Archive Website of the UK government

Who can get Income Support

It's for people who all the following apply to:

• are between age 16 and the age they can get Pension Credit
• have a low income
• work less than 16 hours a week, depending on the amount of your wage
• aren't in full-time study (but there are some exceptions)
• don't get Jobseeker's Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance
• don't have savings above £16,000
• live in Great Britain

You may get Income Support if you are one of the following:

• a lone parent
• on parental or paternity leave
• a carer
• a refugee learning English who arrived less than a year ago

Young people in relevant education may also get Income Support. Generally this means full-time education up to GCE A-level or Scottish Certificate of Education (Higher level). This might apply if you:

• are a parent
• don't live with a parent or someone acting as a parent
• are at serious risk of abuse or violence
• are a refugee learning English

You can get Income Support as well as some other benefits.

Contact Jobcentre Plus to find out more.

• Contact Jobcentre Plus

Pension Credit

If you or your partner have a low income and have reached the minimum qualifying age, you may be entitled to Pension Credit.

Pension Credit tops up your weekly income to a guaranteed minimum level.

The age from which you may get Pension Credit – the qualifying age – is gradually going up to 66 in line with the increase in the State Pension age for women to 65 and the further increase to 66 for men and women.

• Pension Credit (pensions and retirement planning section)

Families and Income Support

You can claim Income Support for yourself and your partner.

Jobcentre Plus will treat you as a couple if you live with:

• your husband, wife or civil partner
• someone as if they were your husband, wife or civil partner

Jobcentre Plus call this other person your partner.

Income Support is no longer paid for children if you're making a new claim. To get money for children, you must now claim Child Tax Credit instead.

Only one person in a family can claim Income Support at any one time. There are several types of premiums (extra amounts) you may get based on your and your partner's circumstances. Contact Jobcentre Plus to find out more.

• Tax credits

• Contact Jobcentre Plus

Lone parents and Income Support

There are changes to Income Support that may affect your entitlement if you're receiving it because you're a lone parent.

• Changes to Income Support for lone parents

If you have just started claiming Income Support you may not have had an interview with a personal adviser yet. Personal advisers can help you consider your options for returning to work and tell you about the support available. You can ask for an appointment to see an adviser at any time. The support available includes information about:

• Sure Start
• Families Information Service
• other benefits, like tax credits and Healthy Start
• helping lone parents back to work

Contact your Jobcentre Plus office if you would like to talk to an adviser.

• Contact Jobcentre Plus Opens new window

Working and Income Support

You can claim Income Support if you work less than 16 hours a week. When Jobcentre Plus assess your claim for benefit they will take into account some or all of your earnings, depending on the amount.

The amount they ignore will depend on your circumstances.

• Contact Jobcentre Plus

Parental leave and Income Support

If you take unpaid parental leave, or paternity leave (paid or unpaid), you may get Income Support. You must meet all other conditions for getting Income Support, and be entitled to one of the following benefits:

• Working Tax Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Council Tax Benefit
• Child Tax Credit (at a higher rate than the family element)

If you're not entitled to one of the benefits listed above and you take unpaid parental leave, you may still be able get Income Support.

Contact Jobcentre Plus to find out more.

• Parental leave (parents section)

• Contact Jobcentre Plus

Volunteering and Income Support

You can volunteer as long as you meet the conditions for getting Income Support.

If you volunteer, you must tell Jobcentre Plus. They will ask you to fill in a form.

As a volunteer, you may be paid some of your expenses, like travel costs for example. These aren't normally counted as income. You'll need to keep receipts for any payments you get, to prove these are for expenses only.

• Volunteering while on benefits (home and communities section)

How to claim Income Support and how much you can get

Find out how you can claim Income Support and how much you might get.

• Income Support - how to claim and how much you can get

Information leaflet from Jobcentre Plus

Find out more about Income Support using the following link

• Download Income Support - help if you're on a low income (PDF, 2016K) Opens new window

• Help with PDF files

More useful links

• Employed or looking for work benefits information

• Information for carers - including support, rights and taking a break (caring for someone section)

• Benefits for higher education students with low incomes

• Getting help with your mortgage interest payments

• About child maintenance (parents section)

• Benefit Integrity Centres (BIC) - benefit claim reviews

• Simple Payment