National insurance contributions

Can anybody advise as to whether DWP will re-consider my refused ESA claim if I pay the £1344 to make up the contribution deficit for tax years 2014/15 and 2015/16. I did not make any contributions in those years as I was not working following an accident and now I want to claim ESA, they have refused the claim because there are no NI credits for those years.

Hi Gordon,
with regard to NI Contributions, if you check your NI account, through the Government Gateway, you will find that every year of your working life is listed under your NI no. You have the option of making up any shortfall in any of the previous 6 years. the amount that you are short in any year is listed and the option of topping them up is stated there too. My last two tax years are listed as having a £733 top up option, with the 3rd year as £641. This is there primarily to allow a person to ensure they have enough NI contributions to be entitled to the full state pension. In my case, the pension forecast says I would be entitled to a state pension of £152.00/week. It also states that if I make another 2 years of contribution between now and retiring, that my pension would increase to £157.00/week. It also allows people who have been out of work, ill, living abroad, or in a private pension scheme, to go back and make up some of their missed contributions.

I therefore deduce that if I top up the two tax years that DWP are currently using to base their decision on, then I would be deemed as having sufficient contributions to be entitled to ESA, or other benefits.

The £1344.00 needed to top up my contributions would basically equate to the 13 week assessment phase ESA payments, so that would be great. Plus, once on ESA, DWP would credit my NI account with contributions for the duration of my being on benefits, thus ensuring that my pension would reach the maximum possible.

I am not eligible for ESA(IR), as my partner still works part-time and has savings beyond the threshold limits.

I guess that means that I will not be getting any ESA, or other benefits then. Having been through an Atos assessment 4 years ago, and being declared fit for work whilst still signed off and unable to fully weight-bear on one leg, I don't think I will be filling out the ESA50. With an operation in early December, followed by up to 8 weeks of limited walking, I think I will enjoy Xmas and not bother DWP with my problems - they definitely don't give me any encouragement to press on, merely stumbling blocks no matter which direction I look in.

Thanks for your responses.