What happens next for me help please with ESA

johnnyy85

Hi i claim carers for my wife i get £269 a month for that, i also claim ESA contribution based support group which i get a reduced £185.20 a month for esa as i claim carers i have claimed these for last 3 years but my health has got worse and i dont think i can do the caring anymore for her, does anyone know what happens after i ring carers and tell them im not gonna be doing the care anymore ? 
thanks John 

poppy123456

HI,

Are you sure it's ESA you're claiming and not Universal Credit? When claiming Contributions based ESA because of the overlapping benefit rules you can't be paid both Contributions based ESA and carers allowance at the same time.

Either way, if you can no longer care for her then you'll need to ring carers allowance and report the changes.

johnnyy85

Yes as i claimed 3 years ago i get contribution based esa and carers but a reduced esa award, i am still able to care for the moment but awaiting operation so need some advice on what happens next, on my bank statement it say DWP CA and DWP EESA so definitly claiming both 

poppy123456

Then it must be income related then and not contributions based. Does your wife work? Do you claim a disability benefit yourself, such as PIP daily living or DLA mid/high rate care?

Are you also sure the ESA amount is monthly? It's paid fortnightly. Sorry for the questions but the figure you stated for ESA doesn't add up to me. Is your wife named on the ESA claim as well?

johnnyy85

Hi Poppy thanks for helping yes its fortnightly and my wife gets the highest rate on pip for both, im not too sure i think it is a joint claim as well 
John

johnnyy85

johnnyy85

my wife has her own claim 

poppy123456

Ah yes, i can see what they've done now, thanks for that. They take off the carers allowance and you receive the remainder of the ESA support group amount. If you report the changes to carers allowance that you no longer care for your wife then your ESA will then be £113.55 per week. Itstead of £46.30 per week.

However, I would advise you to get a full benefits check done from an advice agency near you and then they will be able to tell you if you and your wife are claiming the right benefits and more importantly at the correct rate.

This link will tell you what's available local to you. https://advicelocal.uk/find-an-adviser

johnnyy85

Thanks poppy for your help 

janer1967

Hi @johnnyy85 Welcome to the community glad you have joined us here. Poopy has given you great advice she really is a wizz with benefits.

Just wanted to say Hi and welcome you have a look around and feel free to join in any discussions and I look forward to seeing you around

johnnyy85

Hi thanks for the welcome and help, i have one more question on this as i tried 3 time to ring dwp today and kept getting cut off after an hour wait, Poppy you say if i report changes to carers will get they automically tell esa or will i have to notify esa as well? 
Thank you Johnny

poppy123456

Carers allowance usually share information with ESA but just to be on the safe side you should report it to ESA as well.

The carers allowance contact number is here but please note the opening times are different. https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance-unit

johnnyy85

brilliant thank you stressful day trying to get through 

poppy123456

You're welcome. Yes, a lot of DWP advisers are continuing to work from home so telephone lines are open for less hours.