Many tenants are not aware there are many non-means tested benefits available that do not take into savings, income, and in some cases National Insurance contributions.
For dependent children with long-term health issues there are disability benefits available that many parents are unaware of, which in many cases can have a beneficial financial impact to help their child with the extra costs of their disability.
Many families who work, (either full or part time) do not realise they can apply for benefits for their child, mistakenly believing that work or savings will exclude them from claiming.
What benefits can you claim that are not means-tested?
- Attendance Allowance
- Bereavement Support Payment
- Carer's Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance
- New style Employment and Support Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment
- State Pension
Personal Independence Payments
You might be able to get Personal Independence Payment (PIP) if you need extra help because of an illness, disability, or mental health condition. You can make a PIP claim whether you get help from anyone.
You don’t need to have worked or paid National Insurance to qualify for PIP, and it doesn’t matter what your income is, if you have any savings or you’re working.
Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
You can get DLA if your child:
- needs more care, attention, or supervision than a child of the same age who doesn’t have a disability or health condition, or
- has difficulty walking or getting around outdoors in unfamiliar places.
For Universal Credit claimants this can lead to an increased applicable amount if your child receives Disability Living Allowance.
DLA isn't means tested, so it doesn't matter how much you earn or how much savings you have.
Attendance Allowance
You need to have reached State Pension age to claim Attendance Allowance. You also need to have a disability or illness that makes it hard for you to look after yourself, whether you receive any help or not.
Lots of people are entitled to Attendance Allowance but don't know enough about it to claim. It won't affect your state pension and you can claim it if you're still working and earning money.
Attendance Allowance isn't means tested so it doesn't matter what other money you get. It doesn't matter how much you have in savings either - there's no limit.
Universal Credit
Universal Credit has replaced these benefits for most people:
- Housing Benefit
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
- Child Tax Credit
- Working Tax Credit
- Income Support
You might be able to get Universal Credit if you’re not working or you’re on a low income. There are Universal Credit calculators online.
Universal Credit works differently from the old benefits - so it's important to know the differences.
The biggest differences are:
- you can get Universal Credit if you're unemployed but also if you're working.
- you'll usually get a single payment each month, rather than weekly or fortnightly.
- instead of getting a separate housing benefit, your rent will usually be paid directly to you as part of your monthly Universal Credit payment.
There are also two disabled child additions:
- Disabled child addition of £146.31 per month for each child or qualifying young person that is in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP), or
- Severely disabled child addition of £456.89 per month if your child or qualifying young person gets the highest rate of the care component of DLA, the enhanced rate for daily living of PIP or is registered blind.
It is important to establish the difference between means-tested benefits and non-means tested benefits. Many tenants who work and have family members, (whether that be children or older family members) are unaware that their income or savings are not taken into account for many benefits. In many cases this can have a transformational effect on their finances and help them to maintain their independence within their family unit.