18. First condition: paid contributions
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18. First condition: paid contributions
You must have paid, or be treated as having paid, at least 26 weeks of Class 1 or Class 2 national insurance (NI) contributions on earnings at the lower earnings limit in one of the last two complete tax years before the start of the relevant benefit year. For instance, if you make your ESA claim in the 2026 benefit year, you need to have paid 26 weeks’ contributions in one of the following tax years: 2023/24 or 2024/25 (unless one of the exceptions listed below applies).
WRA 2007, Sch 1 , para 1; ESA Regs, reg 8
Lower earnings limits – These are uprated each year. For the last nine years they were:
year
rate
year
rate
year
rate
2018/19:
£116
2021/22:
£120
2024/25:
£123
2019/20:
£118
2022/23:
£123
2025/26:
£125
2020/21:
£120
2023/24:
£123
2026/27:
£129
Example: If you claim ESA in the 2026 benefit year, you meet the first condition if you earned at least £123 a week for 26 weeks between April 2023 and April 2024 or between April 2024 and April 2025.
Exceptions
There
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