| Notes about benefit income » |
| Do you receive one of the top 3 benefits? |
| If you do, you won't need to answer any of the questions about your income or capital. This is because your income and savings will be below the level where they make any difference to your claim. |
| Benefit income - general points |
| Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit are "Means Tested" benefits. This means that all of your income and your savings are taken into account to see how much help you need. There are different rules for certain benefits but most benefits count in full as income. The most common benefits are in the list and the rules about them are used to work out your total income from benefits. |
| What if I get a benefit that is not on the list? |
| Any benefits not on the list count in full. Just enter the total of these benefits in the box at the bottom of the list. NOTE: Statutory Sick Pay or Statutory Maternity/Paternity pay go onto the wages page. |
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| Carers Allowance - "Underlying Entitlement" |
| You cannot be paid
Carers Allowance while you are receiving the same amount
or more from the following benefits: » Incapacity Benefit » Contribution Based Jobseeker's Allowance » Widows or bereavement benefits » Retirement Pension » Unemployability supplement » State training allowance This is known as the overlapping benefits rule. If someone satisfies the *conditions for Carer's Allowance but it is not paid because the person is receiving an overlapping benefit, that person will have an “underlying entitlement” to Carer's Allowance. In this case you should tick the box for you and/or your partner at the bottom of the Benefits Income page. This will make sure you have your benefit calculated as though you were actually getting Carers Allowance. You will not start to get the Carers Allowance, but you might get more help with your rent or Council Tax. If in doubt, please seek advice from an advice agency or your local benefits department. * The basic conditions for Carers Allowance are: » You are over 16 years of age. » You spend 35 hours or more a week looking after an adult or child (this could be just for weekends) and » The adult or child gets either Attendance Allowance or Constant Attendance Allowance or the middle or highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance and » You earn less that £84.01 a week after deducting certain expenses. In many situations, where a couple both receive a qualifying benefit for disability they can also both meet the conditions for an "underlying entitlement" to Carers Allowance for the care they provide to each other. This happens a lot with people over 60 - because the Retirement Pension they receive prevents them from actually receiving the Carers Allowance. |