ESA

I am very confused with the ESA benefit and would value any help form those in the know.

my hubby has MS
He was been declined ESA as he does not have enough NI contributions in the tax year 2013-2014 or 2014-2015.

he has not worked for several years due to health conditions with diabetes and others symptoms which we now believe were likely due to the MS. we just never thought about having his NI paid we just notified them that he could not trade anymore due to his health. my hubby was self employed.

i have been told that because of my earnings he would not qualify for any of the ESA benefits, is that true.

He has been awarded PIP for daily living we had to go right up to tribunal level before he was awarded.

his doctor has back dated a sick note from April 2015 to be helpful.

any advice would be helpful

Hi Michelle and Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is

Welcome to Benefits and Work

I am sorry you and your husband are going through this. Sadly, I don't have any useful advice for you!

There are 2 routes to claim ESA. One is via NI contributions and the other is income related.

There are only 2 years that count as far as NI is concerned - ie the previous 2 full tax years prior to this. It doesn't matter how many other years someone has paid NI if these are missing

The income related regulations look at your combined income and assets. If your weekly income is low enough, and you have joint assets of less than £16000, your husband can still claim (as long as you don't work for 24 hours per week or more). He would get a reduced amount if the assets were between £6000 and £16000.

24 hour work rule for ESA(IR)

Asset rule for ESA(IR)

If you are not working, and are on low income, you might find it easier to claim carer's allowance and then Income Support as it does not have the conditions which are attached to an ESA claim. This would also give you, as carer, NI credits towards your State Pension.

Does your husband have enough NI contributions for a full State Retirement Pension?

May I suggest that you bookmark/favourite this on your web browser now so that you can find it easily in future? This will allow you to return with further questions or comments about your husband's ESA without having to start a new topic each time. It helps us enormously when everything relating to the same claim is kept in one topic - and I hope you will find it useful too