Who can get it?

You will get Income Support if you are not in full-time employment and fall into a category of people who do not have to look for work. This includes:

• single parents if their children are aged under five years (seven in Northern Ireland);

• people getting Carer’s Allowance;

• people looking after a partner or a child under 20 who is temporarily ill; and

• people getting Statutory Sick Pay.

If you are too sick or ill to work, and are not entitled to Statutory Sick Pay, you should claim income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) instead of Income Support.

If you are already getting Income Support because of sickness or disability, you will carry on getting it for now but you will be reassessed at some point to see if you qualify for ESA.

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