contribution based esa ending

hi my contribution based esa is coming to an end shortly and on the day maximus phoned to cancel my wca and im still waiting for a new appointment. not sure if i qualify for income related esa as my wife works, will i still get a wca to see if i can get in support group after they stop paying my contribution based esa

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Once your ESA payment stops your claim will remain open and you will continue to be awarded NI credits which will count towards your State Retirement Pension. while your claim remains open, you will also be subjected to periodic reassessments, you would not have to undergo Work Related Interviews or activities. If you are placed into the Support Group at a future reassessment, payment will recommence.

12 Month Limit for ESA(CB)

If you can show that your condition has worsened since your last assessment, such that you now meet at least one of the SG descriptors, you can request a reassessment yourself.

Qualifying for the Support Group

Whether you are eligible for Income-Related ESA depends on your household income and assets and also on how many hours your wife works. 24 hours and above means no eligibility, whatever the earnings.

24 hour work rule for ESA(IR)

Asset rule for ESA(IR)

If it seems that you might be entitled to IR ESA, you should contact DWP and ask for an ESA3, this is a form that takes details of your financial status.

If you were working until the start of this ESA claim, and have paid NI contributions, it is possible that you might be able to make an entirely new ESA claim and qualify for another 365 days payment. If you think this might be the case, I would recommend that you get face 2 face advice as closing this claim would be catastrophic if you then found you could not make another one!

Please reply to this message if you have further questions and we will do our best to help. You will find it easily if you bookmark/favourite it on your web browser now, or if you click on your username when signed into the forum

thank you first i am going to phone maximus to see if i can get the wca rescheduled asap as i feel i do meet the support group descriptors i was worried that if the wca interveiw hadnt taken place before the 365 days are up that would be it and i had no chance of getting into the support group. i have been fortunate in that i have paid NI contributions for 34 probably about 30 years if you take out times when have been off sick over the 34 years. reading through the guides now i realise had i read them before i filled in the form i would probably gone straight into the support group but at the time i was to ill

Hi boz,

My initial reply overlooked the fact that you have not yet had your initial WCA. That means that my bit about requesting reassessment does not apply at the moment, but everything else is relevant.