Who can get it?

Income Support is for people who:

• are between age 16 and the age they can get Pension Credit; and

• have a low income; and

• work less than 16 hours a week (or have a partner working less than 24 hours a week); and

• are not in full-time study (but there are some exceptions); and

• do not get Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance; and

• do not have savings above £16,000; and

• live in Great Britain.

If you are too sick or ill to work, and are not entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), you should claim income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) instead of Income Support. The government phased out Income Support for sickness and disability and claimants were reassessed to see if they instead qualified for ESA (see Chapter 3).

You may be able to get Income Support if you are working less than 16 hours a week and your income still falls below a certain amount. There are also some jobs you can do where you’re allowed to work for more than 16 hours, for example if you are working at home as a childminder.

You can claim Income Support for yourself and a partner who lives with you. Your partner must work less than 24 hours a week. If they work for 24 hours or more, you will not be able to get Income Support.

If you have savings of over £16,000 you will not be able to get Income Support.