INCOME SUPPORT

Income Support is available for people on a low income who are not required to be available for work. How much money you have coming in and any capital or savings you have will affect whether or not you can get it and, if so, how much you can get.

If you have more than £8,000 in savings you cannot get Income Support (or more than £12,000 if you are aged 60 or over). Savings of more than £3,000 will reduce the amount you get paid.

You must be over 16 years of age to get Income Support. You cannot work more than 16 hours per week and, if you have a partner, your partner cannot work more than 24 hours per week.

More information see jobcentreplus.gov.uk

WORKING FAMILIES' TAX CREDIT

This is a tax credit for people who are in paid work. You may be eligible if: you are a single person, or you are a married couple living together, or you are a man and woman living together as if you were married, you are in paid work (including working as a self-employed person) for the required number of hours.

Note - The amount you receive will depend on your annual income, and you must be 16 or over to be able to apply for tax credits.

For more information, call the Tax Credit Helpline on 0845 609 5000.

JOBSEEKER'S ALLOWANCE

Jobseeker's Allowance is paid to you if you are available for work and actively seeking work. To get it you must be under 65 (men), or under 60 (women) and either not working, or working on average fewer than 16 hours per week. For more information on Jobseeker's Allowance contact your Jobcentre or Social Security Office.

CHILD BENEFIT

Child Benefit is a benefit for people raising children. It is paid for each child and it is not affected by the income or savings you have. You can claim child benefit if you have a child under 16, or have a child under 19 who is studying full-time up to A-Level, NVQ level 3 or equivalent, or if your child is under 18 and registered with the Careers Service or Connexion Service for work or work-based training for young people. You do not have to be the child's parent to claim Child Benefit, but you must have responsibility for the child.

For more information on this benefit call the Child Benefit Centre on 08701 555 540.

COUNCIL TAX BENEFIT

Council Tax Benefit is paid by your local council to help with your Council Tax. You do not have to be on any other benefits. It doesn't matter if you already get a discount on your Council Tax. Even if you work full time you may be able to claim Council Tax Benefit. You can claim Council Tax Benefit if you are on a low income and liable for Council Tax. If you have savings of more than £16,000 it would be unusual to be able to claim Council Tax Benefit. Savings of more than £3,000 usually affect how much Council Tax Benefit you will get. There are a number of other factors that could affect if you are eligible for Council Tax Benefit.

For further information contact your Local Council or Social Security Office.

HOUSING BENEFIT

Housing Benefit is paid by your local council to help towards paying your rent, which you may pay to your Local Authority, housing association or a private landlord. You do not have to be claiming any other benefits to make a claim, but should have a low income. Even if you work full time you may be able to claim Housing Benefit. If you have savings of more than £16,000 it would be unusual to be able to claim Housing Benefit. Savings of more than £3,000 usually affect how much Housing Benefit you will get.

For more information on this benefit contact your Local Council or Social Security Office.

DISABILITY LIVING ALLOWANCE

This can be claimed if you need help to look after yourself. It doesn't affect Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance claims. Different rates apply depending on the extent to which your disability affects you. A claim is not affected by income or savings. Disability Living Allowance can be claimed by anyone aged at least three years old with severe difficulty in walking or anyone aged at least five years old who needs help getting around. It cannot be claimed by anyone aged 65 years or over. For a successful claim you must have needed help for three months and are likely to need it for another six months. You may not be able to claim if you are in hospital or residential care.

For more information on this benefit contact your Local Council or Social Security Office.

INCAPACITY BENEFIT

This benefit is relevant when you are unable to claim Statutory Sick Pay. You can only claim it if you were under the state pension age when you became sick. There are various types of benefit: To claim the basic rate of Incapacity Benefit you must have paid National Insurance for the relevant qualifying period and have been incapable of working due to sickness or disability for four days in a row (including weekends and Bank Holidays). You can also claim if you have been off work for 28 weeks and are under 20 years old or 25 if you have been in education or training. You must also have fallen sick after turning 16 years old or 20 if you were in education.

Short term Incapacity Benefit is paid at a lower rate if you have been off work for four days or more and are no longer entitled to Statutory Sick Pay. Short term Incapacity Benefit is paid at a higher rate if you have been off due to sickness for more than 28 weeks but fewer than 52 weeks.

Long term Incapacity Benefit is paid if you have been off work for more than 52 weeks.

For more information on this benefit contact your Local Council or Social Security Office.

INVALID CARE ALLOWANCE

This allowance is paid to the carer. If you spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone who claims or is waiting to hear about a claim on one of the following, you may be entitled to the allowance:

• Attendance Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit Constant Attendance Allowance
• War Pensions Constant Attendance Allowance

To claim you must be over 16 years of age but under 65.

You may not be able to claim if you earn over a certain amount and you cannot claim if you are in full-time education. It is important to be aware that receiving the allowance may have an effect on any other benefits you claim or on benefits claimed by the person you care for. You can download an allowance application form.

For more information on this benefit contact your Local Council or Social Security Office.

STATE RETIREMENT PENSION

A State Retirement Pension is payable to women aged 60 and over and men aged 65 and over. The single person's allowance is currently £67.50 a week and the married couple's is £107.90 (although both partners may be entitled to a single person's pension).

To qualify you need to have paid enough National Iinsurance contributions throughout your working life. To give you a rough idea you need to have earned at least the same amount as the basic pension for most of your working life. For more information on this benefit contact your local Social Security Office or vist www.thepensionservice.gov.uk.

SERPS

The State Earnings Related Pension Scheme is a top-up to the basic state pension and is payable to former employees only. It replaces earned income between the basic state pension level and £500 per week.

More information see www.thepensionservice.gov.uk.

CHILDREN'S TAX CREDIT

This is for families with at least one child. It is made up of the following elements:

• A family element that is payable to any family responsible for a child. It is paid at a higher rate to families with at least one child under the age of one. This is known as the baby element.
• A child element for each child you are responsible for. This is paid at a higher rate if the child has a disability and at an enhanced rate for a child with a severe disability. This is known as the disabled child element.

Note - If you also qualify for the childcare element of Working Tax Credit, this will always be paid alongside payments of Child Tax Credit, direct to the person who is mainly responsible for caring for the child or children. It does not have to be paid to the person who receives Working Tax Credit. It will be paid weekly or 4-weekly, depending on how often you have chosen to receive payments of Child Tax Credit.

For more information, call the Tax Credit Helpline on 0845 609 5000.

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