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Income Support Eligibility Criteria and Rates

You may be eligible to claim for Income Support if your salary and private savings are below the threshold. You are also likely to qualify if you do not sign on as unemployed.

Note: New claims for Income Support are no longer available. People on a low income who need help to cover living costs can apply for Universal Credit instead.

UK INCOME SUPPORT BONUS: The benefit is an extra weekly payment related to your earnings. Income support helps those most who are on low income – or none at all.


What is the Income Support rate 2022 for claimants?

The amount you get paid depends on your household income and family circumstances. Check to see if you meet all the qualifying conditions.

This section explains how to claim Income Support UK. If you do qualify, without income, you could get as much as £59.20 a week – or more.

As an extra bonus, by claiming Income Support you might also qualify to claim other benefits. You may get Child Tax Credit if you have children, Housing Benefit, the Council Tax Benefit, and get further help with your health costs.

Note: You can use the online benefits Income Support calculator for working out what money you might get.


Income Support Rates 2022

Providing you are at least 16 years old, you may qualify to get Income Support. As a rule, you will get a basic payment (called a Personal Allowance) as well as extra payments (called premiums). You might also get payments to cover certain housing costs.

That being said, your household income and savings above £5,999 will affect the total amount that you get.


Personal Allowances and Weekly Amounts

Table showing personal allowances and weekly amounts from April 2017.

Personal Allowance 2020 Income Support Weekly Amount
Single person aged 16 – 24 [over 25] £59.20 [£74.70]
Lone parent aged 16 – 17 [over 18] £59.20 [£59.20]
Couples both under 18 £59.20
Couples both under 18 ‘higher rate’ £89.45
Couples [1 under 18 other 18 – 24] £59.20
Couples [1 under 18 other over 25] £74.70
Couples [1 under 18 other higher rate] £117.40
Couples both 18 or over £117.40

Higher Rate Criteria for Income Support Bonus 2020

You might qualify for the ‘higher rate‘ if you are a couple and one of you is responsible for a child. You may also claim the higher Income Support rate if you are not a couple both one of you is eligible for at least one of the following:

Income Support Premium

The Income Support premium may provide you with extra money. The eligibility criteria is actually based on each individual circumstances (e.g. a pensioner, disabled, or caring for someone). The benefits calculator adviser helps you work out how much you might get.


How Much is Income Support Benefit Rates 2022?Income Support Payment Dates

Is Income Support paid weekly? As a rule, Income Support payment dates are set for every two weeks. Like most benefits and allowances the money gets paid into your bank account or similar. This is generally the most convenient and a safe efficient method of payment.

Note: The benefit cap limits the amount of welfare allowed for most people aged 16 to 64. It may affect the total amount of Income Support benefit you receive.


Income Support Eligibility Criteria

All the following must apply to meet Income Support eligibility criteria:

  1. You are a pregnant mother, a carer, or a lone parent with a child under 5 (or in some cases unable to work because of sickness or a disability).
  2. You must be between 16 years old and Pension Credit qualifying age.
  3. You have no income or a low income and no more than £16,000 in savings (income and savings of your partner is also taken into account).
  4. You are working less than 16 hours a week and your partner must also work less than 24 hours a week. You may still qualify if you do unpaid voluntary work or go on parental or Paternity Leave.
  5. You are living in England, Scotland or Wales (a different system applies for claiming Income Support Northern Ireland).

Qualification for Income Support is also possible if you are between 16 and 20 years old in full-time education (excluding university) and either:

  • Not living with a parent or someone acting as a parent.
  • Or you are a parent yourself.
  • Or you are a refugee learning English.

In this case, Income Support continues until your course finishes if you are orphaned or estranged from your parents and it ends the same year that you turn 21. A permanent address is not required (e.g. claiming is possible even if you sleep rough or live in a care home or hostel).

Note: Young people being looked after by a Health and Social Care Trust do not qualify to claim Income Support.


Not Eligible for Income Support Rules?

As a general rule you do not qualify for Income Support if you:

  • Get Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance.
  • Are a young person being looked after by a local authority (except for single parents).
  • Have savings more than £16,000.
  • Need permission to enter the United Kingdom (e.g. visa that stating ‘no recourse to public funds’ or under immigration control).

Note: Claiming Income Support and Universal Credit benefit at the same time is not allowed.


Change in Circumstances

You must inform JobCentre Plus about any change in your circumstances. Changes include your income, address, savings, bank account information, an illness or hospitalisation, working hours, or details of the people in your household.

Note: You could be committing benefit fraud by failing to report a change in circumstances.


How to Claim Income Support (change a claim)

Applying by phone is often the quickest and easiest way to claim Income Support.

New Benefit Claims

Jobcentre Plus Income Support New Claim
Telephone: 0800 055 6688
Textphone: 0800 023 4888
Welsh language: 0800 012 1888
Monday to Friday: 8am to 6pm
Free and paid call charges in the United Kingdom.

If you prefer to apply by post you should send a claim form to your local Jobcentre Plus. You can claim Income Support for yourself and your partner (if they have not claimed already). But you need to give details about your income, where you live, the income of any partner, and who lives with you.


Changing a Claim

It is a requirement to report changes in circumstances to Jobcentre Plus. You will need to give your National Insurance number and date of birth. Circumstantial changes can include:

  • Starting work or stopping work, training, education, or an apprenticeship.
  • Moving house or people moving into or out of the place where you live (e.g. a partner or a child).
  • Changes to the benefits that you or anyone else in your household receives.
  • Changes to your savings, pension, investments, or property or any other money you get (e.g. student loans, grants, sick pay, or money from a charity).
  • Changing your name (e.g. by deed poll).
  • Changing your doctor or changes to your medical condition or disability.
  • Going into hospital, a care home, or sheltered accommodation.
  • Going abroad for any length of time.

Note: Contact Jobcentre Plus if you need information about reporting a change. Giving incorrect, incomplete, or delayed information can result in a prosecution or a £50 civil penalty. Contact your local social security or jobs and benefits office if you are in Northern Ireland.

Jobcentre Plus Income Support Existing Claim
Telephone: 0800 169 0310
Textphone: 0800 169 0314
Welsh language: 0800 328 1744
Monday to Friday: 8am to 6pm


Income Support Overpayment

Failing to report a change straight away, or giving false information, means you might get paid too much. If this happens, you may need to pay back benefit overpayments.

Appeal a Decision on Income Support

If you disagree with a decision you can appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal. But, there have been some procedural changes. You must now ask for ‘mandatory reconsideration’ when challenging a benefit decision before you make the appeal.

The actual date that the Income Support claim form is received will be the date considered to begin payment from. It is not the date that you download Income Support claim form.


ALSO IN THIS SECTION

When does Income Support get Paid on Bank Holiday?
You may get paid early if your next due date falls on a public holiday in the United Kingdom. You can use the calendar to work out how public days off affect your upcoming Income Support bank holiday payments date.

When are DWP Christmas Payments 2022 Paid?
The Christmas Bonus 2022 usually gets paid early in the month of December (most likely before Friday the 18th of December 2020).

Do Pensioners Still Get £10 Christmas Bonus?
The UK Chancellor assigns a £10 Christmas Bonus for pensioners who get the State Pension or Pension Credit. But, pensioners who have not claimed their pension must be claiming one of the other qualifying benefits to get the extra Christmas payment.

When is the Winter Fuel Allowance 2020/21 Start Date?
As a rule, the annual winter heating allowance payments start at the same time as the British cold months begin to bite. The Winter Heating Allowance 2022 payments are usually transferred from November to December.

Do You Pay Tax on Bonuses UK?
HMRC regard a bonus or tips as wages if you get them through your job. That means you may need to pay income tax on that extra money if it is not part of your usual wages. This would include an annual Christmas bonus from your employer if you are lucky enough to get one. Note that you would usually need to pay National Insurance on that bonus income too.


Income Support Rates and Eligibility Criteria in United Kingdom