Linked benefits and other financial help

• Social security benefits from local authorities
  • Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit
  • Help for people able to get Pension Credit
  • Help for people not able to get Pension Credit
• The Social Fund
  • Cold Weather Payments
  • Funeral Payments
  • Community Care Grants
  • Budgeting Loans and Crisis Loans
  • Repayment terms
  • Sure Start Maternity Grants
  • Winter Fuel Payments
• Interim payments
  • What happens after payment

This section looks at other social security benefits, grants and loans your customer may be able to apply for, as well as what other help they may be able to get with everyday and special costs.

There are leaflets available which give more detail about each of these benefits – contact details for leaflets.

Social security benefits from local authorities

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit

Housing Benefit

(which for some people is also known as Local Housing Allowance (LHA)) is a social security benefit awarded by local authorities. It is to help people on low incomes pay some or all of their rent.

If your customer is getting Pension Credit, they may be able to get Housing Benefit. To get Housing Benefit, they or their partner must be responsible for the rent of the home they live in or must be paying that cost as if they were responsible. Any non-dependants living in the home will be expected to contribute, so they may affect the benefit your customer gets.

Council Tax Benefit

is another social security benefit awarded by the local authority. It is to help people on low incomes who are liable to pay Council Tax, pay some or all of it.

Your customer does not have to be getting Pension Credit to get Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit. In fact, they may get some help even if their income is too high to get Pension Credit – unless they have more than £16,000 capital. The amount of capital is worked out in the same way as it is for Pension Credit.

If your customer is not already getting Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit or both when they apply for Pension Credit, they can claim them at the same time:

• From November 2008, if your customer applies for Pension Credit by phone, and also wants to make a claim for Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit, we will ask for all the necessary information and send these to the relevant local authority.

The telephone call constitutes the claim so the customer does not have to complete or sign a printed form. We will send the customer a Statement of Details which will instruct the customer to check and report any errors or omissions direct to the local authority.

• If your customer applies for Pension Credit by asking for an application pack by post, this will include a Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit claim form. They should send this form directly to their local authority who will work out if they are entitled to Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit.

Help for people able to get Pension Credit

If your customer gets Guarantee Credit they will generally get help (even if they have more than £16,000 capital) with:

• all their eligible rent Reference 10 payments, provided they are reasonable, minus deductions for any non-dependants living with them,
• their Council Tax. (If they live in Scotland and pay water charges with their Council Tax, they will not get Council Tax Benefit for that part of the payment.)

If your customer only gets Savings Credit, they will generally get some help with their rent and Council Tax, unless they have more than £16,000 capital.

Help for people not able to get Pension Credit

If your customer cannot get Pension Credit or they stop getting it, and do not have more than £16,000 capital, their local authority may still be able to help with part of their rent or Council Tax or both.

You can get more information about these benefits from the local authority.

There are also leaflets available which give more detail about these benefits.

The Social Fund

The Social Fund helps people with one-off or extra expenses that are difficult to pay out of their regular income. Social Fund payments are not treated as income or capital when Pension Credit is worked out.

Cold Weather Payments

These payments help towards extra heating costs during very cold weather. Your customer may get a Cold Weather Payment if they are on Pension Credit. They will be paid automatically if they are entitled and do not need to make a claim, but if they have any queries about the payment they should contact The Pension Service.

Funeral Payments

If your customer or their partner are on low income and are responsible for arranging a funeral they may get help towards the costs. They would need to be in receipt of Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit or other means tested benefits.

Community Care Grant

A Community Care Grant is a tax-free sum that does not have to be paid back. A Grant could help your customer:

• return to the community after being in care
• stay in their home rather than go into care, or
• ease exceptional pressure on themselves or their family.

A Community Care Grant is only available to those on certain means tested benefits.

Budgeting Loans and Crisis Loans

Budgeting Loans

These loans are interest-free and are for people who need help in an emergency or after a disaster. Your customer may be able to get a Crisis Loan for daily living expenses or for something they need urgently whether or not they are getting Pension Credit or another social security benefit. Crisis Loans can no longer be paid for items such as cookers and beds unless the application is as a result of a disaster.

Crisis Loans

These loans are interest-free and are for people who need help in an emergency or after a disaster. Your customer may be able to get a Crisis Loan for daily living expenses or for something they need urgently whether or not they are getting Pension Credit or another social security benefit. Crisis Loans can no longer be paid for items such as cookers and beds unless the application is as a result of a disaster

These are the sort of situations Crisis Loans are for:

• a disaster which causes serious damage, loss or destruction to the family’s property
• loss of money – for example, through a burglary,
• emergency travel expenses for someone stranded away from home.

A Crisis Loan might be made to help someone pay for rent in advance if they have received a Community Care Grant to establish themselves in the community.

Repayment terms

If your customer is:

• getting Pension Credit, loan repayments will be made by deductions from their or their partner’s Pension Credit payments,
• not getting enough Pension Credit to make the repayments or if they  no longer get Pension Credit, repayments may be deducted from other benefits they are getting or can be made by cheque or in cash. (Cash should not be sent through the post.)

For more detailed information on the Social Fund, please see our specialist guide at www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/specialist-guides.

Sure Start Maternity Grants

These help pay for the immediate needs of a new baby and are intended for people who are getting certain benefits or tax credits, including Pension Credit.

Winter Fuel Payments

These are annual lump sum payments to help towards winter fuel bills paid to people who have reached the qualifying age. The qualifying age for Winter Fuel Payment for both men and women is rising in line with the increase in women’s State Pension age.

To have reached the qualifying age for a Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2011/12 a customer will need to:

• be born on or before 5 January 1951 and
• have met the eligibility criteria during the qualifying week of 19–25 September 2011.

Your customer will not usually need to make a claim if they:

• have had a Winter Fuel Payment before, or
• are getting State Pension or another social security benefit in the qualifying week.

They may have to claim if:

• they have not had a Winter Fuel Payment before, or
• the only benefits they get are Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit or Child Benefit.

For more information phone the Winter Fuel Payment Helpline on:

0845 9 15 15 15
Textphone 0845 601 5613.

Interim payments

Interim payments (sometimes called ‘payments on account’) are special payments that may be made until someone’s actual entitlement can be worked out or paid.

Interim payments can only be made if your customer:

• has not been able to apply for Pension Credit but it looks as though they may be entitled
• has made an application for Pension Credit and it looks as though they may be entitled but it is not possible for a decision to be made on the application straight away
• has been awarded Pension Credit but it cannot be paid on time for some reason.

Interim payments are discretionary and take into account things such as possible hardship. They will normally be made only for a short period. There is no right of appeal against an interim payment decision.

Interim payments cannot be used to by-pass the normal rules on who is eligible for Pension Credit. For instance, your customer cannot get an interim payment if they have:

• received a decision on their application but disagree with it
• been awarded Pension Credit but not received a payment because they have not reached their normal payday,
• been refused Pension Credit but are appealing against the decision.

What happens after payment

When your customer’s actual Pension Credit entitlement is later worked out, any interim payment they have had will be deducted from it. If it turns out that they were not entitled to any Pension Credit at all, or not as much as the interim payment, the decision maker will decide whether the difference can be recovered.

If it can, your customer will have to repay it in the same way as an overpayment. If they receive an interim payment they will get a letter explaining this.