Rights & Benefits

Specialist Welfare And Benefits support

Emma Rowe is an independent ‘Welfare Rights and Benefits Specialist’.

She is here to help people with MS sort out their benefit queries and to provide support for welfare issues.

If you have any questions with regards the benefits you receive, or that you might not be receiving and possibly should be, please email or call us and we can make a referral to Emma.

She can advise on things such as DLA, Access to Work, Carers Allowance, Disability Rights, The Disability Discrimination Act or related issues.

Please email info@msrc.co.uk or call 01206 226500

MSRC Benefits Questions and Answers with Emma Rowe.

We asked you to send in any questions you may have on benefits as part of MS Awareness Week.

We would like to thank you for your repsonse, and also to thank Emma Rowe our benefits advisor who answered your queries.

You can download and read all the questions and answers here.

Further information on benefits and much more can be found on our Choices 'Benefits & MS' Leaflet and our  Financial Support Sites page.

Below, we have information about the available welfare benefits and weekly rates in the UK.

Higher rate £77.45
Lower rate £51.85

Carer's Allowance £58.45

Disability Living Allowance(DLA)
Care Component

Highest   £77.45
Middle    £51.85
Lowest   £20.55

Mobility Component

Higher   £54.05
Lower   £20.55

Employment & Support Allowance(ESA)
Personal Allowances

Single Under 25    £56.25
Single 25 or over   £71.00

Lone Parent

Under 18     £56.25
18 or over    £71.00

Couple both under 18 £56.25

Incapacity Benefit

Long-term Incapacity Benefit  £99.15

Short-term Incapacity Benefit 
(under state pension age)

Higher rate £88.55
Lower rate £74.80

For a full list - http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/benefitrates2012.pdf

Incapacity Benefit - if you receive this you will be credited with National Insurance contributions. This means that you will be treated in the same way as someone who has been working right up to retirement age.

Disability Living Allowance - You cannot begin claiming DLA if you are over 65. However if you are already claiming this, you can continue to do so as long as you continue to satisfy the qualifying conditions. If a DLA award ends after you are 65, you can make a renewal claim. If you leave it longer than a year, you will have to claim Attendance Allowance. You can only reclaim your former rate of the mobility component. If your care needs change, you can move up from the lower rate but only after the six months qualifying period. As before, it won't affect any other benefits you receive.

Attendance Allowance - This benefit is only for people over 65. It is tax free, non means-tested and can be paid on top of the state retirement pension and Income Support too.

Severe Disablement Allowance - SDA was abolished for new claimants in April 2001. If you claimed it before that date it will continue until you reach 65. SDA is taxable when it is combined with the retirement pension, so how much you pay will depend on your individual circumstances.

Income Support - This is the safety net. If you are over retirement age there is a minimum income guarantee, which is currently £98.15 per week. You can claim IS if the amount of pension or the income you receive is less than this and your savings are below £12,000. If you don't qualify for any pension at all, you can get IS instead.

Invalid Care Allowance - At the moment you can only become entitled to ICA before the age of 65. However, new legislation allowing over 65's to claim is expected to be passed by Parliament in October 2002. ICA is counted as income though so you may not be any better off.

The Pensions Act 1995 introduced an equal state pension age of 65 for both men and women. This will be phased in between 2010 and 2020. Women born before April 1950 will continue to get their pension at 60. Those born after that date will not get it until they are 65!

The 2 Minute Test

Step 1:
Look through this list of some (but not all) of the everyday activities that are relevant to DLA:

• Walking outdoors
• Walking outdoors alone in unfamiliar places
• Preparing a cooked main meal for yourself
• Moving about indoors
• Taking medication
• Eating and drinking
• Staying safe if you're alone
• Communicating with other people
• Getting out of bed in the morning
• Getting into bed at night
• Sleeping
• Using the toilet Washing, having a bath or a shower
• Looking after your appearance
• Getting dressed and undressed
• Social and leisure activities (Shopping and housework are not generally counted as everyday activities that are relevant to DLA).

Step 2:
Choose one of the activities above that you have some problems with. For example: You might have problems using the toilet because you have irritable bowel syndrome which causes abdominal pain and urgent diarrhoea, so you sometimes don't make it in time.

You might have problems going outdoors alone in unfamiliar places because a visual impairment makes it difficult for you to see obstructions or cross roads safely.

You may not be able to prepare a cooked main meal for yourself because arthritis in your hands means you can't peel or chop vegetables.

Step 3:
With your chosen activity in mind, answer the True or False questions below.

If your condition varies, so that the answer is sometimes true and sometimes false, then choose true.

• I can do it, but it hurts. True or False?
• I can do it, but only slowly. True or False?
• I can do it, but only using a special technique of my own. True or False?
• I can do it, but 1 need someone with me just in case things go wrong. True or False?
• It's not safe for me to do it. True or False?
• I can't do it at all. True or False?

Step 4:
If you haven't answered 'true' to any of the questions, try the test again with another activity from the list and so on, until you've found a statement that is true or decided that there aren't any.

Step 5:
If the answer is 'true' to any of the questions in relation to any of the activities listed then you may be entitled to Disability Living Allowance, because they are all reasons why you might 'reasonably require' help or supervision, even if you don't get it or want it.

Whether you are actually eligible for Disability Living Allowance, and at what rate, will depend on how many activities you have problems with and which ones they are.

If the answer wasn't true to any of the questions, it doesn't mean you are definitely not eligible for Disability Living Allowance.

By Emma Rowe, MSRC Rights & Benefits Adviser

If you are getting contribution based Employment & Support Allowance (ESA) and have been placed in the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG), you will only be able to get it for one year. This time limit includes any contribution based ESA received before April 2012, so for many people this benefit is already coming to an end!

Jobcentre Plus wrote to claimants to prepare them for this possible change by advising contribution based ESA claimants that the benefit may be limited to 12 months. By sending out these letters it was implied that this rule would be implemented, and there was an outcry from campaigners.

However, depending on your family income and/or capital, it is possible that when your contribution based ESA ends you may become entitled to one or more means tested benefits such as Income Related ESA, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. But if your partner works, there is a strong likelihood your household income will be too high to qualify.

Worryingly, some of you have already contacted me to tell me stories about telephone calls from Jobcentre Plus Decision Makers Explanation Teams suggesting that people in receipt of contributory based ESA withdraw their appeals.

It would seem that some people who have appealed against being in a WRAG have had their appeals looked at prior to going to a tribunal by a Decision Maker, who then goes through what information the appeal was based on. Then if they feel that the appeal isn’t strong enough and unlikely to win, they ask the claimant to withdraw.

Even more worrying is how data showing the numbers of ESA claimants who have withdrawn their appeals is being used as evidence to support the government’s accusations that they were fraudulent claims in the first place and should never have been in receipt of ESA.

If you are in a WRAG and do not feel this is the right group for you, (the Support Group pays more) then you can appeal.

BUT - and it is a big but - it is always possible that the decision could be made that you are not entitled to any rate of ESA, so you will need to be very sure of the evidence you submit.

Before taking any action I strongly suggest you look at the website www.benefitsandwork.co.uk. This is an independent organisation that produces a very clear guide on ESA appeals.

If you are NOT in a Work Related Activity Group then the above will not affect you.

Some Notes on Employment & Support Allowance

ESA replaced both incapacity benefit (IB) and income support (IS) paid on the grounds of incapacity for new claims from 27 October 2008.

The rules for claiming ESA are: You must –

• Be at least 16 years old
• Be under pensionable age (ESA stops when you reach retirement age)
• Undergo a 13 week assessment phase

Satisfy at least one of the following:
• Pass a contributory test or be under age 20 (or 25 in certain cases)
• Pass a low income test

To claim income based ESA you must
• Be present in the UK
• Be habitually resident and have the right to reside

To claim contribution based ESA you must
• Be present in the UK

Rates £71.00 (From April 2012) per week during 13 week assessment phase if over 25.

After that, £71.00 per week + either a support component of £34.05 in the support group or £28.15 if in the work-related group.

• Rates for Income-related

ESA depend on your income, capital, partner and other factors.

For any rights or benefits problem, write to Emma Rowe at MSRC. Email address: info@msrc.co.uk

For full information and details, including full benefit details, fact sheets and frequently asked questions, please visit www.dwp.gov.uk/esa

© Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre (MSRC)