ESA Not Transferred From Income Support

I've never understood the change in benefits, and I don't receive the help I'm assessed for, so please make allowances for this confusion.

I received so many different letters, with contradictions, from different departments that I couldn't keep track. Today Income Support told me I should have been receiving ESA in support group from 2012, but they haven't been paying me.

I had an appeal granted for the support group in 2012, and last year my GP had to confirm I was unable to leave my home for an interview.

Please can you help explain the different ESA rules, as I found a letter from ESA in 2013 saying they can't pay , as I haven't paid enough N.I. contributions. I expect that's why I was relieved to continue to receive money from I.S.

Now waiting for someone from ESA to ring back.

Lin333 wrote: I've never understood the change in benefits, and I don't receive the help I'm assessed for, so please make allowances for this confusion.

I received so many different letters, with contradictions, from different departments that I couldn't keep track. Today Income Support told me I should have been receiving ESA in support group from 2012, but they haven't been paying me.

I had an appeal granted for the support group in 2012, and last year my GP had to confirm I was unable to leave my home for an interview.

Please can you help explain the different ESA rules, as I found a letter from ESA in 2013 saying they can't pay , as I haven't paid enough N.I. contributions. I expect that's why I was relieved to continue to receive money from I.S.

Now waiting for someone from ESA to ring back.

Hi L333,

Welcome to Benefits and Work

Yes, it can all be most confusing !

If you were previously in receipt of Income Support (IS) due to incapacity for work, this would have been because you did not have the necessary number of NI Contributions from employment when your incapacity began to give you entitlement to Incapacity Benefit. (IB)

IB was a "contributory benefit" IS was not.

Claimants that are successfully transferred from IS, (as above) to ESA in either group, WRAG or Support Group, (SG) should have been paid Income Related (IR) ESA on transfer.

See : What will I be transferred to?

What will I be paid?

&

The Transfer Process

From our : IB, IS, SDA, Migration to ESA FAQ’s

i.e. On successful transfer to ESA, your IS payments should have been replaced by IR ESA payments. (you cannot receive IS with ESA, only IR ESA which is the equivalent)

So, on the premise that your personal and financial circumstances did not change you should have still passed the means test for IR ESA as with IS :

See : Asset rule for ESA(IR)

&

24 hour work rule for ESA(IR)

From our : ESA FAQ’s

Not having the required number of NI Contribution would have nothing to do with it as IS and IR ESA is for claimants who do not have the necessary number of NI Contribution, but can pass the means-test with respect to capital, assets, savings, household income and any hours worked by a partner if you have one.

If you were placed into The SG of ESA, and The DWP continued to pay you IS, then they are at fault and have made an error.

This is what you need to sort out, and gain some clarity as to your current situation.

Please reply to this topic if you have any further queries and we will try our best to help.

bro58