Income Related ESA to Universal Credit Letter (but am on Contribution Based ESA??!!)
Hi everyone,
Just received a letter telling me that I must change to Universal Credit by Feb next year. The letter states I am on 'income related ESA' which is the first I've heard of it as I am supposed to be on 'contribution based income ESA'. I have had no such letter this has changed since my last review in 2020.
By chance in 3 months time would have been around the time for another review into my ESA benefit and was expecting the usual forms. My last review was Feb 2020.
As you know both income related ESA and Universal Credit is means tested but I have a lot more than the £6000 in savings mostly because a relative passed away in 2022.
So basically I will not be eligible for Universal Credit? Or am I wrong?
Thanks in advance
Comments
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There's no such thing as "contributions based income ESA" it's either contributions based or Income Related or a mixture of both, which is usually known as Income Related.
Assuming you're in the Support Group if your weekly amount is more than £138.20 (£276.40/fortnight) then at least part of it will be income Related.
It would not change automatically to Income Related, you must have been assessed for that at some point in the past. ESA letters are very well known for being extremely difficult to understand and often make no sense if you don't have benefits knowledge.
Savings/capital of more than £6,000 would not end your claim, there would be a deduction of £1/week for every £250 or part thereof over that amount.
Capital of more than £16,000 would end all means tested benefits.
When you received the inheritance if you had more than £6,000 at that time then you should have reported the changes.
Yes you will be entitled to UC providing your capital isn't more than £16,000.
For your ESA review timescale, this is just a guide and it doesn't mean you'll be reviewed at that time. For most people in the Support Group reviews have been suspended since 2020.
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I am on contribution based esa and is not means tested. I spoke to the DWP when I had an inheritance and said because the esa is not means tested not to worry about it.
So this must be a mistake surely or just a deliberate way of stopping people like me not being able to calm anymore and using the migration to UC to enable this.
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*claim not calm
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Oh also I get £318 every two weeks and yes I am in the support group.
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£159.05 every week just checked 'based on my national insurance contribution records'
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That amount is definitely at least part income related. If it was all contributions based your weekly amount would be £138.20/week.
Yes, I would expect a ESA breakdown letter to say "based on your NI contributions" even if it's at least part Income Related.
It's not deliberate. If you have less than £16,000 in capital then you'll be entitled to UC but with a deduction if you have more than £6,000.
As an extra thought, did you receive any of the cost of living payments that were related to means tested benefits? These were paid between 2022 and 2024.
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I did get those payments apart from the first one which was around July 2022. So 4 of the 5 payments in total.
As I said The DWP said early 2022 I was fine that I had well over the 16k. So something happened before the second COL payment late 2022 if I didn't get the first one that July. Either way I had no such letter to tell me otherwise. Cause had I did I would have stopped the benefit then and there.
So knowing this I should just let my benefits stop, not flag this up because otherwise they are going to ask for money back? It's not ideal but I wouldn't get UC anyway due to the means testing.
Thanks anyway
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If they find out and they may do, any overpayment will need to be repaid back. I honestly can't see that they would have just included the income related top up without looking into your financial circumstances.
Do you still have more than £16,000 in capital? (savings) are you claiming housing benefit and council tax reduction? both of those are means tested.
Some local authorities have a maximum capital limit of £6,000 before entitlement to council tax reduction ends. Single person discount, if you're receiving that will continue because it's not affected by capital.
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A couple of years before my inheritance they asked for my bank details and to say I didn't have more than 6K in the bank which I didn't. But as I said a few months after I went over 16k I spoke to the DWP and they said I was contribution based so it was fine.
I have never claimed any other benefit.
I think I should just let it end and leave it at that. I have well over 16k to tide me over for now.
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As you have more than £16,000 you shouldn't be claiming Income Related ESA, which is what your ESA is partly made up of. You really do need to report those changes and tell them exactly what's happened. This will also mean you shouldn't have been entitled to the cost of living payments.
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Will do. Thank you for your help.
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