Severe Disability Premium and Universal Credit

Disability premiums are extra amounts of money added to legacy benefits Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Housing Benefit. The Severe Disability Premium (SDP) is paid to people who live alone and have substantial care needs. It is not available under UC.

Those in receipt of SDP as part of an ESA payment will not be moved onto UC until they qualify for transitional protection (see pages 20-21) and are contacted by the DWP about moving under the managed migration process (see page 6).

Anyone who has moved onto UC and lost the SDP will continue to claim UC but they are expected to qualify for a lump sum payment to compensate them for any money lost since the removal of the SDP. They will also receive an ongoing monthly transitional protection payment as part of their UC award. An announcement on how and when this will happen is expected before July 2019.