LRD guides and handbook April 2017

State benefits and tax credits 2017

Chapter 4

Incapacity Benefit


[ch 4: pages 43-44]

The 2017-18 rates for those people still able to claim Incapacity Beneift are shown in the table below.


Incapacity Benefit 2017-18 weekly rates*

l
Under State Pension Age
first 28 weeks (lower short-term rate) £80.25
weeks 29-52 (higher short-term rate) £95.00
week 53+ (long-term rate) £106.40
Over State Pension Age
first 28 weeks £102.10
weeks 29-52 £106.40
Age addition
incapacity began before age 35 £11.25
incapacity began between 35 and 44 £6.25
Invalidity Allowance
Higher rate £11.25
Middle rate £6.25
Lower rate £6.25
Adult dependency increase
first 52 weeks £48.15
first 52 weeks (if beneficiary is over state pension age) £59.50
week 53+ £61.80

* Only available for those who were receiving IB before January 2011

If you are already claiming Incapacity Benefit, you will be reassessed to decide if you are either capable for work or eligible for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), although people close to the State Pension Age (see page 72) will not be reassessed. 


If you are going to be reassessed, Jobcentre Plus will send you a questionnaire asking how your illness or disability affects your ability to do everyday tasks and ask you to complete it by the deadline. Jobcentre Plus will then tell you if you need to attend a reassessment meeting which you must go to. If the reassessment shows that you are capable of working, your Incapacity Benefit will stop, but you may be able to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance instead (see page 33). If the reassessment shows you cannot work, you will transfer automatically onto ESA.