Hi All New to this forum and trust that i'm posting in the right area? I was assessed and awarded Incapacity Benefit in late 1999 / Early 2000. On receiving my reduced and early occupational pension in April 2002 at aged 50 I read and noted that my occupation pension was not taken into account because my Incapacity Benefit had started before 2001. I did check this with the benefits office and was told this was correct. On moving to ESA Contribution benefit in August 2015 no mention was made that the rules regarding occupation pension had changed. Early this year I was told that my ESA was being stopped because I was in receipt of an occupational pension. Following this I was asked to attend a meeting with a benefits officer and she indicated that I should not have been in receipt of benefit since receiving my occupational pension and that they would be seeking to claim the benefits paid back as overpayment, this despite that I produced the relevant Benefits booklet showing her that I had only followed what I was being advised about and had spoken with a benefits member of staff when starting to receive my occupation pension. Despite that I am registered disabled and have only been claiming what I was entitled to I have been made to feel like a criminal and am worried sick, any ideas on how I should progress this? Also should I still be in receipt of ESA Contribution benefit as part of the transition from my local term Incapacity Benefit which has been in existence since 1999/ early 2000?

I have been on incapacity benefit for the last 5 years and it is unlikely I am going to get much better and be able to come off it in te immediate future. I am on 'credits only', which means the DWP pay national insurance contributions for me. adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_money/benefits/national_insurance_contributions_and_benefits.htm It appears that as of the last tax year, these national insurance contributions will no longer be used to calculate the state pension. As the only time I have ever worked was in my teens, is it now the case that I won't get a state pension unless I work a few years (probably 10 or 20) before retirement age? I understand in order to qualify for the maximum state pension I must have 30 years of NI contributions? Thanks

Hi, I know that if you have savings then Incapacity Benefit doesn't take that into consideration as it isn't means tested but I'm wondering if I would still be eligible for it if I rent out a property I own? Many thanks in advance, Macky

Hi, I wanted to see if anybody had experience of my position? I had an medical a couple of years ago and my incapacity benefit was stopped. I took it to tribunal stage. This went in my favour and my benefit was reinstated. In June this year I got an IB50 form in the post and have been asked to go for another medical next week. Does anybody know if my previous tribunal will have any affect on the ATOS decision? Is it possible I will have to go through the whole appeal process again. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

The Local Authority (LA) has written to inform me that they have cancelled my Housing Benefit (HB) and Council Tax Benefit (CTB) claim because: “You were claiming as a disabled student, but failed to inform us that your Incapacity Benefit ended in February 2010 and you no longer qualify for benefit from that date.” As I now have no other income (except the existing HB payments) I decided to apply for Job Seekers Allowance, which was I eventually awarded last month. “if you are no longer a student (which I'm not) you may still qualify for benefit, please call us if this is the case to complete an application” the last letter tells me - this is what I'm in the process of doing now so I don't fall behind with my rent now I am not getting HB. I have been claiming IB for about 18 months before claiming Housing Benefit which was awarded from October 2009. Between September 2009 and April 2010 I was also in receipt of a Student Finance Loan. I had been advised this was permitted, and the LA calculated my HB entitlement taking all these facts in to account. In March 2010 I noticed my IB had stopped being paid in to my bank account, but I wasn't told why. There had been no change in my circumstances. I genuinely was not aware this meant I was being overpaid HB since I had not been informed by JCP of any decision stating I no longer had an entitlement to benefit. I spoke to JCP hoping for an answer, I was advised my IB might have been suspended because I failed to attend a work capability assessment, I was told they would write to me if this was the case. About a fortnight later I received a notification from JCP which I informed me of a change in my Incapacity Benefit. The letter stated my benefits were due to be adjusted and will shortly increase “due to the annual rise in benefits”. I also received a new HB/CTC “Benefit Decision Notice” from the LA. I assumed this was in relation to the changes in my IB which I had just been informed about, and the reason for the recalculation on this LA letter was stated “Annual Updating”. To this date, I have still not received any written explanation why my IB payments had suddenly ceased, even though I was told I otherwise. This error was made even more confusing and distressing, especially after receiving correspondence to the contrary fact, actually confirming the amount I was expecting to be paid. I have been sent an invoice for overpayment of £1,890 (which I cannot afford up front). If this is entirely my fault then as unfair as it may be, I am willing to pay it all back in reasonable installments. This will take a significant time to pay back, and I would question if it is even recoverable considering I had no additional income and all the HB received was required and used in good faith for the intended purposes (towards rent!) and think I may have even be underpaid. Any advice/experiences/suggestions etc very welcome. I'm very distressed and embarrassed I have not been able to sort this out, and just want to get it resolves ASAP so I don't face eviction.

Hi, Really hope someone can help me, i have been claiming I.B. since August 2008 due to mental health, I suffer from severe depression, panic attacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, suicidal thoughts and actions. All this stems from years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse by a now ex partner. I am on several medications to combat all of this, but unfortunately nothing makes it better or makes it go away even for a minute! I recently went for a pca which shortly after found i had been failed on, reading the reasons on the form shocked me, and the person who came with me (as i cannot go out alone)! I had not been asked 99% of the questions on the form. And also in the process of this medical the doctor (and i use this word lightly) told me "you should have been able to stop all this abuse if your partner was smaller than you" and "you should be fine if your no longer with that person"!! This caused me severe distress and upset as you can imagine!! So now my I.B. has been stopped i have an appeal going in.......while this is going ahead i was advised to claim E.S.A (i thought these were the same thing), however i have now been told i will need to go for another assesment and in the meantime i am not entitled to any form of payment due failing my pca?? So i then called income support to see if they can help......and was swiftly told that i could not claim that because it was already included in my esa claim....confused??? so am i!!!! I am not able to get a crisis loan due to them saying im at my limit which i dont agree with so am now also having to fight that also. I have had absolutely no money for 5 weeks now, my landlord is sending me final warning letters as my rent is not being paid, i just want someone to tell me what i can claim, where from and who to call and what to say to them....as i have explained my situation so many times and just got nowhere!! Well aside from the one guy at Incapacity saying "sorry but i think your only options are the citizens advice and the samaritans"!! Please please can anyone help me??

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I'm looking for some help on this one, I've had a letter from a company called Iqor demanding £750 for benefit overpayment in 2006. what should I do? Do I have to pay? is there any way I can dispute this?