savings threshold with SG ESA

Hi

having been a member of B&W for several yrs now & reliant on ESA to survive I want to say in advance to anyone who is also in that position, that i'm really sorry if this post seems insensitive...
I never imagined my Mum would die & leave me in this financially somewhat enviable position. To be honest i'd rather rewind 3wks & have her still here with me, even as broke as I was

So anyway I am about to unexpectedly inherit some money (not a lot but enough to send me over the £16k threshold).

I've been in the SG for about 4yrs now with my reassessment due in feb.

As I understand it there is no threshold for the SG as it's all contributions based... is that correct?

If I have trouble when I am reassessed (in Jan) & they downgrade me to the WRAG I understand that if I go into Income based group I will only get it if I have less than £16k is that right?

But I'm confused... will I go straight into income based ESA because I've had SG (contribution based) for so long, or will I have a year of CB WRAG before it becomes means tested?

I'm asking because I am in need of a new roof & some other, rather pricey home repairs etc which would take me back to well under the threshold (& are indeed why I was left the money). But being very poorly & having just had a major bereavement I just cant face sorting all that out now. So I just wanted to know if it's urgent that I start dealing with it now in case they downgrade me to the WRAG, or if, even if they do I will have a yr on CB WRAG before I start needing to worry about it.

thanks

Cemily, I am sorry for your loss.

Cemily I too am so sorry for your loss, take care of yourself.

Thank you all your support & compassion mean a lot.

Thank you also Gordon for the details that is really clear. I have never been in the WRAG before.

I didn't realise you could get SG IR, I think it was the 365days thing for the WRAG that confused me, but that makes more sense now.

It doesn't say anything about IR anywhere on my award letter & I have certainly never been asked to show details of savings or anything so I'm pretty sure I don't get any IR stuff.

I feel reassured that worst case scenario I should have at least a year from now to sort stuff out. phew!
many thanks

does anyone know how they work out for the SG whether what you get is CB or IR, presumably it's based on your previous contributions but does anyone know the specifics?
just a little concerned in case my SG payments change & become IR at some point.... why would that happen?

Cemily91 wrote: does anyone know how they work out for the SG whether what you get is CB or IR, presumably it's based on your previous contributions but does anyone know the specifics?
just a little concerned in case my SG payments change & become IR at some point.... why would that happen?

Hi Cemily,

Your entitlement to contributory ESA depends on the NI contributions made in the 2 full tax years prior to the claim. People who were on IB were also transferred to contributory ESA, no matter how long it is since they last worked.

Contributory benefit is always paid if there is any entitlement, in preference to Income-Related, although it is possible to have IR top-ups to contributory benefit if the income/assets are low.

At the moment there is no way in which someone in the Support Group on Contributory ESA can be switched to Income-related ESA, this would necessitate a change in law.