The benefits that you will be able to get will depend upon your individual circumstances. Listed below are some of the main benefits that you may be able to get.
Housing and Council Tax Benefit
Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)
You may be able to get Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) if you are:
aged 18 or over but below State Pension age;
unemployed;
willing and able to take up work immediately; and
actively seeking work.
There are some reductions in the number of hours you are expected to work if you are a carer or are limited due to your health. You have to sign on and have a Jobseekers Agreement.
There are two types of Jobseekers Allowance, contribution-based and income-based.
Contribution-based Jobseekers Allowance
You may be entitled to claim contribution-based Jobseeker's Allowance if you have paid or been credited with enough National Insurance contributions (NICs) in the right years. Contribution-based JSA is not means tested but it is only payable for 6 months. If you get a pension payment of over £50 per week, you will receive your contribution-based JSA less this amount.
Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
You may be entitled to claim income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, if you are on a low income and have not paid enough National Insurance Contributions (NICs).
This benefit is means tested and will be affected by your savings and most income that you have coming in.
You will not be able to get Income-based JSA if you:
have savings over £16,000; and
work 16 hours per week or more.
Income-based JSA can help with mortgage payments.
For more information on Jobseekers Allowance, visit the Directgov website available to download from this page under external links.
Income Support
You may be able to claim Income Support if you are under the Pension Credit qualifying age and one of the following:
a single parent;
incapable of work because of pregnancy; or
pregnant and within 11 weeks of your due date (you can claim for this reason for up to 15 weeks after your baby is born.
In some cases you may be able to claim if you are on paternity or parental leave.
You will not be able to claim Income Support if you:
work 16 hours or more a week and/or your partner works 24 hours or more a week; or
have savings over £16,000.
Income Support is a means tested benefit and will be affected by most income that you or your partner have coming in. It can help with mortgage payments.
For more information on Income Support, visit the Directgov website available to download from this page under external links.
Tax Credits
Tax credits are payments from the government. If you're responsible for at least one child or young person, you may qualify for Child Tax Credit. If you work, but your on a low income, you may qualify for Working Tax Credit. You can often get both types of tax credits.
You may be entitled to Working Tax Credit if you work at least 16 hours a week and you are:
aged 16 or over and responsible for at least one child; or
aged 16 or over and disabled; or
aged 25 or over and usually work at least 30 hours a week
There are special rules if you're aged 50 or over and work at least 16 hours a week.
From April 2011, people aged 60 and over who work 16 hours a week will qualify for Working Tax Credit.
Child Tax Credit can be claimed if you have at least one dependant child:
up to age 16; or
up to age 20 and still in full time education or unwaged training of at least 12 hours per week and the course being studied is no higher than A levels.
Tax Credits are means tested and paid by HM Revenues and Customs but the means test is more generous than for most other benefits. This means you can still receive the basic amount even if you are on quite a high level of income.
For more information on Tax Credits, visit the HM Revenues and Customs website available to download from this page under external links.
Housing and Council Tax Benefit
Housing Benefit and Council Tax benefit are payments can help you pay your rent and Council Tax if you're on a low income.
You may be entitled to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit if you are:
responsible for rent and/or Council Tax; and
on a low income with savings and capital of less than £16,000.
These are both means tested benefits and are claimed from the Local Authority.
Housing and Council Tax Benefit will not cover your mortgage but you may be able to get help with this if you are on Pension Credit, Income Support, Income Based Jobseekers Allowance or Income Related Employment and Support Allowance.
If you have savings over £16,000 and are under the qualifying age for Pension Credit, you will not be able to claim either of these benefits. There are special rules if you are over the Pension Credit qualifying age. For more information about this please see our ‘Benefits – Age 60 plus’ webpage under 'related pages’.
You can claim these benefits whether you are working or not. To make a claim you will need to show us proof of your income and the income of any other adults living in your home. This includes grown up children unless they are higher education students.
You will have one month to provide us with this information so we can decide on your entitlement.
In some cases you may be able to get your benefit backdated but you will have to show good reasons for this such as ill health or bereavement.
If you're a private tenant, you may find that the amount of rent that we can take into account for your Housing Benefit is less than what your rent is. The rent amount may be restricted, this is called Local Housing Allowance (LHA) and it applies to private tenants making a new claim or breaking their existing claim after 7 April 2008. LHA allows a maximum rent depending upon where you live and the size of your home. To check the current maximum rent rates, please see our ‘Local housing allowance rates’ page under ‘related pages’.
From April 2011, these allowances have been restricted further so get advice before signing a tenancy agreement.
For more information on Housing and Council Tax Benefit's, visit the Directgov website available from this page under external links.
Health Benefits
Most National Health Service (NHS) treatment is free but there can be charges for some things such as prescription costs, dental fees, optician fees, travel expenses and surgical aids.
You may be able to get help with these NHS health costs if you:
are on a low income; and
do not have savings of over £16,000.
You may also qualify for other reasons such as your age, certain named health conditions, pregnancy or if you are responsible for a child under 12 months of age.
The benefits and tax credits that you may be able to apply for will depend upon your circumstances.
If you're not sure about anything, you should always seek advice. Call us on our public helpline number - 020 8583 5016.