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Income Support

For people who are unable to work because of disability or illness, Income Support and Incapacity Benefit have now been replaced for new claimants by Employment and Support Allowance

It is dealt with by Job Centre Plus - you can find your local office here. There is a lot of information here about this benefit. If you don't want to read it all, use these quick links to go straight to the topic you need:
Can you apply?
Rules for studying
How much is it?
If you live in a residential care or nursing home
How to claim
New "Permitted Work Rules"
Changing circumstances - stays in hospital
Changing circumstances - going abroad
Changing circumstances - starting voluntary work
Changing circumstances - going into residential or nursing care
Free home insulation offer (npower infomation page)

What is Income Support?

• Income Support is paid to people aged under 60. If you are over 60, you should apply instead for Pension Credit

• It is for people on a low income

• If you have savings over £16,000 this usually means that you cannot get Income Support

• If you have to sign on at the Jobcentre, you cannot get Income Support

Can you apply?

• If you are aged 16 or over
and
• on a low income
and
• either not working, or working on average less than 16 hours a week, and your partner is working on average less than 24 hours a week

Then you should claim Income Support.

Alternatively

• If you are a full-time carer, there is no limit on the number of hours you can work. You are a full-time carer if you spend at least 35 hours a week looking after someone who is severely disabled
and
• if you are also on a low income

Then you should claim Income Support

Notes

• Savings over £6,000 usually affect how much Income Support you can get

• You may be able to get extra money to help towards certain housing costs

• You can usually get extra money for your family

• You may be able to get Income Support if you or your partner are not working because of parental leave

• Pregnant women and children under five are entitled to free milk and vitamins

• If you are a lone parent you will usually have to go to a meeting with a Personal Adviser before you can get Income Support

• To see if you can get Income Support because of a low income, check with your social security office

• If you are sick and not getting Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) or severely disabled, Employment and Support Allowance has now replaced Incapacity Benefit and Income Support

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If you are studying, you may be able to get Income Support while you are on your course if you are a lone parent, sick or disabled, or registered blind. Check with your social security office.

If you are studying up to A level or equivalent, you may be able to get Income Support while you are on your course if you are unable to work because you are caring for someone.

If you are still at school you cannot usually get Income Support for yourself, unless you are:
• Looking after your own child
• An orphan and nobody is looking after you
• Unlikely to be able to get a job because of a severe disability.
If you are still at school you may also be able to get Income Support if you are:
• Not living with your parents or being supported by them
• Not in touch with your parents
• Separated from your parents for reasons that cannot be avoided and nobody is looking after you in their place.

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How much is it?

The following figures should be treated as a guide - actual amounts of Income Support vary according to individual circumstances:

Personal allowances for single people

Weekly amount if you are aged 16-17 - £47.95

Weekly amount if you are aged 18-24 - £47.95

Weekly amount if you are aged 25 or over - £60.50

Personal allowances for couples

Weekly amount if you are both aged 18 or over - £94.95

Where one or both partners are aged under 18, the personal allowance depends on individual circumstances

Personal allowances for lone parents

Weekly amount if you are aged 16-17 - £47.95

Weekly amount if you are aged 18 or over - £60.50

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If you live in an independent residential care home or nursing home

You can claim Income Support under the same rules as when you lived at home.

How to claim

Claim straight away. If you delay you may lose benefit. Contact your social security office for a claim form, or download one here. You will need to provide proof of identity, and documentary evidence to support your claim. If you need help completing your claim form, the adviser at your social security office should be able to provide it.

New Permitted Work Rules

Since 8 April 2002 there are new rules if you want to try some paid work while getting Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, National Insurance Credits or Income Support because of illness or disability.

The new rules are called the permitted work rules and the work is called permitted work.

If you were already doing therapeutic work when the rules changed, you may be able to carry on doing it until April 2003. After that you can consider doing permitted work straight away under the new rules.

The new arrangements allow you to try some paid work without the need for prior approval from a doctor. You should tell the office that pays your benefit before you start work though.

You can work:
• for earnings of up to and including £20.00 a week for an unlimited period
or
• for less than 16 hours a week, on average, with earnings up to and including £66.00 a week for a 26 week period. The period can be extended for another 26 weeks if a Job Broker, Personal Adviser or Disability Employment Adviser agrees that it will help you towards work of 16 or more hours a week.

There is no limit to the number of times you can do permitted work in this category while you are getting an incapacity benefit; but there must be a gap of at least 52 weeks between periods. These subsequent periods are for 52 weeks and a Job Broker, Personal Adviser or Disability Employment Adviser must support the work from the outset.

You can work:
• in supported permitted work for earnings of up to and including £66.00 a week for an unlimited period. Supported permitted work is work done with the ongoing support or supervision from a professional caseworker (employed or engaged by a public body or voluntary organisation). This could be work done in the community or in a sheltered workshop. It also includes work done under medical supervision as part of a hospital treatment programme.

You do not have to undergo a medical test just because you are doing permitted work. However, if a medical test is due it will go ahead as planned. You can carry on getting Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance while doing permitted work without it affecting your benefit.

If you get Income Support, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit your benefit will be reduced if your average earnings are more than your earnings disregard. You can contact your social security office if you want more information about how these changes could affect you.

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Changing Circumstances

If you are already getting Income Support and your circumstances change, you should inform the Social Security office straight away.

If you go into hospital or someone you claim support for goes into hospital

• As soon as you go into hospital from a local council residential care home, your Income Support will usually be reduced

• After 4 weeks
If you are in hospital and have a partner, any Severe Disability Premium you get will usually be reduced

• After 12 weeks
If you get extra money for a dependant who is in hospital, the extra money will be reduced.
If you get help with housing costs, they will be assessed to see if they should continue.This will happen every 12 weeks if you are still in hospital.

• After 13 weeks
Your Income Support will usually be reduced.

• After 52 weeks
If you are single or a lone parent who is no longer treated as responsible for your children, your Income Support will usually be reduced again.
If you are a lone parent and you are still responsible for your children even though you are in hospital, your Income Support will not change.
If you or your partner are in hospital, you will both need to make a separate claim for Income Support. Your partner's claim will be worked out separately.

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If you go abroad to live or to visit

If you are going abroad permanently, you cannot get Income Support.

If your stay abroad is temporary, you may be able to get Income Support for the first 4 weeks you are abroad. You can only do this if you are unlikely to be abroad for more than 52 weeks, would still qualify for Income Support if you had stayed in the United Kingdom, and one of the following applies to you:
• you are incapable of work because of sickness or disability and you have gone abroad only for treatment for that sickness or disability
• you have been incapable of work for 364 days when you go abroad, you get a pensioner premium or disability premium for a partner who is going abroad with you.

You may be able to get Income Support for the first 8 weeks if:
• you, or you and a member of your family, are going abroad only to help a dependant who is going abroad for medical treatment from a qualified person
and
• you are unlikely to be abroad for more than 52 weeks, and you would still qualify for Income Support if you had stayed in the UK.

Most benefits are affected if you go abroad. You can get more information about this here.

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If you start work but have to stop again because of illness or disability

If you have to stop within 52 weeks because of your sickness or disability, you may be able to go back onto Income Support at the same amount you got before you started working.

To be able to do this:

• you must have been sick for at least 28 weeks
and
• you must have started work or training within 7 days of getting Income Support
and
• your other circumstances must still be the same.

You must let your social security office know you have started work or training within one month of the date you start.

You cannot get protection if your benefit stopped because of a medical test.

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If you start voluntary work

You can do as much voluntary work as you like, but you should tell the social security office straightaway. Your Income Support will not be affected as long as you do not receive any pay other than to pay for expenses like fares or special clothing you need for the voluntary work.

Your Income Support will not be affected if it is reasonable for the person or organisation you are doing the voluntary work for not to pay you. If it is unreasonable not to pay you, your Income Support will be reduced by the amount you could expect to be paid for the work you are doing, even though you are not being paid.

If you don't receive money, but you do receive payments in kind, this will also affect your Income Support. Non-money payments include things like meal vouchers.

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If you go into a residential care or nursing home

• Your Income Support will be paid at the same rate as basic Retirement Pension, no matter how old you are.

• If the NHS has arranged your nursing home care, the care will be free, but your benefits will be affected in the same way as if you are in hospital.

• If you go into independent or privately run residential or nursing care, you may still be able to get Income Support even if you get help from your social services department, but they will count it when they work out how much you need to pay towards the fees.

Permanent stays in a home

If you are living in a home permanently and your partner does not live there with you, your Income Support will usually be looked at separately.

Your partner may have to pay towards the cost of you living in the home. This will depend on your partner's savings and income.

Savings over £10,000 affect how much Income Support you can get. If your savings include the value of your former home, this amount can sometimes be ignored:

• Your former home will be ignored if your partner, a relative who is aged 60 or over, or a relative who is sick or disabled lives there

• If you are trying to sell your former home, it will be ignored for up to 6 months, sometimes longer. You will not have to pay back benefit received during this time.

Temporary stays in a home

If your stay in a home is temporary, Income Support will usually be worked out for you and your partner together. For this, your partner must be working an average of less than 24 hours a week or not working at all.

Your partner's income and savings will affect how much Income Support you can get together.

Savings of £3,000 (if you and your partner are aged less than 60) or £12,000 (if you or your partner are aged 60 or over) affect how much Income Support you can get.

The value of your home will be ignored.

If you went into an independent residential care or nursing home before 1 April 1993

The rules for working out Income Support are different. It means that you will get more Income Support, up to a fixed limit.

The amount will depend on whether you live in a residential care or a nursing home, and will be higher if the home is in London.

If your Income Support does not cover the home's charges and you get help with the cost from friends, relatives or a charity, these contributions are not usually counted when your income is calculated.

If these rules apply to you, they will usually continue to apply if you move to a different home. The amount you get may change if it is a different kind of home.

There is more information about these different rules, in leaflet IS20 "A Guide to Income Support" from your social security office.

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