Disability premiums

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1. Overview

Disability premiums are extra amounts of money added to your:

  • Income Support
  • income-based Jobseeker鈥檚 Allowance (JSA)
  • income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Housing Benefit

Any money you get is added to your benefit payments automatically so you usually do not have to apply for a disability premium.

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

There are 3 types of disability premium for adults:

  • disability premium
  • enhanced disability premium
  • severe disability premium

You can get more than one premium at a time.

2. What you'll get

You can get the disability premium on its own. You might get the severe or enhanced disability premium as well if you鈥檙e eligible for them.

If you get income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) you cannot get the disability premium, but you may still qualify for the severe and enhanced premiums.

Disability premium

You鈥檒l get:聽

  • 拢42.50 a week for a single person
  • 拢60.60 a week for a couple

Severe disability premium

You鈥檒l get:

  • 拢81.50 a week for a single person
  • 拢163.00 a week for a couple if you鈥檙e both eligible

Some couples will be eligible for the lower amount of 拢81.50 a week instead.

Enhanced disability premium

You鈥檒l get:

  • 拢20.85 a week for a single person
  • 拢29.75 a week for a couple if at least one of you is eligible

How you鈥檙e paid

All benefits, pensions and allowances are paid into an account such as your bank account.

There is a limit on the total amount of benefit that most people aged 16 to under State Pension age can get. This is called a benefit cap.

3. Eligibility

Disability premium payments can be added to your:

  • Income Support
  • income-based Jobseeker鈥檚 Allowance (JSA)
  • income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • housing benefit

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.

Use a benefits calculator to check your eligibility.

Disability premium

You or your partner must be under pension credit age and either registered blind or getting:

  • Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
  • Adult Disability Payment (ADP)
  • Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP)
  • Working Tax Credit with a disability element
  • Attendance Allowance
  • Constant Attendance Allowance
  • War Pensioners Mobility Supplement
  • Severe Disablement Allowance
  • Incapacity Benefit

If you do not qualify, you may still get the premium if you鈥檝e been unable to work for at least a year.

Severe disability premium

You must get the disability premium or income-related ESA, and one of the following qualifying benefits:

  • PIP daily living component
  • AFIP
  • DLA care component at the middle or highest rate
  • Adult Disability Payment - daily living component at the standard or enhanced rate
  • Attendance Allowance (or Constant Attendance Allowance paid with Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or War Pension)

You usually cannot have anyone aged 18 or over living with you, unless they鈥檙e in one of these situations:

  • they get a qualifying benefit
  • they鈥檙e registered blind
  • they鈥檙e a boarder or subtenant (but not a close relative)
  • they make separate payments to the landlord

You cannot get the severe disability premium if someone is getting one of the following for looking after you:

  • Carer鈥檚 Allowance
  • the carers element of Universal Credit
  • Carer Support Payment

If you鈥檙e in a couple

You鈥檒l get the higher amount of severe disability premium if both you and your partner are eligible.

You can get the lower amount if:

  • someone gets Carer鈥檚 Allowance, the carers element of Universal Credit or Carer Support Payment for looking after only one of you
  • only one of you meets the eligibility criteria and the other is registered blind

Enhanced disability premium

To get this, you must be under pension credit age.

You must get the disability premium or income-related ESA, and one of the following:

  • PIP daily living component at the higher (鈥榚nhanced鈥�) rate
  • AFIP
  • DLA care component at the highest rate
  • Adult Disability Payment - daily living component at the enhanced rate

You鈥檒l also get this if you鈥檙e in the support group for income-related ESA.

4. How to claim

You do not have to claim disability premium. If you鈥檙e eligible, it鈥檚 automatically added to your:

  • Income Support
  • Jobseeker鈥檚 Allowance (JSA)
  • Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • housing benefit

Contact your local Jobcentre Plus if it has not been paid.

If you disagree with a decision

You can challenge a decision about your claim. This is called asking for mandatory reconsideration.