Disability premiums

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1. Overview

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

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’re 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’ll get: 

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

Severe disability premium

You’ll get:

  • £81.50 a week for a single person
  • £163.00 a week for a couple if you’re both eligible

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

Enhanced disability premium

You’ll get:

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

How you’re 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’s 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’ve 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’re in one of these situations:

  • they get a qualifying benefit
  • they’re registered blind
  • they’re 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’s Allowance
  • the carers element of Universal Credit
  • Carer Support Payment

If you’re in a couple

You’ll 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’s 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 (‘enhanced’) rate
  • AFIP
  • DLA care component at the highest rate
  • Adult Disability Payment - daily living component at the enhanced rate

You’ll also get this if you’re in the support group for income-related ESA.

4. How to claim

You do not have to claim disability premium. If you’re eligible, it’s automatically added to your:

  • Income Support
  • Jobseeker’s 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.