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ESA INCOME RELATED MOVED TO CONTRIBUTIONS ONLY
- learntorun
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2 years 1 month ago #275733 by learntorun
ESA INCOME RELATED MOVED TO CONTRIBUTIONS ONLY was created by learntorun
I was receiving ESA Income Related support group - I apologise for length of this and will as concise as possible.
I was contacted by a compliance officer in 2021 as I was now in receipt of a private pension of £127 per month as the HMRC had informed them of this. I was contacted in the past by the DWP regarding small workplace pensions I had received and I was told that HMRC liaised closely with them and provided all pension information to them and I assumed this was the case then. The officer asked me to send all our pension details to her which we duly did She received all documention in October 2021.
During that time, my ESA income related was changed to contribution based. I contacted the compliance officer to tell her of this, and she said not to worry as she was now in receipt of the requested information and that the matter was now closed. She informed me by telephone that she had informed the relevant department and that they were to reinstate my income related ESA, they also gave to me a backdated payment of £77. I still have a recording of this telephone call.
Out of the blue in May 2022 I received a letter from the DWP to state that we owed £14,000 to them because of my husband’s NHS pension and that they had now put me on a reduced ESA Income Related benefit, as they had made deductions because of the overpayment. My husband’s NHS pension was about £235 at the time when it started in 2012.
I contacted the same compliance officer who was quite shocked at what I told her and said that they had obviously gone further back to when my husband’s pension had started in 2012. I can recall annother conversation when I spoke with someone at the DWP in 2017 regarding mine and my husbands pensions as they requested bank statements from us which would have highlighted all of our pension information as they were clearly on these statements and I have since informed them of this in my letter to them in May 2022. The compliance officer advised me to request a mandatory reconsideration. I did this by letter to them dated 6 May 2022 explaining our situation and how we are unable to repay this amount due to our desperate financial situation and the fact that I suffer from mental illness where I find it very hard to contact people and have to rely on family members to help me. I have heard nothing since. I have written 3 times since and telephoned 3 times (taking over an hour to get through). I was promised a telephone call but this did not happen until 4 November 2022, where I was told it was still with a decision maker as there has been such a backlog.
I received my cost of living payment in July 2022 but have not received the second one. So today I contacted the DWP and was informed I am now on ESA contribution based and that is why I did not receive the payment. I was flabergasted. She then said that my Mandatory reconsideration is still being looked at. I am so distraught and having panic attacks, as our mortgage which is £500 per month which was being partly paid for by SMI which have to have to be on Income related ESA to receive it.
I have received no notification of this change of benefit and I am in such complete and utter turmoil, as I suffer from mental illness, severe depression and panic attacks my husband suffers from Parkinson’s Disease and spinal stenosis where he can hardly walk. I would be grateful if you are able to give any help or guidance in the next steps to take. I have been told that the relevant departments are going to contact me in the next three days.
Kind regards, Spitfire
I was contacted by a compliance officer in 2021 as I was now in receipt of a private pension of £127 per month as the HMRC had informed them of this. I was contacted in the past by the DWP regarding small workplace pensions I had received and I was told that HMRC liaised closely with them and provided all pension information to them and I assumed this was the case then. The officer asked me to send all our pension details to her which we duly did She received all documention in October 2021.
During that time, my ESA income related was changed to contribution based. I contacted the compliance officer to tell her of this, and she said not to worry as she was now in receipt of the requested information and that the matter was now closed. She informed me by telephone that she had informed the relevant department and that they were to reinstate my income related ESA, they also gave to me a backdated payment of £77. I still have a recording of this telephone call.
Out of the blue in May 2022 I received a letter from the DWP to state that we owed £14,000 to them because of my husband’s NHS pension and that they had now put me on a reduced ESA Income Related benefit, as they had made deductions because of the overpayment. My husband’s NHS pension was about £235 at the time when it started in 2012.
I contacted the same compliance officer who was quite shocked at what I told her and said that they had obviously gone further back to when my husband’s pension had started in 2012. I can recall annother conversation when I spoke with someone at the DWP in 2017 regarding mine and my husbands pensions as they requested bank statements from us which would have highlighted all of our pension information as they were clearly on these statements and I have since informed them of this in my letter to them in May 2022. The compliance officer advised me to request a mandatory reconsideration. I did this by letter to them dated 6 May 2022 explaining our situation and how we are unable to repay this amount due to our desperate financial situation and the fact that I suffer from mental illness where I find it very hard to contact people and have to rely on family members to help me. I have heard nothing since. I have written 3 times since and telephoned 3 times (taking over an hour to get through). I was promised a telephone call but this did not happen until 4 November 2022, where I was told it was still with a decision maker as there has been such a backlog.
I received my cost of living payment in July 2022 but have not received the second one. So today I contacted the DWP and was informed I am now on ESA contribution based and that is why I did not receive the payment. I was flabergasted. She then said that my Mandatory reconsideration is still being looked at. I am so distraught and having panic attacks, as our mortgage which is £500 per month which was being partly paid for by SMI which have to have to be on Income related ESA to receive it.
I have received no notification of this change of benefit and I am in such complete and utter turmoil, as I suffer from mental illness, severe depression and panic attacks my husband suffers from Parkinson’s Disease and spinal stenosis where he can hardly walk. I would be grateful if you are able to give any help or guidance in the next steps to take. I have been told that the relevant departments are going to contact me in the next three days.
Kind regards, Spitfire
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- Gary
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2 years 1 month ago #275747 by Gary
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gary on topic ESA INCOME RELATED MOVED TO CONTRIBUTIONS ONLY
Hi learntorun
Sorry to hear of your plight, you do need to see a Welfare Rights Organisation who can 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
I cannot answer your question as I do not have all the facts but I will give you an overview about how pensions affect IR ESA and CB ESA.
If you are receiving Income Related ESA then your private/company pension(s) will be deducted £ for £. If the IR ESA is fully eroded then you will lose access to passported benefits such as free prescriptions and dental care.
If you are only receiving Contribution Based ESA then a lump sum will not affect your CB ESA but a regular payment will. If the pension is more then £85/week then there will be a £1/week deduction for every £2 in excess of the £85.
Gary
Sorry to hear of your plight, you do need to see a Welfare Rights Organisation who can 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
I cannot answer your question as I do not have all the facts but I will give you an overview about how pensions affect IR ESA and CB ESA.
If you are receiving Income Related ESA then your private/company pension(s) will be deducted £ for £. If the IR ESA is fully eroded then you will lose access to passported benefits such as free prescriptions and dental care.
If you are only receiving Contribution Based ESA then a lump sum will not affect your CB ESA but a regular payment will. If the pension is more then £85/week then there will be a £1/week deduction for every £2 in excess of the £85.
Gary
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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- learntorun
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2 years 1 month ago #275750 by learntorun
Replied by learntorun on topic ESA INCOME RELATED MOVED TO CONTRIBUTIONS ONLY
Thank you for your reply, but you have not really responded to my email which is: I have evidence to show that I am on reduced income related ESA from a letter they sent to me in May 2022 but unbeknown to me and only because I called them yesterday to find out where my second cost of living payment was, to be told I have now been put on Contribution ESA. I received the first cost of living payment. I know my correspondence was long but it appears you have just skirted around it and not fully responded and have given me information I already know. I have not have a response to my Mandatory reconsideration letter which was sent to the DWP IN May 2022. I had been informed by the compliance officer that the matter was closed. I am so distraught that I do not know who to turn to. If I cannot get a response from mandatory reconsideration how can I go to a tribunal? I think this website is excellent and have sent over the years long emails through desperation because of my disability and unfairness of the DWP and I have alway received good advice. I have to say on this occasion it appears that you do have the resources it seems to deal with my request.
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- Gordon
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2 years 1 month ago #275778 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic ESA INCOME RELATED MOVED TO CONTRIBUTIONS ONLY
learntorun
Your situation is very complicated, more complicated than we can answer on the forum without making assumptions that could be widely inaccurate as we only have the information you have provided. There may be facts that you have omitted on the basis that you do not think that they are relevant, which are in fact crucial to anything we might advise.
But, to try and give you some context based on what you have posted.
Legacy ESA is a single benefit comprised of two qualification criteria which lead to a calculated payment based on the claimant's entitlement. ESA can be;
- Contribution Based
- Income Related, or
- A combination of the two with the IR paid on top of a CB basic amount.
From what I can see you are covered by the latter example and would compromise a CB payment of
£ 74.70 - Personal Allowance
£ 39.40 - Support Group Component
=====
£114.10
and an IR top up of
£ 42.70 - Couples Personal Allowance
£ 24.60 - Couples Enhanced Disability Premium for being in the SG
=====
£ 67.30
Converting the weekly IR rate to a monthly one gives £288.43 (£67.3 / 7 * 30).
You state your and your husband's pension total at least £362 per month, well in excess of the IR amount you are entitled to. In these circumstances, the IR ceases payment and the claimant only receives the CB amount, which is what has happened in your case.
Any change in payment should be notified by a Decision Letter although this can take 10 or more days to arrive whilst the change will be implemented immediately. You can request an MR in regard to this Decision but your only points of argument would be about the facts of the situation and by your own admission you appear to be in excess of any ESA(IR) amount you might be due.
As to the overpayment, it looks like they are trying to recover six years or so of ESA((IR) at £235/month, which should not have been paid dues to your husband's pension. Does that sound right, with your ESA claim starting in 2016?
You have more flexibility in challenging this Decision but you will need to show that you informed the DWP of your husband's pension either when it came into payment if this was after you claimed ESA or that you included it on the ESA1 form you would have completed when making your claim for ESA if before. If you can show this then the failure to deduct the pension should be classed as the DWP's official error and the debt should be forgiven.
As I and Gary have said this a complicated situation and requires the eye of a trained WRO who can have sight of all the documents concerned.
Gordon
Your situation is very complicated, more complicated than we can answer on the forum without making assumptions that could be widely inaccurate as we only have the information you have provided. There may be facts that you have omitted on the basis that you do not think that they are relevant, which are in fact crucial to anything we might advise.
But, to try and give you some context based on what you have posted.
Legacy ESA is a single benefit comprised of two qualification criteria which lead to a calculated payment based on the claimant's entitlement. ESA can be;
- Contribution Based
- Income Related, or
- A combination of the two with the IR paid on top of a CB basic amount.
From what I can see you are covered by the latter example and would compromise a CB payment of
£ 74.70 - Personal Allowance
£ 39.40 - Support Group Component
=====
£114.10
and an IR top up of
£ 42.70 - Couples Personal Allowance
£ 24.60 - Couples Enhanced Disability Premium for being in the SG
=====
£ 67.30
Converting the weekly IR rate to a monthly one gives £288.43 (£67.3 / 7 * 30).
You state your and your husband's pension total at least £362 per month, well in excess of the IR amount you are entitled to. In these circumstances, the IR ceases payment and the claimant only receives the CB amount, which is what has happened in your case.
Any change in payment should be notified by a Decision Letter although this can take 10 or more days to arrive whilst the change will be implemented immediately. You can request an MR in regard to this Decision but your only points of argument would be about the facts of the situation and by your own admission you appear to be in excess of any ESA(IR) amount you might be due.
As to the overpayment, it looks like they are trying to recover six years or so of ESA((IR) at £235/month, which should not have been paid dues to your husband's pension. Does that sound right, with your ESA claim starting in 2016?
You have more flexibility in challenging this Decision but you will need to show that you informed the DWP of your husband's pension either when it came into payment if this was after you claimed ESA or that you included it on the ESA1 form you would have completed when making your claim for ESA if before. If you can show this then the failure to deduct the pension should be classed as the DWP's official error and the debt should be forgiven.
As I and Gary have said this a complicated situation and requires the eye of a trained WRO who can have sight of all the documents concerned.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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- learntorun
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2 years 1 month ago #275781 by learntorun
Replied by learntorun on topic ESA INCOME RELATED MOVED TO CONTRIBUTIONS ONLY
Thank you Gordon. I have now sent a letter of complaint to a senior manager regarding the extreme delay in dealing with my case.
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