State Benefits
What are state benefits?
Benefits are financial help that's paid clearly by the state though various departments, ministries, and statutory authorities. They can be paid to individuals or to households and they're usually paid because of particular circumstances, whether it's because someone is on a low income or they've had a recent change in circumstance such as a bereavement, or they've been injured at work, or lost their job, or it may be because they're in particular circumstances, such as they may have a disability, or they may be a carer, or have recently had a baby. As many different circumstances as there are, there are probably that many different benefits as well, which is what makes it so complicated for people to understand.
Where do I claim benefits?
Where you claim benefits from now is not so straight forward. The overall responsibility lies within what is now known as Department for Work and Pensions, which people may previously remember as being the DSS or even the DHSS. If you are of working age, which for women is still under sixty, for men it's under sixty-five, then those benefits you claim through Job Centre Plus. For tax credits, you have to claim those from Her Majesty's Revenues and Customs, which until recently was known as the Internal Revenue, and for council tax benefits, you claim those through your local district, city or unitary council, the council that bills you for council tax.
How are benefits paid?
Benefits are paid now predominately into bank accounts or building societies or post office accounts. Only if someone was actually unable to administer one of those accounts, would the authority paying the benefits possibly agree to pay by check which could then be cashed at a post office, but that would be rare.
How often will I receive benefits?
The frequency, when benefits are paid, actually depends on the individual benefit itself. Some are paid monthly, some are paid fortnightly, and even in some circumstances they may be paid daily. So it does depend on what benefit you're talking about. It depends totally on the frequency.
What is housing benefit and how do I claim?
Housing benefit is for people who rent and it's a means-tested benefit, which means that your income and your capital, or savings, matter so they can affect the amount of benefit that you are entitled to. The other key thing that affects the amount of housing benefit that you may be able to claim is what is called your liable rent. So that the local authority, your local borough or district city or city council, they may actually restrict the amount of rent that they consider counts towards the benefits. So, if they think that you are paying an exceptionally high rent or if you are renting somewhere that is accommodation in excess of your needs, they could restrict your rent. The other main group that has their rent restricted is the under 25's who have their housing benefit restricted to a single room. So it's your local borough council that you need to fill out the claim form from.
What is income support and how do I claim?
Income support is paid through Job Center Plus, so the simplest way is to ring one of their contact centers.
What is carer's allowance and how do I claim?
If you are doing some paid work you must keep your net earnings below the earnings threshold the department for work and pensions set each forth each quarter. So it is possible to be entitled to carer's allowance and do some part time work as long as I said you keep your earnings below that threshold. Also most importantly the person that you care for whether they live with you or not, they must be in receipt of a benefit called disability living allowance and it has to be the care component of liability living allowance that they are in receipt of and that care component must be paid at either the middle rate or the high rate. In addition to that, that person you care for if they themselves are claiming income from support, you may want to seek advice before you claim carer's allowance as a carer.
What is council tax benefit and how do I claim?
Council tax benefit can be claimed by the person within the household who is liable to pay the council tax on that home. You claim from your local borough, district, city, unit, or authority; i.e. the council that sends you the council tax bill. You might first want to check whether or not you're entitled to any council tax discounts, which are different to council tax benefits. Council tax discounts are not means tested so it doesn't matter what other income or savings household has. So for instance, if you're the only adult that counts living in that house you're probably entitled to a 25% discount on your council tax. So once those discounts have been applied, on top of that, you may then be entitled to council tax benefit, which is means tested. So you need to get a form from the borough council.
What is jobseekers allowance and how do I claim?
Jobseekers allowance is payable in certain circumstances to people who are not working full-time, but are capable of work and available for work. So it's for those groups of people who are not claiming income support. There are two types of jobseekers allowance. There is the contributory jobseekers allowance which people who have met the national insurance requirements can claim, and then there is means tested jobseekers allowance which you claim if you are below the income or the savings thresholds. And in some circumstances, it is actually possible to claim both at the same time. It depends on what other circumstances apply to the household. And as it's a working age benefit, you would contact Jobcentre Plus to claim that.
What is incapacity benefit and how do I claim?
Incapacity benefit is payable to people who are currently not able to work. There are three main groups of people who may be able to claim: people who are job seekers who have become unwell before they have found work, people who are self employed who have become unwell and cannot do the job they normally do, and people who are employed but have reached the end of their statutory sick pay entitlements. You need to get a medical certificate from your GP or hospital stating that you are incapable of work, and you then claim the benefit from Job Center Plus fairly soon after. You have put in the claim, and it is likely that you will then be invited to a medical port a personal capability assessment where the department for work and pensions will actually assess your incapacity for work and weather you are entitled to continue to be paid that benefit.
What are tax credits and how do I claim them?
Tax credits are still fairly new. There are two tax credits: child tax credit and working tax credit. They are both paid. There is actually only one claim form, and they are both paid by her majesty's revenues and customs. Child tax credit is paid whether you are in work or not, but it is means tested, so it does depend on what other income, and in certain circumstances, savings that the household has coming in. It also depends on how many children you are claiming for, and whether you've got a new baby or not. Most families are entitled to some amount of child tax credit, so it's worth checking out if you are entitled or not. With working tax credit, as it states, you must be doing some kind of work. For working families, under certain circumstances, disabled workers and some workers who are returning to work after a period of unemployment, and they're 50 or over, they have to be in work for 16 hours or more to claim working tax credit. The other group of people who are entitled to working tax credit are people on low income who are over 25, and they must be in work for 30 hours of more. Therefore, if you are under 25 and on a low income, I'm afraid you'll probably have no entitlement. One of the key things to remember about tax credits, and it's had a lot of media coverage, is the level of overpayments that can arise. This has perhaps put some people off claiming. To reduce the risk of being overpaid tax credits, what you have to remember to do is notify the tax credits, her majesty's revenues and customs, if you have any relevant changes of circumstance. Thus, if your hours of work change, your salary changes, if one of your children leaves school, or if your childcare costs change, anything that you think might have impact on the amount of benefit that you're being paid, tell them. That should definitely keep the risk down.
What is a winter fuel payment and how do I claim one?
Winter fuel payment should, on the whole, be paid automatically once you reach 60. So if it is your first year when you would expect a payment and you haven't received one, obviously they're paid over the winter months, a one off payment, you should seek advice. There is a winter fuel payments helpline. On the whole, they are a one off payment which is either £200 or £300 if you're over 80, but in some circumstances you could be paid less than that, particularly if you share your house with another adult who is also entitled to a payment.