Benefits At A Glance

There are numerous benefits available to support your daily living requirements. Common ones, that you might be interested in are listed below.

If you’re looking at income related benefits…..

…don’t forget the Trust’s disregard letter.

…payments made by the Trust are to be ignored for the purposes of income related benefits and that payments made from the Trust are not taken into account in the calculation of either income (in the year they are received) or capital (in subsequent years).Trust income will also not be taken into account when calculating the level of Council Tax that beneficiaries are required to pay.

benefits at a glance

Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

A tax free benefit for disabled people aged 16 to state pension age when they first claim.

Visit our Personal Independence Payments section for more details.

Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

This is the successor of Incapacity Benefit.

People are often transferred to ESA from other benefits such as Income Support or Incapacity Benefit. There are two different types of ESA:

  • If you made enough contributions through National Insurance, you can get contribution-based ESA.
  • If your income is low you may have a standalone or additional Income- related ESA.  To get this benefit you must undergo a Work Capability Assessment. This will assess how your disability or illness affects your ability to work. If you are approved, you will be placed in one of two groups: The work-related activity group or the Support group.

Visit our Employment and Support Allowance section for more details.

Carer's Allowance

A taxable benefit for those who look after someone who is disabled. They do not have to be related to, or live with, the person that they care for. If the carer is over 65, pension credit may be worth considering.

Government Carer's Allowance details

Attendance Allowance

This is for people aged state pension age or over who have care needs. (Useful to know about for parents/partners)

Government Attendance Allowance details

Council Tax Support

You could be eligible for this if you are on a low income or claim benefits. You can apply if you own your own home, or rent, and are unemployed, or working. Each council runs its own scheme and what you get depends on your circumstances.

Government Council Tax Support details

Universal Credit (UC)

UC is a payment to help with your living costs. You may be able to get it if you are on a low income whether you’re working or not. It is usually paid monthly. Universal credit has replaced most new claims for income support, income-based jobseekers’ allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, housing benefit and tax credits.

Government Universal Credit details

Other entitlements that are also worth thinking about

  1. Blue Badge and Road Tax discounts - visit our Blue Badge section for more details
  2. Working Tax Credits - Government Working Tax Credit details
  3. Heating benefits - Cold Weather Payment, Warm Home Discount Scheme and the Winter Fuel Payment - Government Heating Benefit details
  4. T.V. licence - you can get a 50% discount if you are registered blind or live with someone who is. The licence has to be in the blind person's name - if it isn't you can transfer it by calling T.V. Licensing. - Government T.V. Licence Discount details
  5. Bereavement Allowance - there are also some entitlements that may be worth exploring if you’ve sadly lost a spouse or civil partner. - Government Bereavement Allowance details
  6. Prescription Prepayment Certificate
  7. VAT exemption for disabled people - some goods and services that have been designed or adapted for use by a disabled person may be exempt from VAT. For more details see our VAT exemption for disabled people page.

 

For further information on all available benefits you can browse the Government website.