New style ESA query

Fulci Lives! wrote:

I get my £10 Christmas bonus from PIP Just checked, it’s a P60U Pay £0.00 Taxable £0.00 Pay and Taxable benefit £0.00 Tax Deducted £0.00 Tax refunded £0.00 Net Tax Refunded £0.00

The fact that you get your Christmas Bonus paid by PIP and there is no taxable benefit listed on your P60U suggests that your ESA was wholly income related.

Some people on ESA can have an underlying entitlement to contributory ESA but not be paid it, but these are people who are in the Work Related Activity Group, where payment of contributory ESA is limited to 12 months. If on a reassessment the person is then placed in the Suport Group, the contributory based ESA then becomes payable once again.

However, as you are in the Support Group - where contributory ESA isn't time limited - if you were getting contributory ESA when you first claimed, you should still be getting it. This should be reflected in both who pays the Christmas Bonus (there is a hierarchy of which benefit pays the Christmas Bonus and contribution based ESA is ahead of PIP) and what is entered on your P60U.

Have you ever been in the Work Related Activity Group at any point since first claiming ESA? The reason for asking is to find out whether contribution based ESA stopped at some point when you went to the WRAG group and failed to restart when you went to / back to the Support Group.

Thank you so much for your reply

I have always been in the Support Group.

I have never been in the Work Related Activity Group.

I’ve always been in the Support Group

Thanks for the reply. From what you've posted, you shouldn't get a letter advising that you'll be moved to new style ESA as it's clear that all of your ESA is income-related.

Im going through the same thing right now n it has been so stressful! For yrs i have always thought im on income based as tht what my all my letters have stated(also i money deducted weekly when i reported i had inheritance(why would they do this if it was contribution as thts non means tested apparently) my journal now says contribution) n esa say dual 🙄 but i have nothing saying this . I had my phone id check which went fine,then the next day im now on new style i also have another phone call to accept my commitments(this is nothing to worry about apparently) esa will carry on every 2 weeks then (dont knw how much) then uc payment monthly..i havnt got my statement yet for the 1st payment
Good luck anyway,i hope things run smoothly for you

Thank you for all your help, Robbie. Much appreciated.

Best of luck to you, too.
Take care.