Full list of benefits for if you have a health condition or disability worth up to £82,000 – can you claim any?
IF you’re disabled or have a health condition, there are lots of benefits and grants that can help you manage the cost of living and make life easier.
Some are straightforward financial benefits designed to give you an income if you cannot work, while others cover things such as making transport more accessible or reduced bills.
The charity Scope says that there are 16 million people living with disabilities in the UK, and that they are twice as likely to be unemployed than people who do not have a condition.
It has also calculated that everyday life costs an extra £975 a month if you’re disabled, so it’s important to claim everything you’re entitled to.
The good news is, there are lots of charities that can help you navigate the different requirements and provide all the evidence you need to support your claim.
Use the Turn2us calculator to see what you might be eligible for.
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Good people to contact for more help include Citizen’s Advice, Turn2Us, Gingerbread, Disability Rights UK, or Scope.
You can even call the Scope free advice helpline on 0808 800
3333.
At The Sun, we’ve crunched the numbers and found 13 benefits worth up to £82,186.48.
Here are the main ones to investigate.
Statutory Sick Pay – up to £3,269 a year
Statutory sick pay (SSP) is a government benefit you can get paid if you’re too ill to go into work.
Some employers have more generous benefits available, but you
cannot be paid less than this amount.
How much can you get?
You can get £116.75 per week, paid by your employer for up to 28 weeks.
You’ll be paid for all the days you’re off sick that you normally would have worked, except for the first three.
If you have more than one job you may get SSP from each employer.
Tax and National Insurance will be deducted before you receive any money.
If you claimed the benefit for the full 28 weeks in a year, you’d receive £3,269.
Who’s eligible?
To qualify for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) you must:
- be classed as an employee and have done some work for your employer
- earn an average of at least £123 per week
- have been ill for more than 3 days in a row (including non-working days)
- You must give your employer a fit note if you’re off work for more than 7 days in a
- row (including non-working days)
How to claim
To claim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), you need to tell your employer by the deadline they have set.
If they have not set a deadline, you must tell them within seven days.
Disability living allowance
The disability allowance is a benefit for people who have extra care or mobility needs.
However, the government is currently replacing the DLA with other benefits.
Most people who get DLA are being moved across.
If you’re under state pension age, you will be transferred to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) (or Adult Disability Payments if you live in Scotland).
If you’re over state pension age, you might qualify for the attendance allowance.
How much can you get?
There are two components of the DLA, a care element and a Mobility element.
The care component is paid at one of three different weekly rates depending on your needs:
- Highest rate £108.55
- Middle rate £72.65
- Lowest rate £28.70
The mobility component is paid at one of two different weekly rates, depending on how difficult it is for you to get around:
- Higher rate £75.75
- Lower rate £28.70
Who’s eligible?
Because the benefit is being replaced, it is not open to new applicants over the age of 16.
However, you might continue getting DLA if you are in England, Scotland or Wales and you were born on or before 8 April 1948; or you are in Northern Ireland and you were born on or before 20 June 1951.
If you look after a child with a disability, you might still be able to claim the child disability living allowance for them.
Find out more about this on the gov.uk website.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – worth up to £9,583.60 a year
The personal Independence Payment (PIP) is designed to help with living costs if you have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability.
Are you missing out on benefits?
YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to
Charity works out what you could get.
Entitledto's determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit.
MoneySavingExpert.com and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto's data.
You can use to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you'll have left over each month after paying for housing costs.
Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for.
If you live in Scotland, you need to apply for the Adult Disability Payment instead.
How much can you get?
PIP and ADP payments are made up of two parts, a daily living part and a mobility element.
Both parts have a lower and higher weekly rate.
For the daily living part, you’ll get either £72,65 a week or £108.55 a week.
For the mobility part you’ll get either £28.70 or £75.75.
If you qualified for the higher amount of both parts, the benefit is worth £9,583.60 a year.
Who’s eligible?
To qualify you’ll need to show you have difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around because of your condition.
You might get the daily living part of PIP if you need help with:
- preparing food
- eating and drinking
- managing your medicines or treatments
- washing and bathing
- using the toilet
- dressing and undressing
- reading
- managing your money
- socialising and being around other people
- talking, listening and understanding
You might get the mobility part of PIP if you need help with:
- working out a route and following it
- physically moving around
- leaving your home
You can get PIP even if you’re working and have savings, as it is not means-tested.
If you might have less than 12 months to live, you’ll automatically get the daily living part.
Whether you’ll get the mobility part depends on your needs.
How to claim
The quickest way to start a claim is over the phone on 0800 917 2222. Before you start, you’ll need:
- Your contact details
- Your date of birth
- Your National Insurance number, if you have one
- Your bank or building society account number and sort code
- Your doctor or health worker’s name, address and telephone number
- Dates and addresses for any time you’ve spent in a care home or hospital
- Dates for any time you spent abroad for more than 4 weeks at a time, and the countries you visited
You can start a claim by post instead, but the government has warned that it takes longer to get a decision.
Send a letter to this freepost address: Freepost DWP PIP 1. You’ll be sent a form to fill in.
Depending on where you live, you might be able to apply for PIP online.
You’ll need to check your postcode when you start your application.
You may need to have an assessment, where you give a health professional more information.
It might be in person, over the phone, or on a video call.
You might be asked to do some movements to show how you manage activities.
PIP assessments and applications are notoriously complicated, so it worth looking at the Turn2Us guide before you start.
If you’re in Scotland, you can learn more about applying for the Adult Disability Payment here.
Disability premiums – up to £7,532.20 a year for a single person
Disability premiums are extra amounts of money added to your:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Housing Benefit
There are three types of disability premium for adults, and you can get more than one of them at once. They are:
- Disability premium
- Enhanced disability premium
- Severe disability premium
How much can you get?
That depends on which levels you qualify for.
The disability premium is worth £42.50 a week for a single person and £60.60 a week for a couple.
The severe disability premium pays £81.50 a week for a single person and £163.00 a week for a couple if you’re both eligible.
The enhanced disability premium pays £20.85 a week for a single person or £29.75 a week for a couple if at least one of you is eligible.
If a single person gets all three elements, they will receive £144.85 a week, or £7,532.20 a year.
Who's eligible?
You usually need to be eligible for the disability premium to qualify for the severe or enhanced premiums.
If you get income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) you can only get the severe or enhanced premium.
How to claim:
Any disability premium money you get is usually added to your benefit payments automatically, so you shouldn’t have to apply. However, if your circumstances have changed and you are newly disabled, you will need to update your benefits claims.
Contact your local Jobcentre Plus if your benefit has not been paid.
Access to work grant
The Access to Work scheme can help you get or stay in work if you have a physical or mental health condition or disability
The support you get will depend on your needs. You can apply for:
- A grant to help pay for practical support with your work
- Support with managing your mental health at work
- Money to pay for communication support at job interviews
How much can you get?
There is no set amount for an Access to Work grant. How much you get depends on your specific case.
Who's eligible?
To get an access to work grant you need to have a physical or mental health condition or disability that means you need support to do your job or commute to work.
This could include:
- a physical disability
- a learning disability or related condition
- a developmental condition, like autism spectrum disorder
- ADHD or dyslexia
- an illness such as diabetes or epilepsy
- a temporary condition, like a broken leg
- a mental health condition, for example anxiety or depression
You also need to be 16 or over and either in paid work or starting paid work in the next 12 weeks.
Universal Credit – up to £4,994.28 a year
Universal Credit is a monthly payment that helps low-income families with living costs.
You might get an extra amount of Universal Credit if you have a health condition or disability that limits how much work you can do. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) refers to this as your ‘capability to work’.
How much can you get?
If you have limited capability for work and work-related activity, you will get an extra £416.19 a month.
Who's eligible?
You may be able to get Universal Credit if you’re on a low income or need help with your living costs. You could be out of work, working, or unable to work because of your health condition
To claim you must:
- Live in the UK
- Be aged 18 or over (there are some exceptions if you’re 16 to 17)
- Be under State Pension age
- Have £16,000 or less in money, savings and investments
To get the disability element you’ll need to provide details about your health condition, such as medical treatments you’re receiving and if you’re in or expecting to go into hospital.
You do not need to provide these if a medical professional has said you might have 12 months or less to live.
How to claim:
If you already claim Universal Credit, you must report any change of circumstances straight away, including changes to your health condition or a new health condition
You can do this in your Universal Credit account.
New-style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) – up to £7,186.40 a year
If you are ill, have a health condition or disability that stops you from working or limits how much you can work you might be able to get New Style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
It’s a fortnightly payment, and you can claim it on its own or alongside Universal Credit.
How much can you get?
If you’re entitled to ESA, you’ll be placed in one of two groups:
- a work-related activity group (you cannot work now, but can prepare to work in the future, for example by writing a CV)
- a support group (you cannot work now, and you’re not expected to prepare for work in the future)
You’ll get up to £90.50 a week if you’re in the work-related activity group and up to £138.20 a week if you’re in the support group.
This works out as £5,706 or £7,186.40 a year respectively. If you also get Universal Credit, you’re UC credit award will be reduced by the amount you get in new-style ESA. However, it’s still worth making an application, because ESA is not impacted by things like how much savings you have.
Who's eligible?
To qualify, you’ll usually need to have paid enough National Insurance contributions in the two full tax years before your claim.
This can be class one or class two NI contributions, and you can have got them through employment or self–employment. You might also qualify if you’ve had national insurance credits, for instance if you claim child benefit or are a carer.
If you’re not sure how much National Insurance you’ve paid, you can check your National Insurance record online.
You cannot get New Style ESA if you’re getting Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from an employer. However, you can put in an application up to three months before your SSP ends. Doing this early means you’re less likely to have a gap between SSP ending and new-style ESA starting.
You’ll need:
- Your National Insurance number
- Your bank or building society account number and sort code
- Your doctor’s name, address and telephone number
- A fit note if you’ve not been able to work for more than 7 days in a row because of a disability or health condition
- Details of your income if you’re working
- The date your Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) ends if you’re claiming it
You must fill in the ‘Capability for work questionnaire’ and send it to the Health Assessment Advisory Service. If you’ve already done this for Universal Credit, you shouldn’t need to fill it in again.
Council tax support – save up to £2,171
If you’re disabled, you may be able to apply for a council tax discount or exemption. How much you’ll save depends on what kind of disability you have.
If you want to make a postal application, you’ll need to print and submit the Attendance . If you can’t access a printer, you can contact the helpline to request a claim form on 0800 731 0122.
Disabled Facilities Grant – up to £30,000
You could get a grant from your council if you’re disabled and need to make changes to your home. For instance, if you need to widen doors, install ramps or grab rails, add a level access shower, install a stairlift, or build a downstairs bedroom.
How much can you get?
Exemption from vehicle tax – save £190 a year
You might not have to pay vehicle tax if you’re a disabled driver.
How much can you get?
You’ll automatically get a refund for any full months of vehicle tax that you have leftover when you apply for exemption. The refund will be sent to the address the DVLA have on their records.
For a petrol or diesel car, the cost of vehicle tax from your second payment onwards is £190a year if you pay in a lump sum.
Who's eligible?
You can apply for the exemption if you get any of the following benefits:
- Higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Enhanced rate mobility component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Enhanced rate mobility component of Adult Disability Payment (ADP)
- Higher rate mobility component of Child Disability Payment
- War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
You can get a 50% reduction in vehicle tax if you get the:
- PIP standard rate mobility component
- ADP standard rate mobility component
How to claim:
You claim the exemption when you apply for vehicle tax.
If you’re claiming for a vehicle for the first time, you have to claim at a Post Office. You must do this every time you change your vehicle.
Disabled persons railcard – save £113 a year on average
A disabled person’s railcard will get you a third off rail travel for you and an adult companion. It costs £20 for one year or £54 for three years.
How much can you get?
The railcard company say people with a Disabled Persons Railcard save on average £113 per year. This is based on savings made by Railcard holders between April 2023 and March 2024, excluding the price of the Railcard.
Who's eligible?
To get the railcard you need to meet one of the following criteria:
- Receive Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Adult Disability Payment (ADP)
- Receive Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Child Disability Payment (CDP) at either the higher or lower rate for the mobility component, or the higher or middle rate for the care component
- Have a visual impairment
- Have a hearing impairment
- Have epilepsy
- Receive Attendance Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance or Pension Age Disability Payment (PADP)
- Receive War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement
- Receive War or Service Disablement Pension for 80% or more disability
- Buy or lease a vehicle through the Motability scheme