bigissue
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Until earlier this year I was on income related ESA, I have now moved in with my partner and while I am still on ESA and get NI credits but I do not get esa payments any more. As far as I know I now have to pay for my NHS dental treatment as I no longer get any income related payments, is this correct?
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Last week I informed the dwp that I had moved in with my partner. they sent me an ESA3 10/14 form to fillout which I think just assesses financial eligability for the benefit. I know that due to my partners income and savings I will lose all benefit. The form is a bit confusing and I cannot get through to the DWP to speak to them as they are always busy even if I wait an hour on the phone. My queries are these: 1. It asks me if my partner agrees to my making this claim? My partner knows he has to give his details but isn't happy about giving his savings information and so on. He says he is not making any claim, which he isn't. 2. As I have just moved I am currently in the process of switching doctors, this will take a few weeks to do but I have to send the form back asap. Should I just put the name of my old GP or the name of the new surgery I will be going to even though I don't have a doctor there yet? 3. The form asks about work my partner has done since I made my first claim. My partner has always worked since 2002 and earned a good wage (he also has savings in excess of £30,000) however we were not partners then and I only moved in together last week. I am worried that by filling this in the DWP will say he should have been supporting me for the past 5 years even though we haven't been together that long and were only just living together now? 4. The form says they will tell me if I am not entitled to ESA they will write and tell me. I expect to not get any money but I am not better at all and would still like to have my stamp covered by being on the benefit, will this be ok? Thank you for your help!
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I have been on income related ESA in the Support Group for about 4 years now. All the time I have been on ESA I have lived with family members and recieved no other benefits such as housing benefit etc. At some point over the next month or so I will be moving in with a partner. My partner earns over the threshold I will lose all benefits once I move in with them. The house my partner has bought earlier this year is currently being renovated and due to my ill health I cannot move in until the work is complete which will hopefully be soon but I have no definate date. As far as I know I need to inform the DWP of my change in circumstances within 30 days of moving in with my partner is this correct? In addition I don't know what to expect when I tell them of my new situation when it happens. Will it trigger a new WCA for example. Do I just need to fill out a form about my change in circumstance or will they investigate i.e. come round to see if I am living in the new house? I am hoping it shouldn't really be an issue as my change or circumstances will mean I am no longer getting any benefits paid except my stamp as opposed to me asking for more money? Could anyone advise me on what to expect?
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Hello all just an update to let you all know I was actually placed back into the support group so it turns out the guy was genuine after all. Its a shame we have to be so nervous about it but of course most of us know from bitter experiance that its just like a game of russian roulette it just depends on who you get.
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Just back from my WCA, the nurse was very nice and gave me the impression he would write report in my favour but we will have to wait and see. Still feel sick with anxiety about it all, after a WCA I feel violated really and it takes a few days to feel normal again. Wish I could just fall asleep until I get my letter.
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Thanks, with my condition is is quite difficult to get PIP although I haven't tried, I know of no person who has managed to get it. My partners earnings take us over the threshold for any other support.
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Just realised that due to changes coming in in April 2018 NIC 2 will no longer be an option. I will have to make £8060 a year profit to qualify for NIC Class 4 of 9% which I know is impossible. The only way to maintain my eligability for benefits such as a state pension will be to pay Class 3 NIC which are currently £14.10 a week totalling £733.20 even if I only make £1000 in a year which is actually higher than the 9% of £8060 I could pay if I made that amount equalling £725.40. It seems very unfair for people who want to work but are unable to do a normal job due to ill health. I feel like I have no option but to stay on ESA for as long as I can now which makes me feel very trapped and sad. I am not due to reach retirement age for another 25 to 30 years so who knows what will happen in that time but right now I just don't know what to do, is there any way round this?
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I am currently on ESA in the Support Group but looking to move to self employment in the future if possible. My health hasn't improved in the 5 years I have been on ESA but my partners earnings are over the threshold so I will no longer get any money and of course I may lose my ESA at any time when reassessed. My concerns are this I want to go self employed and at the moment I believe I could pay Class 2 NIC, £2.80 a week to maintain my eligability for state benefits in future regardless of what I actually earn. I would expect my profits to be very low to nil in the 1st year perhaps beyond at most I'd expect to earn maybe £200 a month. Paying £12 a month for NIC isn't too bad to keep up my stamp. I am worried about the changes in 2018 when Class 2 NIC will be abolished, I won't have to pay the £2.80 a week but unless I earn over £8000 I won't pay the class 4 NIC which is 9% of profits. I am very unlikely to earn £8000 or anywhere near it. If I don't pay at all will I lose months or years of my stamp / eligability for benefits and state pension? It seems I could pay class 3 NIC which are currently £14.10 a week which would be £56.40 a month which is likely to be a massive chunk of my earnings, possibley even more than my earnings. This seems very unfair as I am too sick to work normally and too sick pursue fulltime self employment so I need to either give up my right to a pension or just stay on unemployment benefits for the rest of my life. Can anyone clarify how the abolishment of Class 2 NIC will affect my access to benefits in the future?
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Thanks for that, I don't really believe I will earn anything but it makes sense to keep anthing I do earn to the side so I don't get caught out with a big bill. I really need to get some proper advice on this as I don't want to end up in trouble. Thanks again.
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Thank you for your help so far with this Martin. I am a bit confused about the NIC I would need to pay. I found this online: Class 2: if your annual profits are £5,965 or more Class 4: if your annual profits are £8,060 or more (this is payable in addition to your Class 2 NICs). You calculate your profit by deducting your expenses from your self-employed income. If I was earning below £8060 profit would I still have to pay Class 4 NIC even if my profits were only £4000 in a year in order to get full entitlment? If I might not even earn enough to cover my materials and NIC which would be difficult. If this is how I need to proceed then I will get some face to face advice on keeping records and such.
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Well I am an artist, that is what I trained as and I still paint but I have no idea when someone might buy one of my paintings or how much I can sell them for at the moment. I would imagine that at least initially I would earn little to no profit as any money earned would be spent on buying new materials to work with. Even if I do earn it will be far below 10,000 you need to earn to start paying tax. I also have ongoing health issues that prevent me from getting a "proper" job so that would affect my ability to work consistently. Ideally I need to be on ESA in the SG as I am now but I see so many lose this I feel I must find some other way of keeping my contributions up if I lose this benefit. If I become self employed and pay class 2 contributions will that entitle me to a full pension in the future?
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I am currently on ESA SG and in the middle of being reassessed. I am as always worried about losing my ESA. I am also due to be moving in with my partner in a few months and as they earn over the threshold I will lose all money anyway but at least if I am on ESA my stamp will get paid so I will still qualify for my pension in future. If I lose my ESA it won't change the fact that I am currently unable to work but I won't get my NIC paid. I s there anything I can do to get round this issue? Could I for example become self employed and just pay my stamp myself it it wouldn't be too much money each month. My plan is to become self employed anyway but I think it will be sometime before I can make an income. My partners salary also takes us over the threshold for anything like tax credits so I won't be applying for anything like that. My partner knows the situation and is happy to support me financially, the main issue for me is to still keep my national insurance contributions up without being hassled by the job center or work programme.
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You never know perhaps you will be ok, my last assessment was in 2013 so they may feel I am due a reassessment. It might not be such a bad idea to start getting ready for the assessment at your own pace. They only give you about four weeks to fill in the form and for people with health conditions it really isnt long enough. The stress of this has made my health much worse over the past month and it was a real struggle to find time when I was well enough to work on the form. It really hit me this time just how degrading the whole ESA process is. I have just posted my form back and will need to focus on recovering from the experience. Like you Miss Anxious I would like to work but I am ill so often that no employer would have me and even if they did work would make my condition much worse.
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I have just received my form today . I was in the support group 2 years so they aren't leaving anyone alone anymore, all I can hope is that they assess me without a f2f and leave me where I am.
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I am just wondering if anyone has had the annual benefit uprating letter yet? I know that the benefits aren't really going up but the letter is useful for as more up to date proof of my being on ESA for the dentist and such. I normally have mine by now going by other years but this year still nothing although I do think others (from what I read online) have been getting them.
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