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> Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA)
This benefit is dealt with by Jobcentre Plus: you can find your local office here
Please note that new claims for Severe Disablement Allowance are not accepted - this page is for information purposes for those people who were already receiving the benefit in April 2001.
What is Severe Disablement Allowance?
• paid if you have been unable to work for at least 28 weeks in a row because of illness or disability
• you may be able to get it if you have never been able to work
How much is it?
These are all weekly amounts:
Severe Disablement Allowance - £51.05
Age-related additions (related to your age on the day you became unable to work)
Higher rate (under 40 when you became unable to work) - £17.75
Middle rate (40-49 when you became unable to work) - £11.40
Lower rate (50-59 when you became unable to work) - £5.70
Please treat these figures as a guide only. Individual circumstances are taken into account when calculating benefits, and it is not always possible for you to work out exactly what you will get.
New permitted work rules from 8 April 2002
These rules relate to people who 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 £67.50 a week for a 26 week period.
This 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.
or
• 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 ongoing support or supervision from a professional caseworker (employed or engaged by a public body or voluntary organization). 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.
Changing circumstances - going into hospital
If you go into hospital or someone you claim for goes into hospital you should let your social security office know as soon as possible.
Nothing will usually happen to your SDA straight away.
But if you go into hospital from a local council residential care home, your SDA will usually reduce straight away.
If you get extra money for someone who looks after your children for you, and that person goes into hospital, the extra money may stop straight away.
After 52 weeks:
Your SDA will usually be reduced.
It may reduce by less if someone depends on you.
If you get extra money for your husband or wife and they are in hospital,
the extra money you get for them will usually be reduced.
Changing circumstances - going abroad
You should let your social security office know as soon as possible.
If you are going abroad permanently, you cannot get SDA.
If your stay abroad is temporary, you can get SDA paid abroad for the
first 26 weeks if:
• you have gone abroad only for treatment of an illness or disability
which began before you went abroad (pregnancy itself is not counted as
an illness)
or
• you were incapable of work for at least 6 months before you left
the United Kingdom and have been continuously incapable of work since
then.
You may be able to get SDA paid abroad for more than 26 weeks if your stay abroad is temporary and you get Attendance Allowance (AA) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
You may be able to get a benefit for incapacity in a country that has a two-way social security agreement with the UK covering incapacity for work.
Most benefits are affected if you are going abroad. You can get more information about social security arrangements with other countries here.
Changing circumstances - starting and stopping work
If you start work but have to stop within 52 weeks because of your sickness or disability, you may be able to go back onto SDA 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 SDA
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
Changing circumstances - voluntary work
You can do as much voluntary work as you like.
Your SDA 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.
The voluntary work must not be for a close relative.
You should tell your social security office if you do any voluntary work and let them know if you are paid in any way, including payment in kind. This could be something like meal vouchers.