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How to claim Income Support

You can claim Income Support by telephone, textphone or by downloading a claim form.

Claiming by telephone or textphone

If you claim by telephone or textphone an adviser at the contact centre will go though the application with you and fill in the form. You will not have to fill in any forms yourself.

Lines are open Monday to Friday, from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm.

Telephone: 0800 055 6688

Textphone: 0800 023 4888

You can also make your claim in Welsh.

Telephone: 0800 012 1888

During the call Jobcentre Plus will ask you to provide information including:

• your National Insurance number
• your bank account details
• details about your rent or mortgage
• details of your past or present employer
• details of other income and savings

Call charges

Calls to 0800 numbers are free from BT landlines and some mobile phone operators, but you may have to pay if you:

• use another phone company
• use a mobile phone (except O2, Orange, Vodafone, T-Mobile, Virgin Media and Tesco Mobile)
• are calling from abroad
  

Calls from mobile phones can cost up to 40p a minute, so check the cost of the calls with your service provider.

Downloading a claim form

You can download a claim form (A1) to fill in and complete on screen.

• Download 'Income Support claim form you can complete on screen A1' (PDF, 720K) Opens new window

Alternatively you can download a claim form (A1) that you can print out and complete with a pen.

• Download 'Income Support claim form you can print and complete with a pen A1' (PDF, 299K) Opens new window

• Help with PDF files

How much you can get

The amount of Income Support you can get is made up of three different parts:

• personal allowances
• premiums
• payments to cover certain housing costs

The amount of the personal allowances are shown in the table below:

For Income Support, the amount may be less after your household income, pension and any savings of £6,000 or more are taken into account. To get a better idea of how much Income Support you may get, use the online benefits adviser.

• Benefits adviser Opens new window

How Income Support is paid

All benefits, pensions and allowances are paid into an account. This is the safest, most convenient and efficient method of payment.

• How benefits and pensions are paid

Where you live

You can still claim Income Support if you're:

• sleeping rough
• living in a hostel
• living in a care home

Young people who are being looked after by a local authority can't get Income Support.

When you claim Income Support you must be in Great Britain and normally live here. If you have moved here to make a settled home, that counts as living here.

You must not be under immigration control.

There are some exceptions to these rules. Contact Jobcentre Plus to find out more.

• Contact Jobcentre Plus

Income Support - who can qualify

Find out more about the rules for claiming Income Support and if you qualify.

• Income Support

Changes in your life

Tell Jobcentre Plus straight away if something changes that may affect your Income Support.

For example, tell Jobcentre Plus if you or your partner do any of the following:

• move home, (or other people move into or leave your home)
• change the account Jobcentre Plus pay benefits into
• change your income – including maintenance and part-time earnings
• work more or fewer hours
• become ill
• have to stay in hospital
• get more or less of other benefits

If you're not sure whether to tell Jobcentre Plus about a change, do it anyway. If you don't, you could lose out on money you should get. Or you could be paid too much, and have to repay it.

• Contact Jobcentre Plus

If you think Jobcentre Plus's decision is wrong

You can ask Jobcentre Plus to look at their decision again:

• if your claim is turned down
• you think your benefit has been worked out wrongly

• How to appeal against a benefits decision

More useful links

• Employed or looking for work

• Getting help with your mortgage interest payments

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

• Guide to financial support for disabled people (disabled people section)

• Health costs - money for medical treatment

Useful contacts

• Money, tax and benefits contacts