Migrated To NS-ESA Instead of UC Confusion And Questions

Hi

I am currently migrating from ESA (in the Support Group) to Universal Credit. All was going well, until they said I had to attend a phone meeting to agree to a New Style Employment and Support Allowance commitment. This surprised me because I thought I was on Income-related ESA so would be moved to UC (not least because I have never worked and my migration letter stated “You will soon stop getting … income-related ESA”).

When the DWP called, I expressed my surprise and asked why I had been moved to NS-ESA and the person said that one of my past benefits must have triggered it. I asked more questions but they couldn’t really give me a clear explanation, other than to effectively say: it says you are moving to NS-ESA, so it must be right.

I’ve read the guides and some posts here, and understand that it seems that some people were actually on both Income Related ESA and Contribution Based ESA without realising it, and those people are now being moved to NS-ESA (with a UC top up). I am finding it hard to get my head around though, so was hoping somebody could please answer the following questions/offer some reassurance:

1: Looking at my benefit history (see below), is it correct that I was moved to NS-ESA, and if so, why? Or is this a mistake and I should be getting just UC, and if so, why??

2: Does getting NS-ESA have any advantages/disadvantages compared to just being moved to UC alone?

3: Will being on NS-ESA lead to any problems/issues in the future that I need to be aware of, such as when when ESA and JSA are merged?

Thanks for your help.


Rough timeline (dates adjusted to hide identity). I have listed what the annual benefit form stated I was getting and how they broke down my benefit award (without actual figures), and how that information changed over the years.


1990
Income Support
+ How much the law says you need to live
+ Because I am entitled to Disability Premium

(1991 Awarded Severe Disablement Allowance)

1991
Income Support
+ Normal living expenses
+ Because you are disabled

(1995 Awarded DLA: Low Rate Care & High Rate mobility)

2001
Income Support
How much the law says you need to live on
+ For you
+ Because you are sick or disabled
Income you told us about
- DLA Mobility (not counted)
- DLA Care (not counted)
- Severe Disablement Allowance

(2005 DLA went from Low Rate Care (+HR Mob) to High Rate Care (+HR Mob) )

2005
Income Support
How much the law says you need to live on
+ For You
+ Because you are sick or disabled
+ Because you are severely disabled
+ Because of the Disability Income Guarantee
Income you told us about
- Severe Disablement Allowance
- DLA (Mobility) - not counted
- DLA (Care) - not counted)

(2012 I was switched to ESA, in the Support Group)

2012
Employment and Support Allowance
+ Your Living Expenses
+ Extra money because you are severely disabled
+ Extra money because of the Disability Income Guarantee
Limited capability for work addition
+ Extra money because you are in the Support Group
Income and Benefits
- DLA Mobility (not counted)
- DLA Care (not counted)

I think one of the advantages of receiving NS ESA is that it is paid fortnightly so it may help with budgeting as we know UC is paid monthly.
If the DWP had just put out a statement mentioning the possibity that NS ESA may apply to some migrating claimants it would have saved a lot of anxiety.

Gaddy