Hi everyone. I have been advised to apply for PIP, but as comments show, it's really tricky to navigate the process. Just had a really difficult few months after a dissection of the Carotid artery in November .
I am on SSP and not sure where to start, applied for New style ESA and waiting for the outcome , although declared unfit for work , it appears there purpose is to get people back into work , even though I still have a job to go back to when I am declared fit for work!!
Always interesting to hear everyone's experiences x
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Savingmyself
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hi PIP is difficult but there is lots of advise on the recent posts that will help but it would be wrong to say it’s an easy process. When your ready have a go / make a start.
ESA - I guess the clue is in the name and yes it’s a bit odd as technically you still have a job. I remember saying if I was fit to work I’d go back to the job I currently have so why would I look for another. But they are also covering the scenario a person may not return to that job or is dismissed.
But by my experience ESA is by far the “easier” benefit to contend with than Universal credit (that one is 😱).
Once you get the ESA in place (starts from day after SSP stops) they will also get you to complete a health assessment - this determines if you should be in the work group ( I..e they deem you fit to work per their assessment and expect you to actively seek work I believe) or the support group - this one is your deemed unable to work per ESA assessment. With this one they’ll keep paying ESA (or if you receive an income like a pension i.e. due to early retirement they’ll pay your national insurance contributions so you get the full number of years and therefore eventually full state pension) but will periodically reassess.
If you do the PIP assessment, you’ll find the ESA health assessment I wouldn’t say easier but you’ll be more familiar with answering questions about what you can and can’t do. And it’s important to include a medical reports etc that state anything about your ability to work.
Oh forgot to say PIP and ESA are independent of each other, even if you get ESA doesnt mean you will get PIP and vice versa as PIP can be awarded regardless of whether you work or not.
good luck - just when we are at our lowest we have to go through some of the hardest processes out there.
I have written about my 35 year fight for disability benefits. And wrote about what happened when I applied for PIP. I have no idea how you can get to read what I wrote . Perhaps if you search for my username it will show you my posts . I hope you can as it was a long read but lot of people liked my post.
I would add that when applying for PIP send them as much info as possible, you can tick a box to say that they can contact your GP, consultant, or whoever, but, in my case at least, they don't bother! Just because you give permission doesn't mean they have to. If you send the same information on paper or digitally they do have to read it.I was forced to move from DLA to PIP, I had a lifetime award of DLA, but fared quite badly, and my award was reduced.
You wont get esa while you're on ssp but if you can find out the date ssp ends you can have your claim start from that date . Pip is different you can claim pip while on ssp. It is difficult to get , the form is massive, and on your assessment you must explain your difficulties
definitely get help by using one of the sources recommended in other posts e.g. Benefits and Work
PIP is about how much your conditions affect/limits what you can do, so it is important to focus on that
all the questions ask what you can do, but you have to answer from the point of view of whether you can do the thing regularly, repeatedly, reliably and safely (all of these, every time), if you can't yo answer "no" and explain why and what happens to you if you try , forevery question
filling in the form is a long process which can make you feel miserable, so do it in stages, take breaks and reward yourself when you complete a chunk - I did a draft first before filling in the real thing
i got the guidance info from Benefits and Work - it meant joining but it was the best £20 i ever spent - my PIP was approved on my first application - i used a different (but equally good) agency for ESA ( Incapacity Benefit when i applied) and that got approve first time too - get help!
If you want to claim PIP do get help. I use the Benefits and Work website. There's a small charge but the advice is invaluable. Pip is not about your illness, it's about what you can no longer do repeatedly and without pain. YOu need advice on what words and descriptors to use. The initial application is usually turned down so you must appeal.
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