ESA50 01/13 to complete again!!!

My wife was in the WRAG for ESA which ended in April, and consequently her payments stopped. We had appealed on the basis that she should have been in the support group, and are STILL awaiting for that date after nearly 5 months. Yesterday she received an ESA50 with a covering letter explaining that she should complete this by 26th July otherwise her benefit may be affected.She doesn't receive the ESA benefit so why are they sending her this form? Is it to do with her appeal? Or are they just trying to confuse and wear us down?

Hi Yakker,

It is a feature of the welfare reforms that claimants will have to face periodic reassessments. These can occur at any time from 3 months after the initial decision up to 2 years (in WRAG) or 3 years (in the Support Group). This will continue even if the claimant is just getting NI credits and no money, and bears no relation to any appeal that might be in progress. This reassessment can take the form of an ESA50 +/- a face-to-face appointment.

It is tempting to say 'forget it' (or words to that affect!) and not bother. However, even if the claimant has enough NI credits for the State Retirement Pension, you should be aware that closing the claim would mean that there was no chance of accessing the Support Group (and thus payments restarting) at a future date unless NI contributions have been made, via working, for several years. Remaining in the system and undergoing periodic reassessments keeps this possibility alive.

The forum is closing now until 8pm today. Please come back to this topic thread if you have any further questions.