esa contribution based as long as I am receiving another qualifying benefit can somebody please clarify this for me thank you again in advance 

poppy123456

The SDP is only paid with Income related benefits, such as ESA/JSA and Income Support. If you're claiming the Income related top up on your ESA then you'll be able to claim the SDP once your son moves out. If your ESA is just Contributions based you will be receiving £113.55 per week (£227.10 a fortnight) if your ESA has the income related top up then you'll be receiving £130.65 per week. (£261.30 a fortnight)

It would have been a lot easier to give advice if you had said how much ESA you receive and then i would have known straight away.

If you're only receiving £113.55 are you claiming a pension? Or any other benefits that maybe reducing your ESA?

bluebigboyblue

Hi Poppy thank you again so much for your time and effort in helping me trying to resolve this matter I have posted an old letter from Dwp from last year about my Esa entitlement as you can see it includes a top up of £23 I hope this is helpful to you 

kind regards 

Dave 

bluebigboyblue

poppy123456

Thank for that but i can't see the whole photo. What is the £23.06 for? I can see it states a reduction but what is that for? It would be helpful if you could post a picture of the writing next to the amounts. Be sure to cover up any personal information though because scope is an open forum, so it's viisible to anyone.

steve51

Hi @bluebigboyblue

Good Afternoon & Welcome it’s great to meet you today.

I am one of the Community Champion’s here at Scope.

It’s great to see you have already meet Poppy.

Please please let me know if you need anything further help/advice?????

@steve51

bluebigboyblue

Hi Poppy and thank you once again the £23.06 is some sort it top up as to not reduce my income when I switched from incapacity benefit over to Esa something like that! I will get that paperwork out and photo it again and see if you can make any understanding of it thank you once more 

bluebigboyblue

hi Poppy I hope this may be of more beneficial to you and it makes sense it has never made sense to me especially with my mental health issues and I have never had the need to question it as my son has always lived with me from a child he now 23 and about to move out? Thank you so much 

bluebigboyblue

Hi Steve thank you for your kind welcome I wish I had discovered this group a lot earlier because I hate calling the Dwp and I do not always know if I getting the correct Information I am still awaiting what is hopefully a final follow up from the very helpful poppy thank you so much Dave

steve51

Hi @bluebadgehelper

No probs my friend.

Yes you should be okay now you have got Poppy helping you.

But in the meantime if you need any further help/support please let me know!!!!!!!

@steve51

poppy123456

Thanks for that. yes, i can see what it is now, it's a transitional support protection. That's an old letter you have there but i'm assuming you're still receiving about that much now?

You are correct that all of your ESA in Contributions based. Whether or not you can claim the SDP on top of that now, i'm really not sure because all areas are now a full Universal Credit area so claiming Income related ESA is no longer possible. You can certainly try to claim the SDP by ringing DWP (ESA) and ask to fill out the IS10 form over the phone, when your son moves out. It's a very simple form that just asks a few basic questions. A decision should take a couple of weeks at the most.

Hope this helps.

bluebigboyblue

Thank you poppy for taking the time to help me I think I remember asking about this some time ago with them and the mentioned someone about me in receipt of an occupational pension it was not possible I am not one for change or challenging decisions do I tend to leave things as they are for instance I would  of been entitled to PIP a few years ago at a higher rate but never told the DWP about changes in my conditions and it was only when I was invited to apply for PIP from DLA were they informed and I was awarded the highest rate on both elements the DWP Make things so difficult for people I have found that people are afraid to tell them of changes in case the lose the little entitlement they may have I am sure the DWP said to me that I could claim but it could effect other things I thought that SDP was the same rate as Carers and in a way it was For a single person who had no carer probably completely wrong as usual  

poppy123456

You're welcome. An occupational pension affects means tested benefits like Income related ESA/JSA, Income Support and Universal Credit and reduces the amount you're enittled to £1 for £1. Are you receiving an Occupational Pension? I don't see it on the letter you posted above and it should be on there.

SDP, yes you have the right idea of what it is but it can be claimed if you have a carer BUT if that carer is claiming either carers allowance or the carers element of Universal Credit then you won't be entitled to SDP. You also have to live alone or be classed as living alone, unless all the adults that live with you are also claiming a qualifying benefit such as PIP daily living/DLA mid/high rate care or Attendance allowance. There's also some other instances where it's paid if house sharing with other adults but it's complicated.

It's also only paid with Income related benefits and not Contributions based, New style ESA/JSA or Universal Credit. It's also not automatically awarded because of the criteria involved.

If your son has always lived with you then you wouldn't have been entitled to it, unless he was claiming a qualifying benefit too.

bluebigboyblue

Hi Poppy I do not get any reduction of my ESA because of my occupational pension and the reason for that is the time I retired on medical grounds was 1989 and apparently the rule about occupational pensions did not come into force until 1995 I started receiving my pension a few years after I retired after deferring it a while As to check  the rules set down by the DWP so I have been lucky there and of course they are well aware of my pension payments as I send them a statement every year I do pay a small amount of income tax on my monthly amount I would never had taken my pension under the current rules thank you poppy for all your help on this matter I really appreciate it 

poppy123456

Thanks for that information. This means that depending on how much your pension is you may not be entitled to any income related top up, which will include the SDP. Glad i could help