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A - Z of Benefit EntitlementsAttendance AllowanceYou may be entitled to attendance allowance (AA) if you are aged 65 or over with a mental and/or physical illness and you have care and/or supervision needs. Unless you are terminally ill you must have had these needs for at least six months before you claim. It is paid at two rates depending on the level of care you need and is not affected by any income or savings you have. If you are entitled to either rate you may become entitled to, or increase your entitlement to other benefits such as pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit. If you have a carer they could be entitled to carer’s allowance and an increase in their means-tested benefits. However, if you live alone this could affect any means-tested benefits you may get as you could lose entitlement to any severe disability premium or severe disability amount that may be included in your claim. AA stops 28 days after you go into a NHS hospital or care home. If you are paying your own care home fees you can keep your AA. Bereavement allowance Bereavement allowance is paid for up to 52 weeks if you were 45 or over but under pension age when your spouse or civil partner died. Your late spouse or civil partner must have paid sufficient national insurance (NI) contributions or have died due to an industrial injury or disease. Your entitlement can be reduced if the NI record is incomplete or you are under 55 when your spouse or civil partner died. It is not affected by any income or savings. Bereavement Allowance stops if you marry again or form a civil partnership during the 52 weeks. You cannot get bereavement allowance and widowed parent’s allowance at the same time. Bereavement payment You may be entitled to a bereavement payment - a one-off lump-sum payment – if you were under pension age when your spouse or civil partner died and they met the national insurance contribution conditions or died due to an industrial injury or disease. If you were over pension age when your spouse or civil partner died you may be eligible if they were not entitled to state retirement pension. The payment can be paid with widowed parent’s allowance or bereavement allowance and is not affected by your income or capital. Your entitlement is not affected if you marry again or form a civil partnership after the death of your late spouse or civil partner but it will not be paid if you were cohabiting with a new partner when they died. Budgeting loan This is an interest-free loan to help with the cost of certain expenses such as household items, clothing, rent in advance or moving expenses and expenses associated with looking for or starting work. You have to be getting a qualifying benefit when you claim and you or your partner should have been receiving the qualifying benefit throughout the previous 26 weeks. Qualifying benefits are: income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income-related employment and support allowance and pension credit. The amount of loan you get depends on what you are able to repay, your personal circumstances and the amount of any other loans you may have. The amount of any loan will be reduced pound for pound for any savings you have over £1000 (£2000 for those aged 60 or over). Carer’s allowance Carer’s allowance (CA) is paid if you are providing care for 35 hours or more a week for a person who is entitled to disability living allowance (DLA) care component at the middle or higher rate, attendance allowance (AA), or constant attendance allowance in respect of an industrial or war disablement. You do not have to live with the person you care for. Your income and capital are ignored but you must not be in full-time education (21 hours or more). If you are working, you must not be earning over the current earnings limit when you claim. Your partner’s income is ignored. You get national insurance credits for every week you receive CA. If you get CA you qualify for a carer premium if you claim income support; income-based jobseeker’s allowance; income-related employment and support allowance; housing benefit and/or council tax benefit or a carer’s additional amount if you claim pension credit but the CA does count as income for these benefits. However, before you claim CA check whether this will affect the person who you are caring for – if they get a benefit that includes a severe disability premium or additional amount and they live alone, they could lose this if you claim CA. Your CA stops four weeks after the disabled persons DLA or AA stops and continues eight weeks after their death. Child benefit Child benefit is paid if you are responsible for a child or qualifying young person (this is certain children aged between 16 and 19). You count as responsible for a child if you have a child living with you, or if you contribute to the cost of supporting the child at a rate of at least that of child benefit. Child benefit can continue until the qualifying young person reaches their 20th birthday, provided certain conditions are met, such as the child being on (or enrolled to start on) a course of full-time non-advanced education or approved training before s/he is 19. Child benefit is not is not affected by any income or capital you have and is not dependent on NI contributions. It is paid regardless of whether or not you are working. There is no upper or lower age limit for claiming. It cannot be paid to two people; there is an order of priority for claimants. Under some circumstances child benefit can be paid for 20 weeks from the Monday after the child or qualifying young person leaves education or training. Child tax credit Child tax credit (CTC) is a means-tested benefit paid if you are responsible for a child under 16 (or under 20 if in full-time non-advanced education or approved training). You are treated as responsible for a child if they normally live with you. If two people (or couples) make competing claims for the same child the HM Revenue and Customs will decide who is mainly responsible. It is paid whether you are in or out of work. Entitlement continues for 20 weeks after the school leaving date if the child is under 18 and registers for work or training with a qualifying body such as Connexions. Tax credits are usually based on your previous year’s income. Certain changes of circumstance must be reported within one month but a change in income does not have to be reported – although this could result in an over or under-payment. See also CPAG’s tax credits factsheets on CPAG’s website at http://www.cpag.org.uk/cro/tax_credits.htm#advice CTC can be backdated for up to three months without having to explain why you have not claimed. If you work 16 hours or more a week you may be entitled to both CTC and working tax credit (WTC). Child trust fund The child trust fund is a tax free savings and investment account for a child, which is released when your child reaches 18. You receive a voucher and information on how to set up the fund. Extra payments are made on the child’s seventh birthday. An additional amount is paid if your family is eligible for full CTC with household income at or below the CTC income threshold. From 2010 the government will also contribute extra money to the child trust fund accounts of all disabled children and higher amounts for severely disabled children who get disability living allowance. As a parent you have no access to the funds but can add extra money up to a yearly limit. Christmas bonus Christmas bonus is a one-off payment paid automatically if you receive any of the following qualifying benefits for at least part of the 'relevant week' (even if the benefit is paid later). The 'relevant week' is usually the week beginning with the first Monday in December. The qualifying benefits are: attendance allowance; disability living allowance; carer’s allowance; constant attendance allowance; long-term incapacity benefit ; employment and support allowance; severe disablement allowance; retirement pension; guarantee pension credit; widowed mother's allowance, widowed parent's allowance or widow's pension; industrial death benefit: mobility supplement; war disablement pension (only if you are at least 65 before the end of the relevant week); war widow's or surviving civil partner's pension. It is not affected by any income or savings you may have. Cold weather payment Cold weather payments are a set amount paid automatically when the temperature falls below 0oC for a full week. You have to be getting one of the following benefits: pension credit; or income support or income-based JSA that includes a disability-related premium or a pensioner premium; income-related employment and support allowance that includes a disability-related premium, pensioner premium or the work-related activity component; child tax credit that includes a disability or severe disability element; or be receiving of one of these benefits and have responsibility for a child who is under five. Contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance Contribution-based JSA is a flat rate benefit paid for up to 26 weeks. You have to satisfy the national insurance contribution conditions. It is not means-tested but any earnings from part-time work and income from pensions can affect the amount of benefit you receive. You must show that you are available for work and actively looking and you must have a jobseeker's agreement with Jobcentre Plus. It is paid at two rates, depending on whether you are aged under or over 25. Contribution-based JSA can be topped up with income-based JSA in certain circumstances. If you are still unemployed at the end of the 26 weeks you will automatically go on to income-based JSA as long as you satisfy the means test and are still available and actively seeking work. You cannot claim contribution JSA for dependants. Community care grant Community care grants (CCG) can be paid if you need help in special circumstances such as helping you to return to the community after being in institutional or residential care (including prison); stay at home rather than go into institutional or residential care; set up home in the community after having an unsettled way of life, for example after living in a night shelter (as part of a planned programme to resettle you); care for a prisoner or young offender when they leave prison on temporary licence; ease exceptional pressures on you and your family or pay for certain travel expenses like going to a family funeral or visiting someone who is ill. There are certain excluded items. It does not have to be repaid. You have to be getting one of the following benefits when you claim: income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income-related employment and support allowance or pension credit. The only exception is if you are due to leave institutional or residential care six weeks from the date of your application and are likely to be awarded a qualifying benefit which covers the date you applied for a CCG. Any CCG awarded is reduced by any capital, such as savings, you have over £500 (£1000 if you or your partner is over 60). There is no maximum amount but the minimum is £30 unless you are applying for daily living expenses or travel expenses. Council tax benefit Council tax benefit (CTB) is paid if you are on a low income and need help with your council tax. It is means-tested and paid as a reduction on your council tax bill. If you have a non-dependant, such as a friend or grown-up daughter, living with you this may affect the amount of CTB you are awarded. If you have capital, such as savings, these must total less than £16,000 unless you are over 60 and receive the guarantee credit part of pension credit. The first £6,000 of capital will be ignored but if you have capital between the lower limit of £6,000 and the upper limit of £16,000 your CTB will be reduced (and could be reduced to nil). It is paid whether you are in or out of work. You will get full CTB if you are getting income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income-related employment and support allowance or guarantee credit of pension credit. If you are under 60 CTB can be backdated for up to six months if you can show ‘good cause’ for claiming late. If you are over 60 CTB can be backdated for up to three months without the need to show ‘good cause’. If you are the only person liable for council tax on your home and you have an adult on a low income living with you, you might be able to get 'second adult rebate' instead of CTB, no matter how much income or capital you have. The local council should do a ‘better off calculation’ and tell you which benefit would pay you more. It is paid whether you are in or out of work. Crisis loan Crisis loans are interest free loans paid if you need help in an emergency or crisis and you do not have enough money to meet your immediate needs. In certain circumstances they can be paid for rent in advance. You have to show that a crisis loan would prevent a serious risk to the health and safety of you and your family. It does have to be repaid and you have to show that you can repay it before any loan will be made. You do not have to be getting a benefit to get a crisis loan. There is no minimum amount but the maximum is £1500 and if you have any other loans this will reduce the amount you can get. However, the government have recently begun a pilot which will restrict the number of crisis loans in the pilot areas to three in a 12 month period if they are for everyday living expenses in a 12 month period. Crisis loans will still be paid after a disaster or in an unavoidable emergency. Disability living allowance You may be entitled to disability living allowance (DLA) if you have personal care or supervision needs and/or have mobility problems. You must be under 65 when you first claim, but once awarded you can continue to receive it after the age of 65 as long as you continue to qualify. You must have had the needs or difficulties for at least three months and expect them to last at least a further six months unless you are terminally ill. There are two components; care and mobility. You can be paid either or both of the components and the amount you receive depends on your care and/or mobility needs and whether you need help during the day and/or during the night. You can claim DLA care component for your child from birth but it will not be paid until the child reaches 3 months unless they are terminally ill, however the rules for the mobility component are different. The higher rate of the mobility component can only be paid when the child reaches the age of 3 and the lower rate cannot be paid until the child is 5 years old. It is not affected by any income or capital you have. If you receive DLA you may also be entitled to disability-related premiums if you claim income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, housing benefit and/or council tax benefit, income-related employment and support allowance, or an additional amount if you claim pension credit. If you get DLA care component at the middle or higher rate your carer may qualify for carer’s allowance (but your carer should check whether this will affect any income support/income-based JSA/income-related ESA/housing benefit/council tax benefit or pension credit you, or your partner, are getting). DLA usually stops 28 days after you go into a NHS hospital (after 84 days if you are under 16). The care component usually stops after 28 days if you enter a care home unless you are paying the fees for the home yourself. Discretionary housing payments Discretionary housing payments are given by your local council if you get HB and/or CTB and cannot afford all your housing costs. They are to help you meet your rent or council tax. You do not have a ‘right’ to these payments – the council can decide whether to pay, how much and for how long. Employment and support allowance Employment and support allowance (ESA) is paid if you are unable to work due to an illness or disability. It replaces incapacity benefit and IS paid on the grounds of incapacity for all new claimants since 27th October 2008. Eventually all claimants will be moved onto ESA. Contributory ESA is paid if you satisfy the NI contribution conditions, but you do not have to pass a means test. Income-related ESA is paid if you pass the means test, but you do not have to satisfy NI contribution conditions. ESA is paid at two rates, the lower rate during the assessment period (13 weeks) and then at one of two higher rates depending whether you go into the work-related activity group or the support group. After the assessment phase if you are found to have limited capability for work you will be placed in the work-related activity group and will have to undertake work-focused activities to help you back to work as a condition of entitlement to the benefit. If you are severely ill or disabled you will be placed in the support group and entitlement does not depend on attending work-focused interviews, but you can volunteer to do so. If you are found not to have limited capability for work you will have to claim JSA. The permitted work rules have been extended to ESA allowing you to work certain hours without it affecting your benefit. It is possible to receive contributory ESA (or ESA in youth) topped up with income-related ESA. There are special rules for claimants aged under 20 or under 25 in some circumstances (ESA in youth) which mean they could get contributory ESA without having to satisfy the NI contribution conditions. Funeral expenses payments To get help with the cost of a funeral through a funeral expenses payment you have to receive one of the following qualifying benefits: income support; income-based jobseeker’s allowance; income-related employment and support allowance; housing benefit; council tax benefit (including second adult rebate where you are the 'second adult' ); child tax credit paid at a rate which exceeds the family element; working tax credit which includes the disability or severe disability element; or pension credit. The payment covers the cost of a simple low cost burial or cremation. You can claim as a friend of the deceased but the DWP may refuse the claim if they believe there is a close relative who could meet the cost who does not receive a qualifying benefit. It can be paid up to three months after the funeral even if you have paid the bill. You do not have to repay the funeral payment but it can be recovered from the deceased person’s estate. Guardian’s allowance Guardian’s allowance is paid for a child you look after who is not yours biologically or by adoption. You may qualify if you look after a child who is an orphan, or they still have a parent but they are missing or in prison or the adoptive parent has died. It is paid in addition to child benefit. It is not affected by your income or capital. Health benefits Health benefits help with costs of prescriptions, dental treatment, eye tests and glasses. You can also get help with travel costs to hospital for treatment or if you have to accompany a child to hospital. If you get a qualifying benefit you are entitled to full health benefits. Alternatively, you may qualify on the grounds of low-income. Qualifying benefits include: income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, the guarantee credit of pension credit or if you receive child tax credit (CTC) (without working tax credit (WTC)) or CTC with WTC, or WTC including a disability or severe disability element and your income is low enough. If you do not qualify for full help you may be eligible for some help depending on your income. Health in pregnancy grant Health in pregnancy grant is a one-off grant introduced in April 2009 for all pregnant women paid from the 25th week of pregnancy once you have received advice from a health worker. You must claim on a HIPG form within 31 days of the date the certificate is signed by your midwife or health professional and before your baby is born. It is not affected by your income or capital and does not rely on NI contributions. It can be paid on top of a Sure Start maternity grant. There is no upper or lower age limit. Healthy Start Healthy start vouchers can be exchanged at registered food outlets for free milk, baby milk, fruit and vegetables as well as vitamins. You must be in receipt of one of the following qualifying benefits (or you are pregnant and under the age of 18): income support; income-based jobseeker’s allowance; income-related employment and support allowance; or child tax credit (but no working tax credit) and your income is low enough. They are paid to women who are at least 10 weeks pregnant and for babies and children aged 1 to 4. Pregnant women and children aged 1 to 4 receive one voucher per week, babies under 1 year old receive two vouchers per week. Claims must be signed by a health profession on form HS01. Housing benefit Housing benefit (HB) is paid to help you with the cost of your rent. Help with rents in the private sector is administered through the local housing allowance (LHA) scheme but there are exceptions. HB is means-tested. If you have a non-dependant living with you this may affect the amount of HB you are awarded. If you have capital, such as savings, it must total less than £16,000 unless you receive the guarantee credit part of pension credit. The first £6,000 of capital will be ignored but if you have capital between the lower limit of £6,000 and the upper limit of £16,000 your HB will be reduced (and could be reduced to nil) HB is usually paid direct to your landlord but LHA is usually paid direct to you. You will get full HB if you are in receipt of income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income-related employment and support allowance or the guarantee credit of pension credit. If you are under 60 HB can be backdated for up to six months if you can show ‘good cause’ for claiming late. If you are over 60 HB can be backdated for up to three months without the need to show ‘good cause’. . Incapacity benefit Incapacity benefit (IB) was replaced by employment and support allowance for all new claimants from 27 October 2008. If you were entitled to IB before this date you will still be paid it as long as you continue to meet all the requirements, but it is expected that all IB claimants will transfer over to ESA at some point in the near future. If you were previously entitled to IB you may be able to reclaim it if you were only off it for less than 8 weeks (or 104 weeks in certain cases) – seek further advice if you think this could apply to. Non-contributory incapacity benefit (known as incapacity benefit in youth) was replaced by employment and support allowance in youth from 27 October 2008. If you were awarded incapacity in youth prior to this date you will still get it as long as you continue to meet all the criteria, however it is expected that this group of claimants will be the first to transfer over to ESA during 2009. Income-based jobseeker’s allowance Income-based JSA is means-tested and does not rely on NI contributions. It can also be paid at the same time as contribution-based JSA depending on household income. It can include help with some housing costs, such as mortgage interest. If you have any capital, such as savings, it must be below £16,000. The first £6,000 of capital will be ignored but if you have capital between the lower limit of £6,000 and the upper limit of £16,000 your income-based JSA will be reduced (and could be reduced to nil). You must show that you are available for and actively seeking work and you must have a jobseeker's agreement with Jobcentre Plus. You can work part time up to 16 hours but only a small amount of your earnings will be disregarded and the rest will count as income and reduce your benefit. Your partner must not work more than 24 hours and their earnings will also count as income and affect the amount of benefit you get. It is paid at either a single person or a couple rate and the amount depends on whether you are aged under or over 25. There are different rules for 16 and 17 year olds, they can only claim if they are estranged from their parents, suffering financial hardship or part of a couple responsible for a child. If you are a man aged 60 to 64 years old you may be better off claiming pension credit. Income support Income support (IS) is means-tested and does not rely on NI contributions. It is paid if you are under the age of 60 and you are not required to sign on as available for work because you are either a lone parent (but see below), a carer (or ill and disabled if they claimed before 27th October 2008), or a student. It can include help with some housing costs, such as mortgage interest. If you have any capital, such as savings, it must be below £16,000. The first £6,000 of capital will be ignored but if you have capital between the lower limit of £6,000 and the upper limit of £16,000 your IS will be reduced (and could be reduced to nil). From November 2008, if you are a lone parent and your youngest child is aged 12 or over you cannot claim IS (unless you qualify via one of the other routes to IS). You will need to make a claim for JSA. The age limit for the youngest child is reducing further to age 10 from 26 October 2009 and again to age 7 from 25 October 2010. Present claimants with a youngest child of these ages will be transferred across to JSA gradually. You can work part time up to 16 hours a week but only a small amount of your earnings will be disregarded and the rest will count as income and reduce your benefit. Your partner must not work more than 24 hours a week and their earnings will also count as income and affect the amount of benefit you get. It is paid at either a single person or a couple rate and the amount depends on whether you are aged under or over 25. If you are over 60 you should claim pension credit. The claimant and/or their partner may have to attend work-focused interviews as a condition of receiving IS. Industrial injuries disablement benefits Industrial injuries disablement benefit (IIDB) is paid on top of any earnings or other non-means tested benefits. It is paid if you are disabled or sick as a result of being injured or contracting a disease in the course of employment and is paid whether or not you are capable of work. Self -employment does not count. The amount you get depends on your age, whether you have dependants and the seriousness of the illness or disability which is assessed by a doctor. If you get IIDB you may also be entitled to disability-related premiums if you claim income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, housing benefit and/or council tax benefit – although IIDB counts as income for these benefits. Maternity allowance Maternity allowance (MA) is paid for up to 39 weeks if you are not entitled to statutory maternity pay. To qualify you must have been employed or self- employed for 26 weeks in the 66 weeks prior to the Sunday of the week in which your baby is due. These do not have to be consecutive weeks or for the same employer and any part weeks of work will count as a full week. Your average weekly earnings must be at least £30 per week in any 13 weeks in the 66 weeks. MA is paid at a fixed weekly rate or 90 percent of your average wages before tax which ever is the lower. You may be able to get an additional amount for a dependant if they are on a low income and look after your children. You can claim MA from the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (EWC) but the earliest MA can be paid is from the 11th week before the EWC, unless your baby is born before then. You may qualify for means-tested benefits in addition to MA. Your MA may reduce or stop if you claim certain non-means-tested benefits including contributory employment and support allowance, carer’s allowance, bereavement benefits, jobseeker’s allowance. Pension credit You may be entitled to pension credit (PC) if you are aged 60 or over and on a low income. PC is means tested and made up of two parts; guarantee credit (paid from the aged of 60) and savings credit (paid from the age of 65). The guarantee credit tops up your income to a guaranteed minimum level. You can get more money if you are a carer, severely disabled or have qualifying housing costs (mortgage interest). There is no upper capital limit but an assumed income applies of £1 for every £500 you have over the first £6,000 which is disregarded. In November 2009 the government are likely to change the lower capital limit to £10,000. The guarantee credit entitles you to full HB and CTB and other passported benefits such as free dental treatment. The savings credit is paid to reward you for having made some ‘modest’ provision for your retirement. You may be entitled to the savings credit if you or your partner are aged 65 or over and you have extra income from an additional pension or savings over £6,000. PC can be backdated for up to three months. You do not have to give a reason for claiming late. Severe disablement allowance Severe disablement allowance was abolished for new claimants on 6 April 2001 but some claimants entitled before that date can still receive it. State retirement pension State retirement pension is paid when you reach retirement age. This is currently age 60 for women (but this is set to increase gradually to age 65 between April 2010 and April 2020) and 65 for men. It is based on the amount of NI contributions you have paid (or your spouse’s or civil partner’s in the case of a Category B pension). If you do not meet the NI contribution conditions for less than 25 percent of your working life you will not qualify for a state pension in your own right. You must make a claim for your state retirement pension. If you do not claim you will be treated as if you have chosen to defer your retirement. A form should be sent to you four months before you reach retirement age. You can work and claim your state pension. Your earnings will not affect the amount of pension that you receive but you may pay additional income tax as both earnings and state pension are taxable. You will no longer be liable to make NI contributions and should obtain an exemption certificate to give to your employer. State retirement pension can be backdated for a maximum of 12 months and you do not have to give a reason for claiming late. Statutory adoption pay Statutory adoption pay (SAP) is paid by your employer to enable you to take time off work when you adopt a child. You must have already been matched with a child for adoption, been continually employed by your current employer for at least 26 weeks up to the week you are notified that you had been matched with a child and meet the earnings condition. It is paid for up to 39 weeks from when the child is placed, or is expected to be placed. Statutory maternity pay
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