ESA3 Received from DWP

Hi everybody

We have been getting an increasing number of posts about this so I have prepared this standard answer.

What is it about?
When Incapacity Benefit claimants and some SDA claimants were transferred to ESA the DWP failed to assess whether they should have received an Income Related ESA top-up to the Contribution Based ESA that they were awarded.

Top-up not replacement
The first thing you need to be aware of is that this is an ESA(IR) top-up to your existing ESA(CB), it does not replace it, you remain entitled to your ESA(CB).

Universal Credit
This is a an amendment to your existing ESA claim, it will not result in a transfer to UC as a new claim is not being made. To emphasise again, whilst the ESA(IR) element will at some time after the end of 2019 be transferred to UC, the ESA(CB) element will remain in payment and unaffected.

Not a reassessment of your award
This is not a reassessment of your existing ESA award, only whether you are eligible for the ESA(IR) top-up.

How to qualify
There are several reasons you may qualify for the top-up;

1. you qualify for one or more of the ESA Premiums
1.1 The Enhanced Disability Premium is paid for being in the Support Group, you are receiving DLA Higher Rate Care or you are Receiving PIP Enhanced Daily Living.
1.2 The Severe Disability Premium is paid if you receive an enabling benefit such as DLA MRC or HRC or PIP Daily Living, no one receives Carers Allowance against the enabling benefit and you live alone or are considered to be living alone.
1.3 The Carers Premium because you or a partner are entitled to Carers Allowance.
2. The couples Personal allowance is payable.

What stops you being entitled
The first thing to say is that this ESA3 is looking at your financial situation over the whole period from when you were transferred to ESA up and till today. You may qualify for the whole period, you may have qualified on transfer but not now, now but not then, or just for periods during the whole period.

There are three reasons why you would not be entitled, any one of the following will prevent payment of ESA(IR);

1. Your household savings and assets exceed £16,000, or they exceed £6000 and the deduction from your ESA(IR) exceeds the ESA(IR) you would receive.
2. Your partner works for 24 or more hours a week.
3. Your household income exceeds the amount of ESA(IR) that you would receive. Note: Even if your pension is disregarded for the purposes of your ESA(CB), it is not for ESA(IR) and will be deducted in full.

You are not sure that you qualify
Rates have changed over the years but you can put your information into one of the online benefit calculators, see

www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

You do not think you qualify
If you are certain that throughout the period in question you are not eligible for ESA(IR) then you can return the form uncompleted, the DWP for there own records will want a reason for this, you can either tick one of the boxes that they supply or add your own explanation

as above