IS20 - A guide to Income Support

Who you can claim for

Claiming for your family

The group of people included in a claim for Income Support are defined as your family. In general this could include yourself, your husband or wife or Civil Partner or someone you live with as husband or wife or Civil Partner and any dependent children or young people under the age of 19. Only one person in your family can be the claimant at any one time. [Legislation (52)]

On or after 06/04/04 you cannot claim for dependent children or young people.  You must include them on the claim form but you won't be paid any allowances or premiums for them.  If there are children or young people in the family then you must make a claim for Child Tax Credit in order to receive payments for your children.

Claiming as a couple

You will be treated as a couple by the Department for Work and Pensions if you live with your husband or wife or Civil Partner or if you live with someone as husband and wife or Civil Partners. The other person is termed your partner. The guidelines for deciding whether 2 unmarried people are treated as a couple are explained in the sub section on Living together as husband and wife/Civil Partners. In some cases you will be treated as a couple if you are temporarily separated from your partner (see below). [Legislation (53)]

If you are treated as a couple, the income and capital of both of you will be added together for the purposes of Income Support. Your eligibility for Income Support will therefore depend on the resources held by the 2 of you. For more information go to Income and Capital.

Who can claim
Either you or your partner can be the claimant for Income Support. If you cannot decide which of you will be the claimant, the Department for Work and Pensions will decide for you. Neither of you can claim if either you or your partner are in remunerative work. Go to remunerative work for a definition. This remunerative work exclusion disqualifies the whole family.

There may be advantages if one of you claims rather than the other. For example, if one of you cannot work because of illness, you and your partner may get more Income Support from the 365th day if the person who is ill claims. Ask your Jobcentre Plus office or social security office for advice.

Work Focused Interviews for Partners

At a future date your partner may be required to take part in a Work Focused Interview with a Personal Adviser.

If they are required to take part in a Work Focused Interview, your partner will be contacted once you have been claiming benefit for 26 weeks or more.

The Work Focused Interview with a Personal Adviser
A Personal Adviser will discuss a range of topics with your partner which may include:

• your partner’s current or future job prospects
• training to help bring your partner’s work skills up to date
• help and advice if your partner is considering moving into work, or increasing the number of hours that they already work
• joining the New Deal for Partners which is a voluntary programme designed to help them find work or learn new skills.

Any of the options discussed by your partner with the Personal Adviser at the Work Focused Interview are voluntary.

Your benefit may be reduced if, without good reason, your partner does not take part in their Work Focused Interview.

If your partner takes part in a Work Focused Interview at a later date, your benefit will be fully reinstated with effect from that date.

Temporary separation of a couple
You and your partner will still be treated as a couple if either of you is temporarily living away from home – for example, if one of you is caring for a sick relative, or has gone on holiday, or is studying away from home. If the separation becomes permanent, both of you can claim Income Support separately. You will also be treated separately in the following situations: [Legislation (54)]

• if the absence is likely to last longer than 52 weeks or has already lasted longer than that time
• or if one or both of you go into prison or secure hospital
• or if one of you goes permanently into a care home
• or the claimant goes abroad and certain conditions are not satisfied.

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