Working Age related benefits
If you are aged 16 or over
<< back to Welfare Benefits page
If you are over the age of 16, then are you considered to be of working age. This does not necessarily mean you are able to work. Please see below for a list of benefits that you may be able to claim if you are of working age.
You may also wish to see our other pages entitled
‘Pension Age’,
‘Disability and Illness Related’,
‘Housing’,
‘Responsible for Children’, and
‘Social Fund Grants/Loans’.
Jobseekers Allowance
You may be able to get this if you do not work or work less than 16 hours per week. You must be capable of working, available for and actively seeking full time work. There are some exceptions to this, such as if you have caring responsibilities. There are two types of Jobseekers Allowance: Contribution Based, and Income Based.
Income Support
This is for those people who are on a low income and are either:
- carers
- sick and disabled
- registered blind, or
- lone parents looking after a child aged under 7
You must either not be working , or working less than 16 hours per week, not be in full time study, and not have savings over £16,000.
Employment Support Allowance
This is for people who have an illness or disability and your doctor has given you a medical certificate regarding this. You will be given the appropriate support you need to enable you to engage in appropriate work, if you are able to.
Employment and Support Allowance was introduced on 27 October 2008 and replaced new claims to Incapacity Benefit.
Incapacity Benefit
New claims to Incapacity (IB) ceased in October 2008 and were replaced with Employment Support Allowance (ESA). Persons who were unfit for work could only make a new claim to Employment Support Allowance from October 2008. Persons who were already in receipt of IB continued to be entitled to this benefit. However, between October 2010 and 2014 IB claimants* will be re-assessed and considered for ESA. IB and some other benefits* will cease to exist.
During the re-assessment you will be required to complete a medical questionnaire, and most will also be required to attend a medical assessment/interview. If you do not complete these on time you will be at risk of losing your benefit.
Once you have been re-assessed The DWP will phone you to advise you if you are entitled to ESA. They will also write to you. If they have decided that you are not entitled to ESA you will have the option of claiming Jobseekers Allowance during the same phone call. This will mean your Housing Benefit will have a smooth transition and not have any gaps in that claim. If you disagree with their decision you may choose to appeal. If so you may be paid ESA at a reduced rate, or may choose to claim Jobseekers Allowance while you await the outcome of your appeal (whichever you choose the amount you receive should be the same). Your HB may then be suspended until you provide them with evidence of your income during your ESA appeal.
If you are entitled to ESA after this assessment then you will be entered into that claim in what is called the ‘main phase’ and placed into one of the following categories:
- Work Related Activity Group – this means you will get support to help you prepare for suitable work. Your benefit (including any Housing Benefit) may be affected if you do not take part in the work-related support.
- Support Group – if you are severely disabled or have the most severe health conditions you will be placed in this group. You will not be expected to look or prepare for work.
Your ESA will be the same as or higher than your IB payments.
You will not be affected by these changes if you are due to reach State Pension age by 6th April 2014.
* Those benefits affected by this include: Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Income Support paid due to illness or disability.
Carers Allowance
You must be aged 16 or over and caring for someone for 35 hours or more per week, and that person gets Attendance Allowance, Constant Attendance Allowance, or Disability Living Allowance at the middle or highest rate for personal care. You cannot get this if you are in full-time education, or earn more than £100 per week net. Other benefits you are getting can affect the amount of Carers Allowance you receive. If you cannot receive Carers Allowance because of other benefits or income, you may have ‘Underlying Entitlement to Carers Allowance’.
Working Tax Credits
These are the possible routes to being eligible to claim Working Tax Credits;
- Work at least 16 hours per week and have dependant children, or
- Work at least 16 hours per week and are a Disabled Worker, (must meet both the Benefit Conditions, and Disability Conditions), or
- Work at least 16 hours per week and are aged 50+ (for the previous six months must have been in receipt of Income Support , Job Seekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Employment Support Allowance). On this route the WTC is only payable for 1 year, or
- Work at least 30 hours per week and are aged 25+, or
- From April 2011, work at least 16 hours per week and are aged 60+
Child Tax Credits
You must be aged 16 or over and be responsible for a child or young person who is in full time education, or work based training up to their 20th Birthday; they must be accepted and enrolled by their 19th Birthday.
In Work Credit
This is for lone parents who have started work of at least 16 hours per week and is designed to top up your income for a maximum period of 52 weeks so long as you remain in work and stay off benefits. The amount you get is a fixed tax free payment of £40 per week. To be eligible you must have been in receipt of Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance for the previous 52 weeks (and not be getting Return to Work Credit).
Job Grant
This is a non-repayable one-off lump sum paid to you when you start work and stop getting benefits. You must have been in receipt of Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance, Employment Support Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, or Severe Disablement Allowance for the previous 26 consecutive weeks. The work must be at least 16 hours per week (or 24hours per week if your partner has started work), and expected to last 5 weeks or more. You only have 21 days from the date you started work to apply for the Job Grant. This is usually paid automatically.
Travel to Interview Scheme
This is a financial incentive designed to encourage you as a jobseeker to widen your job search area, by providing the travelling costs to attend a job interview in the UK, that is beyond your ‘’normal daily travelling distance’’. This is usually 90 minutes travelling time. You must be unemployed and claiming benefits (directly or indirectly). You must apply for this before you travel to your interview. The interview must be for a job that is expected to last for at least 3 months and be at least 16hours per week.
Help with Health Costs
The type of help for health costs includes: free NHS prescriptions; free NHS dental treatment; free NHS sight tests; vouchers towards the cost of glasses or contact lenses; free NHS wigs and fabric supports; help with the costs of travel for NHS treatment (on referral by a doctor or dentist).
To be eligible for any of the above you either need to have certain medical conditions, be in receipt of War Disablement Pension or have a War Pension Exemption Certificate, or yourself and/or your partner need to be in receipt of one of the following:
- Income Support; Jobseekers Allowance (income based)
- Employment Support Allowance (income related)
- Pension Credit (guarantee credit)
- Working Tax Credit with Child Tax Credit and your income is £15,050 per year or less
- Working Tax Credit with a disability element and your income is £15,050 per year or less
- Child Tax Credit and you are not eligible for Working Tax Credit, and your income is £15,276 per year or less
- Or be on a low income (you will need to make a claim under the NHS Low Income Scheme)
Would you like to see if you could be entitled to any of these benefits? Our Welfare Benefits Advisor, Millie can give you advice on what benefits you may be able to claim, and help you to claim them if you would like her to. Millie may also be able to calculate how much you could receive with these benefits. You can contact her either via our Customer Services Team on 0300 123 1222 or via info@muir.org.uk
Remember, it is your responsibility to notify the relevant benefit department of any changes in your circumstance to ensure you are still receiving the correct amount of benefit, to prevent any overpayments, or underpayments from occurring.
