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I don't understand the situation with the backdated I.R. ESA

Hello, can someone please explain how this I.R. ESA back dated issue works please? I got changed over from Incapacity Benefit in 2012, and was put on to ESA. I guess this was contrib ESA, and for 1 year only. I didn't apply for I.R. ESA at that time, because the DWP didn't know about that kind of thing, hence the backdated issue that everyone has now been recently informed about.
When my first year of contrib ESA ended, back in 2013, I did not apply for I.R. ESA then, because at that time, my savings were above 16K. However, I continued to receive NICS. I guess these were contrib based?
Fast forward to late 2018, and my savings went below 6K, and so I applied for ESA again, the I.R. version, and I got my benefits money. (I should have applied when my savings went below 16K instead. Whoops, my mistake.)
So in 2019, I get the I.R. ESA backdated form, that a lot of people have received, and I put on the form that my savings were between 6K and 16K during most of 2018. I got the award money.
But a couple of things don't make sense to me:
When I phoned the ESA recently, they told me that I am on contrib ESA. Surely that's wrong. Surely I should be on I.R. ESA, because I reapplied for I.R. ESA money in late 2018, when my savings went below 6K.
And the other thing, and this is the bit I really don't understand - how can you get BOTH IR and contrib ESA at the same time?! Do you really get double the amount - I take it that this is not the case. So, what happens, roughly, in terms of a weekly payment amount?
Should I ask for my contrib ESA to be back dated, now that I have received back dated I.R. ESA? Because my ESA start date is at the end of 2018, when I started to receive benefits money again, whereas my new I.R. ESA back dated claim date, which has been successful, is more towards the beginning of 2018.
Sorry for the novel length question! Thanks a lot if anyone can shed any light on anything above!! 

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Online Community Officer
Online Community Officer
My (contrib support group) ESA payment is approx 388 per fortnight. I think this is broken down in to:
- the basic ESA "base amount" - I'm not sure if there is a correct term for this.
- I.R. top up, because my savings are below 6K.
- Support group "top up".
- Severe disability premium, because I was awarded basic care for PIP.
I have some questions please.
1. Have I got the breakdown above correct? In other words, have I omitted anything?
2. Say if I sell my flat, and decide not to buy again, but to attempt to live off the sale of the flat money, by renting somewhere. What components listed above are means tested? (I am guessing that just 1 out of the 4 components will be affected, and that is the I.R. top up, and if that is correct, then the other 3 components will be completely unaffected, and they will not be affected, and I will continue to receive them. Is that right?)
Thanks a lot for any help!
here is what i remember to be the exact sequence of events.
1. feb 2018, my savings dipped below 16k. i did *NOT* tell the dwp about this, in any way shape or form. this was my mistake. whoops.
2. oct 2018, my savings dipped below 6k. i told the dwp about this. i can't remember how i did this. there was some confusion over this. i may have filled out the wrong form. (some mix up between IR and contrib forms, i really can't remember?? what i do remember is that i think i picked the IR form??)
whatever the possible mix up, the dwp started up my esa benefits payments again. very important note - please note that at this specific point in time, the dwp had *NOT* calculated, via the newly filled out esa50 form, that i was entitled to be switched from wrag to the support group! that came a little bit later. so, in other words, at this exact moment in time, i was NOT receiving support group money, only the lower amount.
3. i think it was about 6 weeks later, sometime in early dec 2018, after these benefits had been coming in for about 6 weeks, when the dwp had a chance to look over my new esa50 form, that they changed me from wrag to the support group. my benefits then went up a bit.
4. fast forward to this summer, when i got the i.r. backdated form to fill in. i filled it in, and in it, i said the following:
between feb 2018, and oct 2018, my savings were between 6k and 16k.
they then awarded me about 3k.
please ask me anything you like for additional confirmation.
i appreciate your assistance in this matter.
thanks a lot!
It's about the backdated ir esa thing.
I'm looking at the printouts that the dwp have given me.
It's to do with how they calculated the ir backdated esa amount.
Each printout page deals with one week, although some appear to be two weeks - I don't know why.
Anyway, here is one page, date="Feb 2018". (they are all much alike.)
Living = £0 (cont), £73.10 (ir)
WRAG = £0 (cont), £29.05 (ir)
The law says = £0 (cont), £102.15 (ir)
savings = £34.00
we pay you = £102.15 - £34.00 = £68.15
Does that seem about right to you? I don't see where the "ir top up premium" is? Sorry to be so stupid! (Does £102.15 seem about right though?)
Scope