ESA query

Hi Karen

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 .

Please accept our condolences for the loss of your mum.

From your post I assume that you received the SDP element in with your IS which topped up your Carers Allowance. There are quite a few issues going on, which can be complex. As we do not have all your circumstances, you do need to seek advice from your local Welfare Rights Organisation who will be able to take all your circumstances into consideration. You can find your local Welfare Rights Organisation to help you with advice by clicking on the link below and putting in your post code, it will then come up with a MAP with a list of agencies.
advicelocal.uk .

In answer to some of your questions, legacy benefits are no longer available to most new claimants. UC and New Style ESA have taken the place of IR ESA and CB ESA. I personally think the name New Style ESA makes it more complicated, I prefer to call it CB UC but in reality CB UC does not exist.

New Style ESA is a Contribution Based benefit and is not means tested with the exception of pension income which can reduce the amount that you receive. You need to have paid NI in the relevant period, this can be complex.

The Income Related benefit that goes with NS ESA is Universal Credit.

NS ESA is a contributory benefit, not a means tested one. You would be making a claim on the basis that you are not fit for work so you will need to provide a Fit Note from your GP.

However, I would recommend that you put your information into one of the online benefit calculators before you make any claim, you may find that you would receive more money making a claim for Universal Credit.

www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

There are two parts to the work capability assessment :-

The first part looks at whether you have 'limited capability for work' (LCW)
The second part looks at whether you have a 'limited capability for work related activity' (LCWRA)

Gary