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blueboy
blueboy Community member Posts: 2 Listener
in Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
hi all im new here and would like to know why my esa amount has not changed for 6 years im on the contrubution based esa
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  • steve51
    steve51 Community member Posts: 7,153 Disability Gamechanger
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    Hi @blueboy

    Welcome to our online community/family.

    We have got some info here on esa: 

    https://search.scope.org.uk/s/redirect?collection=scope-meta&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.scope.org.uk%2Fsupport%2Fdisabled-people%2Fbenefits%2Fesa&index_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.scope.org.uk%2Fsupport%2Fdisabled-people%2Fbenefits%2Fesa&auth=v06jdjhJPug%2BjwqXi7IYeg&profile=_default&rank=2&query=Esa

    Please please let me know if I can help you further as we have got more to help you?????
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 273 Pioneering
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    Hi @blueboy

    Welcome to the Community!

    It sounds like it might be that you've been paid at a "transitional protection" rate of ESA. If ,when you were "moved across" form Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance to ESA, your existing award was more than the ESA rate, you were/ are paid transitional protection, with a view to that being paid until ESA caught up with your ESA benefit amount, or until 2020, which ever was earlier. 

    I think from memory that a typical amount for Incapacity Benefit was £112.85 or so. ESA plus just the support group element (no income-related premiums etc)  was £109.65 per week until last week, so your payments would have been £112.85 for possibly a number of years since your move to the new benefit.

    Possibly a wrong guess, but maybe a correct one.

    Please let me know if I'm wide of the mark and I'll try again!

    Best wishes


    Gill_Scope


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  • Sheilamoose
    Sheilamoose Community member Posts: 17 Listener
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    That is correct Gill - I was I initially on Invalidity Benefit, transferred to Incapacity, then ESA Support Group contribution based (frozen till rates equalised). Like to add what plonkers ESA are too: Jan 2017 got review form, returned within a week; payments continued but heard  nothing until November... gave me date for assessment 150 miles away but 1 week AFTER my State Pension kicked in! Sent letter saying wasn't going, couldn't see point of being assessed for benefit no longer entitled to. Heard no more from the incompetent plonkers
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 273 Pioneering
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    Hi blueboy, and/ or Sheilamoose

    I take your points absolutely.  No point in pursuing a claim you're no longer entitled to. No point in writing to you to ask you to attend a medical 150 miles away either after state pension age. Just occasionally, getting older is a blessing!

    I wonder whether you might be amongst the people whose claims will be re-examined in the forthcoming ESA transitional regulations correction exercise. It would only apply to you if you should have also had income-related ESA at the point when you transferred from IB to ESA. 

    This would be of interest to you only if that might be the case.
    https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/protect/2018/03/70000-esa-claimants-to-be-repaid-1000s

    Best wishes

    Gill_Scope
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  • Sheilamoose
    Sheilamoose Community member Posts: 17 Listener
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    Think it might well apply to me Gill. Was getting HC2 Low Income Certificate at that time for exemption from dental/prescription charges. Was not even aware that I could have claimed income-related - they just transferred me straight from Invalidity Benefit (contribution based) to Incapacity Benefit (contribution based) to ESA Support Group.
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 273 Pioneering
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    Hi Sheilamoose

    Fingers crossed then. It will be great when we hear about the first few cases examined and paid by the DWP - the exercise is scheduled to start this month and there are 70,000 cases for them to look at. 

    Gill_Scope
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  • Sheilamoose
    Sheilamoose Community member Posts: 17 Listener
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    Wish now I'd kept some ESA paperwork - got rid of it all when State Pension kicked in. Was in SG & received £125.87 per week (protected). Worked fulltime before illness set in in 1988; had a very well paid job & paid a lot in NI & tax so the extra paid under Invalidity Benefit got passed on at each transfer. Daughter is in ESA SG & gets a Disability Premium. Could never understand why she got a premium and I didn't? She has DLA Middle/Low mob & I have DLA High/High. Am I getting confused - did I not get it through a mistake, or was it because I was already receiving a higher amount due to a 'protected' payment?
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 273 Pioneering
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    Hi Sheilamoose

    It looks like your ESA may already be income-related. £125 per week could be personal allowance,plus support group element, plus enhanced disability premium.  If that's right, then any arrears due to you wouldn't be under that special exercise as you do already have the income related benefit. Unless there are some arrears for a past period around the date when you transferred from IB to ESA if income-related benefit wasn't considered at this point. 

    Gill_Scope
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