What is Income Support? Am I eligible? How much could I get? Income Support is a benefit aimed at helping, in part, those who are unemployed. It is being replaced by Universal Credit. Your Benefits article will tell you everything you need to know about Income Support.

What is Income Support?

Income Support is a benefit that pays weekly. It is awarded to people who are on low income, and who are not able to pay for all of their living costs. 

You may continue to earn Income Support if you already receive it. In fact, this is if your situation does not change. However, if your situation changes, you may stop receive payments. Then, you should claim Universal Credit instead.

How much is Income Support?

Income Support consists of two different rates. There is the basic payment, called the personal allowance. Then, there are extra payments, which are called premiums. You will typically receive payments every couple of weeks. Like all other benefits, they are put in your credit union, building society or bank account directly.

Below is a table of the different rates of Income Support that you can get in 2022. Moreover, the amount you receive depends on your circumstances:

You may receive the higher rate. In fact, this may be the case either if you or your partner has the responsibility of taking care of a child. However, if this is not the case, you may still qualify. In order for this to be the case, you must be eligible for one of the following benefits, if you and your partner were not a couple:

• Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA);
• Income Support;
• Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

Extra Income Support payments

You may be able to earn an Income Support premium. More specifically, it is extra money that you can earn on top of your personal allowance. Moreover, you could qualify if certain things apply. Mainly, if your partner is a pensioner. Otherwise, if your partner is either a carer or disabled.

As an example, there is a certain amount you could get with a disability premium, which is considered an extra amount. In fact, you could get the following:

How much Universal Credit

Income Support is being replaced by Universal Credit. As such, you can only now apply for Universal Credit. So, you might wonder how much Universal Credit you could get. Universal Credit consists of 2 different parts: standard allowance and extra payments.

Below is a table of the different rates of standard allowance you may receive. Indeed, what you will get depends on your condition and situation:

Universal Credit additional payments

You may earn extra amounts of Universal Credit. This depends on a variety of factors. For example, you may have children. You could earn anywhere from £128.89 to £402.41 per child.

You could also have a health condition or disability. Then, you could earn one of two different additional rates. First, £343.63 if your ability to work is limited. Second, £128.89 if the same is true, on top of another condition.

In fact, you must have started your claim for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or health-related Universal Credit prior to 3 April 2017.

Lastly, you may care for a person who is severely disabled. If this is the case, you could earn £163.73 extra. This is if you care for the person a minimum of 35 hours per week. Additionally, the person must be severely disabled, and earn a benefit because of their disability.

You may also need help covering housing costs. The factors that will affect how much you receive are your circumstances and how old you are. Then, what you receive can help pay for service charges and rent. 

Income Support change of circumstance

If you want to keep earning Income Support, you need to report changes to your situation. Not doing fast enough may result in your payments either ceasing or being reduced. 

However, you may wonder what a change of circumstance can consist of. They include the following:

• Moving abroad (this is including if you were abroad for a short amount of time);
• Your immigration status was changed (this is if you are not a British citizen);
• You went to a sheltered accommodation or care home;
• You were hospitalized;
• Your property, investments, savings, or pension changed;
• The benefits that you receive change (this also applies to the benefits that those living with you receive);
• There is a change in your other source of income (this can include anything from money received from a charity, sick pay, to student grants or loans);
• You changed your legal name;
• There is a change in who lives with you (this can include your child or partner either moving in or out of your home);
• You move, change your address;
• You find work, lose employment, start an education course, or an apprenticeship or training.

Income Support report change of circumstance

There are a couple of ways to report a change of circumstance for Income Support. Indeed, you may write or call the Jobcentre Plus helpline. If you wish to call, you must contact Jobcentre Plus, an existing benefit claims helpline. Their phone number is 0800 169 0310, and their textphone number is 0800 169 0314.

You may have been paid too much. This is likely the case if information you gave was incorrect or incomplete. However, it could also be the case that a change was not reported fast enough. Additionally, it could also simply be an administrative mistake. In this case, you may have to pay some of these payments back.

Will I keep getting Income Support?

If you already receive Income Support, you should continue to get it. However, all of the following must be true for you. They must also apply to your partner if you currently have one:

• You reside in England, Wales or Scotland (you may live in Northern Ireland, in which case the rules are different);
• Your savings contain £16,000 or less, and you either have no or low income;
• You are anywhere between 16 years old and State Pension age;
• You are not working full-time (if you are working full-time, you must work fewer than 16 hours weekly. Additionally, your partner must work fewer than 24 hours weekly).

Income Support eligibility

Additionally, one or more of the following must apply for you, you must be:

• Waiting in custody or expected to attend a tribunal or court;
• Learning English as a refugee (the course that you are studying needs to be a minimum of 15 hours weekly. Additionally, you need to have started the course no more than 12 months after you first got into the United Kingdom);
• Currently studying full-time not in a university (you must also be between 16 and 20 years old and not currently living either with a parent or a person with a similar role, or you must also be between 16 and 20 years old and a parent);
• Receiving Severe Disablement Allowance, Incapacity Benefit or Statutory Sick Pay because you cannot work;
• On parental, paternity or maternity leave;
• A carer;
• Looking after a child younger than 16 years old, by yourself, while they wait to be adopted;
• Looking after a child younger than 16 years as a foster parent;
• Either a lone or lone adoptive parents taking care of a child younger than 5 years old;
• Pregnant.

Additionally, note that you do not need to have a permanent address in order to get this benefit. Then, you can submit a claim even if you live in a care home, hostel, or you sleep rough.

What if I applied for Universal Credit?

You may want to make a claim for Universal Credit. If this is the case, your Income Support claim will eventually end. However, note that, while eligible, you will receive Universal Credit.

In fact, you will continue to receive the same amount that you do currently. This will typically be true for 2 weeks after your Universal Credit claim was submitted. 

If you disagree with a decision that was taken, you may ask for a mandatory reconsideration. This is a challenge on the decision that was taken on your benefit. Then, your claim will be looked over again.