Thread: Which Benefits can you claim?

This is a very simplified Thread to an extraordinarily complex system. By far one of the best way to find out which benefits you may be able to claim is to get a benefits check done by an advice agency or other independent organisation.

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The main agencies who can tell you what benefits you can claim are listed below.


Community Legal Service Direct Helpline. Call 0845 345 4 345 for free initial advice from a welfare benefits specialist for all callers, with extended help for people eligible for legal aid. You can also find details of your local CLS funded benefits specialists on their website at Community Legal Advice

Citizens Advice Bureau. To find your nearest CAB, check your local phone book under ‘C’ or visit Citizens Advice corporate website - Home

Disability Information Advice Lines. These are staffed by disabled people. Call 01302 310 123 or visit Dial UK - Disability Information, Disability Rights, Disability Policy to find out if there is a DIAL near you.

Independent Advice Centres. You can get information about local centres from Advice UK on 020 7407 4070 or visit adviceUK : Advice UK Homepage

Local Authority. Contact your local council and ask if they employ any welfare rights staff.

But it can still be useful to have a digest of the main benefits and who may be able to claim them. Please be aware, however, that this is not a complete list of benefits and tax credits. For example, it doesn’t cover all age related benefits (such as the state pension), all benefits related to caring for children (such as Child Benefit), or benefits for some special situations (such as maternity benefits or bereavement benefits).
In addition, issues such as which other benefits you claim, who else you live with and whether they work or are disabled will affect your eligibility. So use this guide as a starting point to discovering what you can claim, not a final reference.

Council Tax Benefit
Housing Benefit
Income Support
Jobseeker’s Allowance .(income or contributions Based)
Child Tax Credit
Working Tax Credit
Budgeting Loan
Community Care Grant
Crisis Loan
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

Attendance Allowance

This is extra money for people aged 65 or over who are disabled or who have a longterm health problem such as arthritis, depression or frailty. It’s an excellent benefit, though much under claimed, because it’s paid in addition to virtually all other benefits and can lead to your getting additional amounts of other benefits, such as Pension Credit or Housing Benefit.

You can claim if you would benefit from help or encouragement with everyday

activities such as washing, dressing, eating, taking medication, ommunicating and so on. Alternatively, you can also qualify if you would benefit from someone keeping an eye on you to protect you, or someone else, from substantial harm. This might be, for example, because you have falls or fits or because you get very panicky or anxious or get unwell without realising it.

Attendance Allowance is paid at a higher and a lower rate, depending on whether you would benefit from help only during the day or at night or both. There are detailed guides to claiming Attendance Allowance on the Benefits and Work website.

If you receive Attendance Allowance this may entitle you to higher payments of other benefits such as Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

Age: 65 or over.

Savings: aren’t taken into account, you can be a millionaire and claim Attendance

Allowance.

Work: you can work and claim Attendance Allowance, but the activities involved in

your work will be taken into account when deciding whether you still qualify.

Budgeting Loans:

If you have been getting a qualifying benefit, - either Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or Pension Credit - for at least six months, you may be able to get an interest free Budgeting Loan to help pay for items like clothing, bedding or a washing machine. Unlike a Community Care Grant a Budgeting Loan has to be repaid.

Age: there are no age limits for budgeting loans, but the age limits for the qualifying

benefits apply.

Savings: your loan is reduced pound for pound for any capital you have over £1,000

or over £2,000 if you or your partner are over 60.

Work: as long as you remain eligible for the qualifying benefits you can be working and still claim a budgeting loan.

Carer’s Allowance

This is help for people caring for someone who gets either Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance care component at the middle or higher rate (see below). You must spend at least 35 hours a week providing care and your net earnings from any work, after deductions and allowable expenses, must not be more than £95 a week (from April 07). You can get Carer’s Allowance even if you are getting Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance for yourself.

Age: you must be aged at least 16 to receive Carer’s Allowance. There is no upper age limit.

Savings: any capital you have doesn’t affect your eligibility for Carer’s Allowance.

Work: you can work and claim Carers Allowance, as long as you don’t go over the earnings limit.

Child Tax Credit

This is extra money for people who are responsible for one or more children. It is paid by the Inland Revenue. For the purposes of Child Tax Credit you are a child until the 1st of September following your 16th birthday or if you are aged 16-18 and in full-time non- 4 - advanced education. Child Tax Credit is paid in addition to Child Benefit and any Working Tax Credit you may be eligible for.

Age: you must be at least 16 years old.

Savings: there is no limit on the amount of capital you can have, but any income – such as interest paid on savings – will affect the amount of Child Tax Credit you receive.

Work: you can claim whether you are working or not. The amount you receive will

depend on your income, but if you earn too much you will not be eligible.

Community Care Grant

If you are getting a qualifying benefit -Income Support; income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or Pension Credit -you may be able to get a Community Care Grant to help ease exceptional pressures on you or your family or to prevent you having to move into residential accommodation. So, for example, if your condition means you need additional heaters, a washing machine or minor alterations to your home, you may be able to get a grant to cover the cost. You do not have to repay a Community Care Grant.

Age: there are no age limits for Community Care Grants, but the age limits for the

qualifying benefits apply.

Savings: your grant is reduced pound for pound for any capital over £1,000 or over

£2,000 if you or your partner are over 60.

Work: as long as you remain eligible for the qualifying benefits you can work and

claim a Community Care Grant.

Council Tax Benefit

This is help for people who pay council tax and is another very under claimed benefit. Whether you are eligible depends on what income and capital you (and your partner) have.

Age: there are no age limits, but young people under 18 do not have to pay council

tax.

Savings: except for some older people, anyone with more than £16,000 capital won’t be eligible for main Council Tax Benefit. The first £6,000 of your capital will be ignored. Amounts over that will affect how much Council Tax Benefit you receive.

Work: you can work and claim Council Tax Benefit. If you earn too much you won’t be eligible. How much is too much will depend on your personal circumstances.

Crisis Loan

This is an interest free loan to help people who are suffering an emergency or crisis. You do not have to be claiming benefits to qualify.

Age: you must be at least 16 years old.

Savings: there are no capital limits, but any savings you have are likely to be taken into account when deciding whether you are eligible for a crisis loan and how much you should get.

Work: you can claim whether you are working or not.

Disability Living Allowance

This is extra money for children and adults, aged under 65 when they claim, who are disabled or who have a long-term health problem such as arthritis, depression, anxiety or asthma. It’s an excellent benefit because it’s paid in addition to virtually all other benefits and can lead to your getting additional amounts of other benefits, such as Income Support or Housing Benefit. There is a mobility component and a care component. Some people get only one component, some qualify for both. The mobility component is paid at two different rates and the care component has three rates. You get the highest rate of each that you qualify for. You get the care component if you can’t prepare a cooked main meal or if you would benefit from help or encouragement with everyday activities such as washing, - 5 - dressing, eating, taking medication, communicating and so on. Alternatively, you can also qualify for the care component if you would benefit from someone keeping an eye on you to protect you or someone else from substantial harm. This might be, for example, because you have falls or fits or because you get very panicky or anxious or get unwell without realising it.

You get the mobility component if your walking is very restricted or if you can walk but you would benefit from having someone with you when you walk in unfamiliar places, for example because you have a visual impairment, have falls or fits or get panicky or anxious.

Age: you must be under 65 when you make your initial claim.

Savings: aren’t taken into account, you can be a millionaire and claim Disability Living Allowance

Work: you can claim whether you are working or not. Your income won’t affect the amount you receive. But any activities involved in the work you do can be taken into account in deciding whether you still meet the qualifying conditions for Disability Living Allowance.

Housing Benefit

This is extra money for people on a low income who pay rent. Whether you are eligible depends on what income and capital you (and your partner) have.

Age: No age limits.

Savings: except for some older people, anyone with more than £16,000 capital won’t be eligible for housing benefit. The first £6,000 will be ignored and amounts over that will affect how much housing benefit you receive.

Work: you can work and claim housing benefit. If you earn too much you won’t be eligible. How much is too much will depend on your personal circumstances.

Incapacity Benefit

This provides help for people who are too ill to work. Most people need to have paid sufficient national insurance contributions to be eligible. But young people who have been incapable of work since before the age of 20 (or 25 if they began full-time higher/further education before they were 20) may be eligible without having paid any national insurance contributions - this is called no-contribution Incapacity Benefit. You may be able to claim Income Support to top up your Incapacity Benefit.

Age: You have to be at least 16 to claim Incapacity Benefit and all claimants have to be below state pension age, which is currently 60 for women and 65 for men.

Savings: Incapacity Benefit isn’t affected by your capital, but any occupational or personal pension you have will affect the amount you receive.

Work: voluntary or permitted work only.

Income Support

This is help for people with a low income or no income at all. You may be eligible if

you are: • too ill to work; or • you are a carer who gets Carer’s Allowance or cares for someone who gets Attendance Allowance or middle or higher rate Disability Living Allowance; or

• you are a lone parent. You do not have to have worked in the past, but whether you are eligible depends on your (and your partner’s) income and savings. There are extra amounts, called

premiums, depending on such things as your age, whether you have children, how long you have been unable to work and whether you are receiving Disability Living Allowance. You can claim extra payments of Income Support to help with your mortgage. You may be able to claim Income Support in addition to Incapacity Benefit.

Age: you must be at least 16 and under 60.

Savings: if you have capital of over £16,000 you won’t be eligible. Capital over

£6,000 will affect the amount of Income Support you receive.

Work: the rules are different depending on the reason you get income support (see below), but in all cases, apart from a small amount of your earnings which is ignored, the amount you earn will affect the amount of Income Support you receive. If you earn too much you will not be eligible for Income Support. If you are claiming because you are incapable of work you can only do voluntary or permitted work. If you are claiming as a lone parent you can only do part-time (under 16 hours) work If you are claiming as a carer you can do part-time or full-time work.

Industrial injuries disablement benefit

This is a benefit for people who have suffered an accident at work or developed one of a list of illnesses as a result of their employment.

Age: you can claim at any age.

Savings: not affected by savings.

Work: you can work part-time or full-time and still claim.

Jobseeker’s Allowance

There are two types of Jobseeker’s Allowance and it is possible to get both at the

same time. You must be capable of work and either unemployed and looking for work,

or working fewer than 16 hours a week and looking for full-time work.

contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance: This is a flat rate payment for people

who have worked recently and paid enough national insurance contributions. This benefit only lasts for six months.

Age: claimants have to be below state pension age, which is currently 60 for women and 65 for men.

Savings: contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance isn’t affected by your capital, but any occupational or personal pension you have will affect the amount you receive.

Work: you can work part-time, under 16 hours, only. There is an earnings limit, for most people this is £4.99 more than the amount of their Jobseeker’s Allowance.

Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance: This is for people who have received their

six months of contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, or who haven’t paid enough national insurance contributions to get it in the first place. It’s also for people who are entitled to have their contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance topped up because, for example, they have children. Whether you are entitled, and how much you get, depends on your income and savings. You can claim extra payments of this benefit to help with your mortgage.

Age: 18 or over (or aged 16 or 17 in some circumstances) and below pensionable

age (60 for women and 65 for men).

Savings: if you have capital of over £16,000 you won’t be eligible. Capital over £6,000 will affect the amount of income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance you receive.

Work: part-time, under 16 hours only, and there is an earnings limit which depends on your circumstances. If you earn too much you won’t get any income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance at all.

Pension Credit

Pension Credit was introduced in October 2003. There is a guarantee credit which replaced Income Support (Minimum Income Guarantee) for people aged 60 and over. There is also a savings credit for people aged 65 or over who have some savings or other income, intended to act as an incentive to financial prudence.

Age: 60 and over for guarantee credit, 65 or over for savings credit.

Savings: capital under £6,000 isn’t taken into account. Anything over this level will affect the amount of Pension Credit you receive.

Work: you can work and claim Pension Credit, with no limit on the number of hours,

but your income will be taken into account.

Permitted Work

This has replaced ‘Therapeutic Work’ as a way for people claiming Incapacity Benefit, Income Support as incapable of work or Severe Disablement Allowance to do a small amount of work without being found capable of work. The rules allow people to work for fewer than 16 hours and earn up to £20 a week for an unlimited period. Alternatively, you can work under 16 hours a week and earn up to £88.50 a week for 52 weeks, Some people taking part in supported work programmes, or who are exempt from the Personal Capability Assessment, may be able to carry on working and earning up to £88.50 a week indefinitely. Your income will not affect some benefits, such as Incapacity Benefit. Others, however, such as Income Support and Housing Benefit, may be reduced as a result. You do not need the support of your doctor to do Permitted Work, but always try to get advice and a benefits check from an advice agency before beginning. Tell the Department for Work and Pensions before you start (complete and send form PW1, which you can get from your local Social Security office or Jobcentre Plus) and make sure you get a letter from them saying that they accept the work as Permitted Work. There are more details in the Benefits and Work guide to Permitted Work.

Age: the age restrictions for the qualifying benefits apply.

Savings: your capital doesn’t have any effect on permitted work, but the capital limits for the qualifying benefits apply.

Severe disablement allowance

This is a benefit for young people under 20, or 25 in some cases, who are incapable of work or who are 80% disabled. However it was abolished for new claimants in April 2001, only people who claimed before that date continue to get it.

Work: the same rules apply as for incapacity benefit, above.