Inheritance

Elizabeth

PIP is not affected by your income and savings.

If you are only receiving Contribution Based ESA then it is not affected by your savings and income with the exception of any pension that you receive.

If you are receiving any Income Related ESA then it will be reduced if your total assets and savings exceed £6000, If you are not receiving any ESA(IR) then your Housing Benefit will be reduced if you exceed £6000 and you will lose entitlement to both your ESA(IR) and HB if they exceed £16,000.

Gordon

Misscee

Contribution Based ESA is based on the claimants previous NI Contribution history, if you met the criteria for ESA(CB) then it is automatically paid.

Income Related ESA is ESA(IR) is dependant on your household income, your savings and assets, and any hours that your partner works. See

Asset and savings rule for ESA(IR)

24 hour work rule for ESA(IR)

If you lose entitlement to your ESA because of your savings then you would have to claim Universal Credit when they drop below the upper limit.

Reasonable expenditure should be OK, replacing old or broken, make sure you keep any receipts, a luxury holiday is unlikely to be. Ultimately it is down to a DM to decide if the spending is reasonable or not.

Gordon

Hi Alan,

I believe your DWP office are right, on the basis that your ESA is based on your contributions, not your income. If it was the other way round it would be a very different answer.

Catherine