Income Support Benefit |

Contents

Over View

Income Support is extra money for those people on a low income or no income at all. You have to be working less than 16 hours a week and not signed on as unemployed. You can claim Child Tax Credit if you claim Income Support and have children.

Eligibility

To be eligible for Income Support you must:

be between 16 and State Pension Age,
be alone parent or carer or in some cases unable to work because you are sick or disabled.
be on low income
work less than 16 hours a week ( and if you have a partner they work no more than 24 hours a week)
live in England, Scotland or Wales.

You wont be eligible if:

you have savings above £16,000
need permission to enter the UK
get Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance.
are a young person being looked after by a local authority.

What You Could Get

Income Support is made up of a basic payment called a personal allowance and then extra payments on top of this. Your income and any savings ( over £5,999) can affect how much you get.

Status	Age	Weekly Payment
Single	16 – 24	£56.25
Single	25 or over	£71.00
Lone Parent	16 – 17	£56.25
Lone Parent	18 or over	£71.00
Couples	Both under 18	£56.25
Couples	One under 18, the other 18 to 24	£56.25
Couples	One under 18, the other 25 or over	£71.00
Couples	Both over 18	£111.45

Premiums ( extra payments)

You can get between £14.80 and £116.40 extra depending on your circumstances. e.p your a pensioner, disabled or a lone parent with a disabled child.

How you are paid.

Income Support is paid into your bank account. Payment is usually within 2 weeks as long as you have provided all the evidence needed.

[box type=”warning”] From April 2013 a limit will be put on the total amount of benefit that most people added 16 to 64 can get. This is called a benefit cap. [/box]

How to Claim

You can apply for Income Support by

Telephone 0800 055 6688 Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm

Testphone 0800 023 4888 Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm

by post – send a claim form to you local jobcentre plus. The claim form can be found on Gov.uk site here

Online – claim income support online