Help Claiming UK Benefits & Income Support
Income Support Help
If you are on a low income you may be able to get benefit to help with your living costs, your rent and your Council Tax. You may also be entitled to help with other costs like prescriptions.
This information is about support for people on a low income. It does not cover support for children and it does not cover Working Tax Credit, which is specifically for people who are working.
For more information on help for people who are working, see Benefits and tax credits for people in work. For information on support for children, see Benefits for families and children.
You may be able to get help with your day-to-day living costs through Income Support. If you have a mortgage or other types of housing costs, Income Support may also help towards these. However, if you are over state pension age, you can’t get Income Support. You may be able to claim Pension Credit instead.
If you’re a woman, the state pension age is your pensionable age, and if you are a man, the state pension age is the state pensionable age of woman born on the same day as you.
You may also be able to get help with one-off expenses from the Social Fund, and help with health, education and legal costs.
For more information about the Social Fund, see Help for People on a low income – the Social Fund. For information about other costs if you are on a low income, see Help with health, education and legal costs.
Help with living costs from Income Support
Income Support is a benefit paid to certain groups of people who do not have enough money to live on. It is means-tested, which means that any money you have is taken into account in deciding how much Income Support you should get. You will not get it just because you are on a low income – your weekly income must be below a certain level, and you must be one of a group of people who can get benefit without having to look for work.
Income Support is a non-contributory benefit. This means that it does not depend on national insurance contributions. You can get Income Support even if you have never paid national insurance, but you will need a national insurance number to make a claim.
Income Support is an important benefit because once you get it you can automatically get maximum Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit and other help, for example, with health costs.
Who can get Income Support
Your age – To claim Income Support you must be under state pension age, and you must usually be 18 or over. If you are over state pension age, you cannot get Income Support but can claim Pension Credit instead.
If you’re a woman, the state pension age is your pensionable age, and if you are a man, the state pension age is the state pensionable age of woman born on the same day as you.
Most 16- and 17-year-olds cannot claim Income Support. If you are 16 or 17 years old, you may get Income Support if you:
• have a child or are pregnant
• are on certain kinds of training course.
Being entitled to Income Support will also depend on whether you are still at school or live with your parents. 16- or 17-year-olds who have been in care cannot usually get Income Support, but there are exceptions. Lone parents who have been in care can get the benefit.
If you are 16 or 17 and want advice about claiming benefits, or you are 16 or 17 and have been in care, you should consult an experienced adviser.
You are resident in the UK
You must be living in the UK to claim Income Support. If you are from overseas or have recently come to live in the UK you may have difficulty claiming Income Support, depending on your immigration status.
If you are not sure about your right to claim benefit, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau.
Not working or working less than 16 hours a week
To get Income Support, you must either not be working at all or work less than 16 hours a week. If you have a partner who lives with you, your partner must work under 24 hours a week. If they work for 24 hours or more, you won’t be able to get Income Support. If your partner is claiming income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance, this will also prevent you getting Income Support.
Your income and capital
You must have income and capital below a certain amount.
Not having to look for work
You cannot get Income Support unless you fall into a group of people who do not have to be ‘available for work’.
Compulsory interviews
In some circumstances you may have to attend a compulsory interview as part of your claim for benefit, and in some cases, if you have a partner who is not working, they will have to have an interview too (see under heading How your claim is dealt with).
Who does not have to be available for work
To get Income Support, you must be a person who does not have to look for work in order to get benefit. This means you can claim Income Support instead of Jobseeker’s Allowance which would require you to sign on and seek work. You may be able to choose between claiming Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance if you would rather meet the requirements of seeking a job.
You don’t have to be available for work if you are:
• a lone parent bringing up a child under 10 on your own
• getting Carer’s Allowance
• looking after your partner, who is temporarily ill
• looking after a child under 20 for whom you are responsible and who is temporarily ill
• incapable of work because you’re pregnant. Some pregnant women might be able to claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) instead.
There are other categories of people who do not have to be available for work. If you do not fall into one of the categories listed here, but you have no income or a low income, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau.
People who may have problems getting Income Support
Depending on your circumstances, you may have difficulty getting Income Support. This could be because you fall into a group which is usually excluded from benefit, because you cannot meet the benefit conditions or you have problems proving your identity. You should seek advice if you are:-
• 16 or 17 years old
• on strike
• from overseas
• living with a partner. This applies to lesbian and gay partners as well as heterosexual
• living in a care home or a hostel
• homeless.
If you fall into one of these categories, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau.
Who can you get Income Support for
You can claim Income Support for yourself and a partner who lives with you. If you are making a claim for Income Support and you have children, you should claim Child Tax Credit as well.
Claiming as one of a couple
If you live with your partner, only one of you can claim Income Support. This applies to both heterosexual and same-sex couples, regardless of whether you are married or in a civil partnership. Whoever claims, claims for you both as a couple and this means that your partner’s income and capital will be taken into account as well as yours. You can swap the claim around so that your partner claims instead of you, but this will only be possible if they don’t have to be available for work. Otherwise, they may have to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance if they make the claim. In some cases, even if your partner is not making the claim for benefit they will have to attend an interview as part of your claim.
How much Income Support can you get
Your capital
If you have more than £16,000 in capital, you cannot get Income Support.
Capital means anything that could provide you with a source of income. It includes savings, property and land (but not personal possessions or the home where you live).
Capital of more than £6,000 will affect how much Income Support you get. You will be treated as getting £1 a week in income for every £250 of capital (or part of £250) above the £6,000 limit. This is regardless of how much money you actually receive from your capital, if any.
If you or your partner live in a care home, you must not have more than £16,000 in capital. You will be assumed to have an income from any capital over £10,000. If you own property where you used to live or normally live, this may be included in your capital.
If you or your partner are in a residential care or nursing home, you must not have more than £16,000 in capital. You will be assumed to have an income from any capital over £10,000. If you own property where you used to live or normally live, this may be included in your capital.
If you live in a care home and are concerned about the treatment of your property for income support purposes, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau.
Your income and the amount you need to live on
Your income is the money you have coming in each week. This could be other benefits, earnings from part-time work, income from capital (see under Your capital, above) or any other money you have coming in. Your income will affect your Income Support though some income is disregarded. This means that various types of income are not taken into account. Other types of income are only partially disregarded so that only part of it affects your benefit.
Your weekly income is compared to a fixed weekly level which the Government considers is the amount you need to live on for Income Support purposes. It is known as the ‘applicable amount’ and it is less than most people need for their day-to-day living costs. The difference between the applicable amount and your income is the amount of Income Support payable. The applicable amount will vary for each person because it is made up of different elements which depend on your circumstances. The rates of the different elements are fixed each year and are usually increased every April.
You will only be entitled to Income Support if your income is less than your applicable amount. If you have no income, or all your income is disregarded, you will get Income Support at the level of your applicable amount. Otherwise, your Income Support level will be your applicable amount minus your income. This means that any extra income you have coming in each week, if it is taken into account for Income Support, will reduce the amount of your benefit.
The applicable amount includes a personal allowance, which is a basic amount for you and your partner if you have one, premiums which depend on your circumstances, and in some cases, housing costs for mortgage or home loan interest.
You can find the current rates of Income Support at the benefits A – Z section of the Department for Work and Pensions website at www.dwp.gov.uk.
Personal allowance
Your personal allowance will depend on your age, whether you have a partner who lives with you, and whether you are a lone parent.
Premiums
Premiums are added to your applicable amount if you are in certain circumstances where you are considered to have higher living costs. You may be entitled to a premium because, for example, your partner is over state pension age, you or your partner are disabled, or you are caring for a sick or disabled person.
If your partner is a woman, their state pension age is their pensionable age. If your partner is a man, their state pension age is the state pensionable age of woman born on the same day as him.
Housing costs
You may be able to get help towards some of your housing costs included in your applicable amount. This could include help with mortgage interest. No help is available with paying the capital part of a mortgage or any other payments, for example, endowment premiums, and there are restrictions on the amount of interest which can be paid. You will usually have to wait a few weeks after you start getting Income Support before you can get any help with interest, unless your partner is over state pension age. If your partner is a woman, their state pension age is their pensionable age. If your partner is a man, their state pension age is the state pensionable age of woman born on the same day as him.
You will usually have this part of Income Support paid directly to your mortgage lender.
You may also be able to get help towards some other housing costs, for example, ground rent for long leases and some service charges. However, in most circumstances, if you rent your home you cannot get any Income Support for housing costs and you should claim Housing Benefit instead.
If there are other adults living in your home apart from your partner, your landlord, or a joint owner, tenant or lodger, a deduction may be made from the housing costs which Income Support can cover. This might apply, for example, if you have an elderly relative or an adult son or daughter living with you. The amount of any deduction will depend on their income and circumstances.
The rules about housing costs and Income Support are very complicated. If you want advice about help with housing costs and Income Support, you should consult an experienced adviser.
How to claim Income Support
In England, Wales and Scotland, you usually have to make a claim for Income Support by phone. There is a freephone number to use which is: 0800 055 6688 or textphone 0800 023 4888. There is also a Welsh language line number which is 0800 012 1888. You can also get a claim form (form A1) from the Department for Work and Pensions website at www.dwp.gov.uk, but you will have to print it off in order to sign it. Or you can claim online – go to the DWP website at: www.dwp.gov.uk.
You may be able to get the claim form from your local Jobcentre Plus office but if you do go to the office, you’ll be encouraged to use a public telephone or a special telephone to make your claim.
In Northern Ireland, you claim Income Support from your local Jobs and Benefits Office or Social Security Office. You can download a claim form from the Department for Social Development website at: www.dsdni.gov.uk.
If you are reclaiming Income Support within 26 weeks of getting it and there has been no change in your circumstances, you can complete a simpler and shorter ‘Rapid Reclaim’ form instead when you go to your local Jobcentre Plus office. This might apply if you have taken up a job or increased your hours but it has not worked out and you need to go back on benefit.
When you claim Income Support, you will have to provide your national insurance number. If you’re claiming as a couple, you will normally have to give your partner’s national insurance number as well. If you don’t know your national insurance number, but you think you have one, try to provide information that will help the office find your number. If you do not have a national insurance number, you will have to apply for one. To show that your number belongs to you, or to apply for a number, you will also have to provide evidence of your identity, for example, a birth certificate.
For information on how to apply for a national insurance number and on problems with proving your identity, see National insurance – contributions and benefits.
You will have to provide other evidence as part of your Income Support claim, for example, evidence of your income. If you don’t have this available straight away, don’t worry as you can supply it afterwards, but it is important to do so within one month of your claim to get all the money you are entitled to.
If you have problems providing a national insurance number or any of the other evidence you are asked for, or if you would like help with making your Income Support claim, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau.
Getting Income Support backdated
You may be able to get some Income Support for a period before you make your claim if you could have claimed earlier and have reasons for claiming late. These have to be particular reasons laid down in law which are accepted by the benefits office, for example, you have language difficulties, or you were given wrong advice which made you think you would not get any money. Getting benefit for a period before you claim is called ‘backdating’. You will not get any backdated benefit just because you did not know that you could make a claim.
If you do have one of the accepted reasons for backdating your claim, your income support may be backdated by up to a maximum of one or three months depending on the reason you failed to claim earlier. You will have to show that you met the entitlement conditions throughout the period of backdating. You should explain that you are claiming backdated income support, and why, on your claim form.
If you want to claim backdated income support, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau.
Checks on Income Support, change of circumstances and fraud
You may commit a benefit fraud if you deliberately give incorrect or misleading information, or fail to report a change of circumstances. Even if you are not committing fraud, you can cause an overpayment which will have to be repaid. Your circumstances can be checked at any time while you are claiming and fraud officers can also get information about you from other government agencies and from your employer, bank or utility companies. Benefit fraud is a criminal offence and you can be prosecuted or asked to pay a penalty. If you are being investigated for benefit fraud, your benefit will be suspended. If you are convicted of benefit fraud more than once, your benefit can be reduced or stopped in the future.
If you are worried about whether you might be suspected of fraud, you are under investigation or you have been convicted, or if you have been asked to repay an overpayment of benefit, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens’ Advice Bureau.
Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit for Rates
When you claim Income Support in England, Wales and Scotland, the person you speak to should also help you claim Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. In Northern Ireland, they should help you to claim Housing Benefit for Rates.
They will send your details to the local authority so that they can assess whether you can get any of these benefits. However, if you want to claim these benefits, it might be best to get hold of the local authority’s own claim forms for Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit or Housing Benefit for Rates and return these to the local authority directly. This helps to avoid delays and makes sure that the claim is registered as soon as possible.
How your claim is dealt with
You may have to have an interview when you claim Income Support. This could be a compulsory interview which is a condition of receiving benefit, or because the benefit office wants to check your circumstances, for example, who you are living with. You can get help with the cost of fares to go to the interview. In some cases, you may be able to get a home visit.
If you are a lone parent with children, you will have to attend an interview with a personal adviser. If you do not attend without a good reason, your benefit may be reduced. Further compulsory interviews will be required during the claim and failure to agree to an interview could result in losing some of your benefit. Going to a job interview does not mean that you have to start looking for a job but if you decide to do so you may be able to get extra help with the costs of looking for, and starting, work.
If you are claiming as one of a couple, your partner may have to have an interview with a personal adviser too.
If you are aged 18 or over and under state pension age, and you are making a new claim for Income Support because of sickness or disability, you will become part of the Pathways to Work scheme.
If you are a woman, your state pension age is your pensionable age. If you are a man, your state pension age is the state pensionable age of woman born on the same day as you.
If you become part of the Pathways to Work scheme, you will have to attend monthly interviews aimed at helping you get back to work. You may be entitled to Return to Work Credit. If you are currently getting Income Support because of sickness or disability, you can volunteer to take part in the scheme.