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The Benefit Cap
The benefit cap is a limit on the total amount of benefit that most people of working age can get.
The amount your household gets from some benefits might go down to make sure you do not get more than the cap limit. The benefit cap affects:
- Bereavement Allowance
- Child Benefit Child Tax Credit
- Employment and Support Allowance
- Housing Benefit Incapacity
- Benefit Income Support Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Maternity Allowance
- Severe Disablement Allowance
- Widowed Parent’s Allowance (or Widowed Mother’s Allowance or Widow’s Pension if you started getting it before 9 April 2001)
- Universal Credit
How will the benefit cap affect you?
If the cap applies to you, this means that if your income from certain benefits is more than the cap, your benefit will be cut. The amount of money you get above the benefit cap will be taken from your Housing Benefit or your Universal Credit.
This will only affect you if you're getting Housing Benefit or Universal Credit, no deductions will be made from your other benefits due to the cap.
How much is the cap?
- £384.62 per week (£20,000 a year) if you’re in a couple, whether your children live with you or not
- £384.62 per week (£20,000 a year) if you’re single and your children live with you
- £257.69 per week (£13,400 a year) if you’re single &you do not have children/your children do not live with you
Is anyone exempt from the benefit cap?
You’re not
affected by the cap if you or your partner: ·
get Working Tax Credit ·
are
over Pension Credit age ·
get
Universal Credit because of a disability or health condition that stops you
from working (this is called ‘limited capability for work and work-related
activity’) ·
get
Universal Credit because you care for someone with a disability ·
get
Universal Credit and you and your partner earn more than £542 a month combined,
after tax and National Insurance contributions You’re also not affected by the cap
if you, your partner or any children under 18 living with you gets: ·
Armed
Forces Compensation Scheme ·
Armed
Forces Independence Payment ·
Attendance
Allowance ·
Carer’s Allowance ·
Disability
Living Allowance (DLA) ·
Employment
and Support Allowance (if you get the support component) ·
Guardian’s
Allowance ·
Industrial
Injuries Benefits (and equivalent payments as part of a War Disablement Pension
or the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme) ·
Personal
Independence Payment (PIP) ·
War
pensions ·
War
Widow’s or War Widower’s Pension
