ESA Premium - Backdated?

shamrockqueen wrote: Hi. I am still waiting to hear if my premium will be backdated. Could You clarify one thing for me though please?

I was awarded DLA high rate for care & mobility in march 2008. Therefore, i am eligible to have this premium to be backdated to this date or to my esa date of 2011?

thanks

Premiums cannot be paid unless there is an underlying benefit that enables payment, so the earliest that the Premium can be paid would be some time in 2011 when your ESA went into payment, however, from your previous posts you were/are receiving ESA(CB) which does not enable payment, so you will only be entitled to a back payment of the Premium for any period for which you can show that you were also eligible for an ESA(IR) top-up to your ESA(CB).

I believe the DWP have already agreed that they can ay you the EDP so you must currently be eligible for an ESA(IR) top-up, so any further backdating will depend on you showing the at that time (2011?) you were also eligible for ESA(IR). I hope that makes sense.

Gordon

shamrockqueen wrote: hi Gordon

I thought though as i was one dla from 2008, this should have triggered the premium to be paid to me from this date? Although at the time i was getting incapacity benefit and then migrated to esa november 2011.

I have looked at various sites, and i'm sure it states that the enhanced disability premium is awarded if you are on DLA High Care.?

If you were previously on IB then you would have to show that you were entitled to Income Support in addition to your IB, I am not clear 100% on the rules for this, but they are different to those for ESA(CB) and ESA(IR), as I understand it there is no automatic entitlement to IS.

Gordon