Should I complete ESA3 form? — Scope | Disability forum
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Should I complete ESA3 form?

gatwama
gatwama Community member Posts: 2 Listener
Hi, I am receiving EESA and recivied a letter today from the DWP saying at the moment I am getting Contribution Based ESA. And thay are asking me to fill a form ESA3 only from November 2014 to now, as I may be entitled to extra payments called Premiums. Can you help me to understand. Thank you. 

Comments

  • CaraLee
    CaraLee Community member Posts: 39 Courageous
    Welcome to the community gatwama it's great to meet you!  :) 
    There may be some information regarding your ESA situation here - https://www.scope.org.uk/support/disabled-people/benefits/esa
    I hope you can find some information to help you, somebody else in our community may have more knowledge in this area to help you. 
  • gatwama
    gatwama Community member Posts: 2 Listener
    I have looked it up on the attachment, but is not telling me the answers I need.  It is so confusing thay put all this names to different forms, I am sure it's to confusion people.  But thank you for your help.
  • Richard_Scope
    Richard_Scope Posts: 3,638 Scope online community team
    Welcome to our community. I will move you question to our ESA discussions and I'm sure one of our members will be able to help.

    Scope
    Specialist Information Officer and Cerebral Palsy Programme Lead

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  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,333 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi,

    Yes you'll need to fill in the form you've been sent. It's all to do with the IB to ESA underpayments that's all over the internet at the moment. Whether you'll be entitled to any backpay will totally depend on your circumstances and only DWP will be able to make that decision once they know all of your information/circumstances. Decisions can take 12 weeks.
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • CockneyRebel
    CockneyRebel Community member Posts: 5,209 Disability Gamechanger
    ESA 3

    What is it about?
    When Incapacity Benefit claimants and some SDA claimants were transferred to ESA the DWP failed to assess whether they should have received an Income Related ESA top-up to the Contribution Based ESA that they were awarded.

    Top-up not replacement
    The first thing you need to be aware of is that this is an ESA(IR) top-up to your existing ESA(CB), it does not replace it, you remain entitled to your ESA(CB).

    Universal Credit
    This is a an amendment to your existing ESA claim, it will not result in a transfer to UC as a new claim is not being made. To emphasise again, whilst the ESA(IR) element will at some time after the end of 2019 be transferred to UC, the ESA(CB) element will remain in payment and unaffected.

    Not a reassessment of your award
    This is not a reassessment of your existing ESA award, only whether you are eligible for the ESA(IR) top-up.

    How to qualify
    There are several reasons you may qualify for the top-up;

    1. you qualify for one or more of the ESA Premiums
    1.1 The Enhanced Disability Premium is paid for being in the Support Group, you are receiving DLA Higher Rate Care or you are Receiving PIP Enhanced Daily Living.
    1.2 The Severe Disability Premium is paid if you receive an enabling benefit such as DLA MRC or HRC or PIP Daily Living, no one receives Carers Allowance against the enabling benefit and you live alone or are considered to be living alone.
    1.3 The Carers Premium because you or a partner are entitled to Carers Allowance.
    2. The couples Personal allowance is payable.

    What stops you being entitled
    The first thing to say is that this ESA3 is looking at your financial situation over the whole period from when you were transferred to ESA up and till today. You may qualify for the whole period, you may have qualified on transfer but not now, now but not then, or just for periods during the whole period.

    There are three reasons why you would not be entitled, any one of the following will prevent payment of ESA(IR);

    1. Your household savings and assets exceed £16,000, or they exceed £6000 and the deduction from your ESA(IR) exceeds the ESA(IR) you would receive.
    2. Your partner works for 24 or more hours a week.
    3. Your household income exceeds the amount of ESA(IR) that you would receive. Note: Even if your pension is disregarded for the purposes of your ESA(CB), it is not for ESA(IR) and will be deducted in full.

    You are not sure that you qualify
    Rates have changed over the years but you can put your information into one of the online benefit calculators, see

    www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

    You do not think you qualify
    If you are certain that throughout the period in question you are not eligible for ESA(IR) then you can return the form uncompleted, the DWP for there own records will want a reason for this, you can either tick one of the boxes that they supply or add your own explanation

    Be all you can be, make  every day count. Namaste
  • worried33
    worried33 Community member Posts: 492 Pioneering
    Ok the basics is like this.

    The savings you had during those years from 2014 to now, if under 16k you pass savings means test.
    Other income you had, if it stayed below "the amount you need to live on" figure which includes EDP at the very least, and your savings are below 16k then you will probably be owed some money, There is a few basic questions asked on the main letter, and those are used as a guide to see if its worth you filling in the form.

    If you choose to do the form over the phone which I recommend, then they will help you as well decide if you are owed money.  I understand you may be distrusting of the DWP helping you, but they seemed fair enough with me when I did it.
  • BenefitsTrainingCo
    BenefitsTrainingCo Community member Posts: 2,621 Pioneering
    gatwama,
    As everyone has said (thank you CR, Poppy & worried33), the DWP are genuinely checking to make sure they've paid people on ESA enough money since 2014. They've accepted that they weren't paying some people enough, and they want to check. 

    If you can answer the questions, then you may or may not be due some money back. The premiums are part of ESA which could be payable if your savings were low enough, you didn't have too much other income, and you didn't have a partner working too many hours.

    I know lots of people are worried about these forms but honestly, it's worth completing in case you are owed any money.

    Will
    The Benefits Training Co:

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