WHEN BENEFITS STOP: Some of your rights to claim benefit payments continues even if you go to prison.
A list of benefits that do not stop while in prison includes:
- Child Benefit (in certain cases).
- Council tax exemption and reduction (providing you qualify).
- Housing Benefit for shorter sentences.
- Industrial Injuries Disabled Benefit (may get suspended).
- Tax credits (in certain cases).
Note: You will stop getting Carer’s Allowance payments if the person you are caring for goes to prison or goes on remand.
Discontinued Benefits when on Remand
If you get placed on remand you will not be able to claim:
- Attendance Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance
- Employment and Support Allowance or Incapacity Benefit
- Income Support (you may get help with housing costs)
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
- Jobseekers Allowance
- Pension Credit (you may get help with mortgage costs)
- Working Tax Credit (your partner may claim for an absent partner)
Note: You will also lose your entitlement to Statutory Sick Pay or Statutory Maternity Pay from your employer.
How to get Benefit Arrears while in Prison
You should make a written request to get any benefit arrears owed to you at the time you get sent to prison. The same applies if you get remand. In this case, they would get paid to someone else that you nominate.
Benefit Arrears If No Conviction
Providing you do not get convicted you would be able to get any benefit arrears for:
- Contributory Employment and Support Allowance
- Incapacity Benefit
Benefit Arrears after getting Convicted
You may still get Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit arrears even if you get convicted. You could get up to one year of arrears once you get released from prison.
ALSO IN THIS SECTION
Keeping in Touch with Someone in Prison | Check out the different methods of contacting a prisoner.
Prison Life and Time Behind Bars | Things to expect if you get sent to a prison in the United Kingdom.
Claiming Benefits After Release
You can put in new claims for any benefits that you qualify for as soon as you leave prison. In some cases, you may also get practical and financial support after leaving prison.
Note: You cannot claim for the Job Seekers Allowance if you get released on a temporary licence (ROTL).