Income support (IS) is the main means tested benefit for those who do not have to 'sign on' as available for and actively seeking work and who are on or below a certain income. You can also have income support paid on top of your existing benefits, such as Incapacity Benefit.
To get income support you must:
You can claim income support if you are in one of the following list of qualifying groups:
The term "right to reside" is not defined but is dependent on your immigration status and nationality. You might have a right to reside under United Kingdom rules, EC law or because you are a British citizen.
The habitual residence test is a test to see if you normally live in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Republic of Ireland or the Isle of Man). The test will be applied if you have been living abroad.
There is no legal definition of 'habitual residence'. Relevant factors are where you normally live, where you expect to live in future, your reasons for coming to this country, the length of time spent abroad before you came here, and any ties you still have with the country where you have come from.
However, the test should not be applied if someone:
If these do not apply, a Decision Maker (DM) will decide whether you are habitually resident or not. Get advice if you fail this test.
If you are on income support you can continue to receive benefits during a period of temporary absence from Great Britain to receive NHS hospital treatment under the National Health Service Act 1977 or National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990.
The amount of income support you can get will depend on your circumstances. Income support assessments are divided into three parts.
Note: Main council tax benefit, income-based jobseeker's allowance and housing benefit are also calculated using premiums. This factsheet also makes reference to these benefits where appropriate.
Income support is paid to you for the people in your household. A household includes you and your partner (whether married or living together or a civil partner). Your household does not include anyone else living with you such as friends or other relatives. Those who are not part of your household may be able to make their own claim for income support.
If you have children who are under age 16 or who are under age 19 and still at school you may also be able to get child tax credit (CTC). You can also get CTC if they are under 20 and have started or enrolled on a course of full-time non-advanced education or approved training which began before they were 19.
Some people, already on income support (IS) getting payments for their children. These will eventually be phased out and replaced by child tax credit.
You get amounts according to your age, whether you are single, a lone parent or a couple (including civil partners). You can view the current benefit rates on our website at www.disabilityalliance.org/benrate.htm.
If you claim council tax benefit or housing benefit and have a dependent child under age 16 or someone who is a qualifying young person (age 19 and still at school or under 20 and have started or enrolled on a course of full-time non-advanced education or approved training which began before he or she was 19) you will get a personal allowance for them as well.
If you are over 60 your personal allowance rate for council tax benefit, and housing benefit is higher.
You can get extra amounts in the form of premiums if you satisfy certain conditions. You can view the current benefit rates on our website at www.disabilityalliance.org/benrate.htm. These premiums
You can get any of the following premiums if you satisfy the rules for them:
carer premium
disabled child premium
enhanced disability premium
family premium
severe disability premium
In addition to these premiums you can get one of the premiums listed below. If you qualify for two of the premiums on this list you will get the one which pays you the most. The list starts from the lowest paying to the highest:
family premium lone parent rate
disability premium
pensioner premium
You or you partner must be entitled to carer's allowance, even if you are not actually paid it because you receive another benefit. This premium is payable for each person who qualifies.
You must be under age 60 and one of the following applies to you or your partner:
If you have a partner you will be paid a higher couple rate of this premium.
You must have a dependent child or qualifying young person under age 20 who is getting disability living allowance or who is registered blind. The premium is paid for each child who qualifies.
You get this premium if you claim council tax benefit, and housing benefit. Disabled child premium is being phased out for people on income support and income-based jobseeker's allowance so new income support (and JSA) claimants claimants cannot get it.
You or your partner must:
If you have a partner you will be paid a higher couple rate of this premium.
You must have a dependent child or qualifying young person under age 20.
You get this premium if you claim council tax benefit, and housing benefit. Family premium is being phased out for people on income support and income-based jobseeker's allowance so new income support (and JSA) claimants cannot get it.
If you claim housing benefit or council tax and have a child under the age of one you will get an additional amount for these benefits.
You can only get this premium for council tax benefit, and housing benefit. It is paid instead of ordinary family premium to lone parents who claimed before 6.4.98.
You or your partner must be aged 60 and over. One premium for a single adult who qualifies. If you have a partner you will be paid a higher couple rate of this premium. Housing benefit and council tax benefit no longer use this premium but your HB/CTB personal allowance is increased to include this amount.
You or your partner must satisfy all of the following:
There is a couple rate if both of you qualify.
You cannot get benefit if your capital or savings (or you and your partner's capital or savings) is above £16,000. Your benefit will be affected if your capital or savings (or you and your partner's capital or savings) is above £6,000 (£10,000 if you live permanently in a care home).
If your capital is between the lower and upper limits, a ‘tariff income’ is assumed. One pound a week for every £250 (or part of £250) above the lower limit is included as your income.
For example, if you have capital of between £6,250.01 and £6,500, £2 a week is included as your income. Each time capital gets into the next block of £250 (even by as little as one penny) an additional £1 is included as income.
If you or your partner are aged 60 or over and are getting housing benefit or council tax benefit and not claiming income support or income-based jobseeker's allowance your assumed tariff income is one pound a week for every £500 (or part of £500) above the lower limit.
Some of your earnings are not taken into account when working out means tested benefits. This is normally £5 if you are single or £10 if you have a partner. You will have £20 of your earnings disregarded if you qualify for the disability premium, the carer premium or are a lone parent (for housing benefit and council tax benefit the amount for lone parents is £25).
Some benefits are not taken into account when working out means tested benefits. These include attendance allowance, child benefit and disability living allowance.
You use form B16 if you are self employed and form A1 for all other cases. You can get these forms from your local Department for Work and Pensions office or Jobcentre Plus office or you can download them from the Jobcentre plus website at www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk.
You can also make an online claim at www.dwp.gov.uk/eservice/ or phone the following:
Telephone: 0800 0 55 66 88
Textphone: 0800 0 23 48 88 (i)
Welsh language: 0800 0 12 18 88
Lines are open from 8:00 am - 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday. Charges may apply to calls from mobile phones, but the contact centre will call the customer back if requested.
If you are a full time student you may be able to get income support if you are in one of the qualifying groups above.
If you have a partner who is not a student he or she may qualify for income support if they are in one of the qualifying groups.
If you are part of a student couple and have a child you can get income support in the long vacation if you are eligible for it under the ordinary rules. Alternatively, one of you may be able to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance, providing you are available for work.
If you claim as a full time student your eligible student loan will be taken into account, regardless of whether you claimed it or not. Tuition fees and certain grants are ignored.
If you are a part time student you can claim if you are in one of the qualifying groups above.
Whether your course is full or part-time usually depends on how it is classed by the institution. However, if you are on a course of government-funded further education in England or Wales it is full-time if it involves more than 16 guided learning hours a week. In Scotland, it is still full-time if structured learning packages make up the hours to over 16 a week, up to a maximum of 21 hours a week.
At 16, you can claim income support (IS) in your own right as a disabled person, whether you are at home, at school or on approved unwaged training. If you are a 16-19-year-old at school or on approved training and entitled to the disability or severe disability premium, you do not have to show you are incapable of work.
If you have left school, you do have to satisfy the rules for incapacity to get IS for more information about this see our Factsheet F25 - incapacity benefit - the personal capability assessment test.
From October 2008 IS will be replaced by the means-tested component of employment and support allowance for new claims based on an incapacity to work.
If you are between the ages of 16 and 20 and are receiving income support, your parents cannot claim child benefit for you as well.
You can get help at a local advice centre, such as a citizen's advice bureau. You can get more information about this from our factsheet F15, Finding a local advice centre, which is available at www.disabilityalliance.org/f15.htm.
You can also find out more information about income support in Disability Alliance's Disability Rights Handbook, available to buy at www.disabilityalliance.org/drh33.htm.
You can find out more about the employment and support allowance medical test in our Factsheet F32 - Employment and support allowance medical tests and in Disability Alliance's Employment and support allowance guide. These are available on our website at www.disabilityalliance.org/esa.htm.
You can also obtain copies of our factsheets and publications by contacting Disability Alliance on 020 7247 8776 (voice and minicom) or by fax on 020 7247 8765.
April 2008
