Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI)
What you'll get
You鈥檒l get help paying the interest on your mortgage or loan.
Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) usually helps pay the interest on up to 拢200,000 of your loan or mortgage. However, you can only get up to 拢100,000 if either:
- you鈥檙e getting Pension Credit
- you started claiming another qualifying benefit before January 2009 and you were below State Pension age at that time
If you鈥檙e already getting SMI and move to Pension Credit within 12 weeks of stopping your other benefits, you鈥檒l still get help with interest on up to 拢200,000.
The interest rate used to calculate the amount of SMI you鈥檒l get is currently 3.66%.
Example
You have 拢250,000 of your mortgage left to pay and you鈥檙e eligible for SMI for up to 拢200,000.
At the current SMI interest rate, you鈥檒l get a loan of 3.66% of 拢200,000 across a year. This is 拢7,320 a year or 拢610 a month.
What you鈥檒l pay back
SMI is paid as a loan. You鈥檒l need to repay the money you get with interest when you sell or transfer ownership of your home (unless you鈥檙e moving the loan to another property).
If you want to pay the loan back more quickly, you can also make voluntary repayments.
Find out more about how you repay your SMI loan.
How SMI is paid
SMI is normally paid direct to your lender.
You can ask to stop getting SMI at any time by .
When payments can start depends on what benefit you鈥檙e claiming.
If you get Pension Credit
Payments can start from the date you start getting Pension Credit.
If you get Universal Credit
Payments can start if you鈥檝e got Universal Credit for 3 months in a row.
If you move to Universal Credit within a month of another benefit ending, payments can start when you鈥檝e spent 3 months in total getting that previous benefit and Universal Credit.
If you get Income Support, income-based JSA or income-based ESA
Payments can start when you鈥檝e claimed for 39 weeks in a row.