How Income Support is calculated
Income Support is made up of different parts that help people with different costs.
The amount of money you can get is calculated by looking at your Income Support household’s costs and takes into consideration:
- health benefits
- earnings
- assets
- pensions
- household income
If you claim income support and start claiming a health benefit (such as Short Term Incapacity Allowance, Long Term Incapacity Allowance, Parental Allowance or Home Carer's Allowance) your income support will be reduced by the amount of your health benefit award. This is because health benefits are considered as income.
Adults and children
For each adult and child in an Income Support household, a fixed sum of money is paid to cover personal costs such as:
- food
- clothing
- GP visits
- other daily living expenses
Single parent
If you’re a single parent and you’re bringing up a child or children as part of your household, you’re allocated a higher basic amount than other single adults.
To be eligible, you need to have parental responsibility for a child or a person over compulsory school leaving age in your household who is:
- in in full-time education or training in Jersey
- under 19 years old
You must also make sure that you don’t have any other person over compulsory school leaving age as a member of your household, unless:
- the person is in full-time education or training
- the person is under 19 years old
- you have parental responsibility for them
Adult
| £120.89
|
| Single parent | £47.25
|
| First child | £99.61
|
| Subsequent children | £83.93
|
Housing
Help towards rent or building insurance
Depending on your circumstances, you could get help towards rent or building insurance. If you’re living with relatives or friends, you usually won’t receive any financial support towards the cost of housing.
If you're responsible for paying rent, part of any Income Support payment is there to meet your rental costs. It's your responsibility to pay your rent to your landlord, but Income Support can help you manage this.
| Age | Circumstance | Support received |
|---|
| Over 25 | Rent a property | Help towards rent |
| Over 25 | Home owner | Help towards cost of building insurance and rates |
| Under 25 | Responsible for and living with a child | Help towards rent |
| Under 25 | Have a good reason why you can't live in the former family home | Help towards rent
|
If you’re a social housing tenant
Your rent and services will usually be paid directly to your landlord. If the amount of Income Support you're entitled to is less than your rent, you'll need to arrange to pay the balance to your landlord yourself.
If you're renting from Andium Homes
Your Income Support will normally be paid directly to Andium Homes for your rent and service charges.
If you’re renting privately
We can pay some (or all) of your Income Support to your landlord, to help pay your rent.
If you want us to do this, you’ll need to give us a signed letter from your landlord confirming their:
- name
- address
- phone number
- bank details
Your landlord will also need to confirm that they’re willing to receive direct payments from us. They'll need to complete the
landlord declaration form.
If you have rent arrears that need to be paid directly to your landlord, complete and return the
payment of arrears to landlord form.
If there's a risk you won’t be able to afford your rent, speak to your landlord first, or speak to Citizens’ Advice Jersey. Your landlord might agree to defer a payment, to accept rent paid direct from Income Support, or to temporarily reduce your rent to the Income Support “fair rent” levels.
| Hostel | £152.60
|
| Bedsit or lodgings (private rental) | £184.73
|
| 1 bedroom flat (private rental) | £272.37
|
| 2 bedroom flat (private rental) | £348.74
|
| 3 (or more) bedroom flat (private rental) | £374.15
|
| 1 bedroom house (private rental) | £312.20
|
| 2 bedroom house (private rental) | £396.27
|
| 3 bedroom house (private rental) | £462.77
|
| 4 bedroom house (private rental) | £504.42
|
| 5 (or more) bedroom house (private rental) | £558.25
|
| Bedsit (owner) | £8.54
|
| 1 bedroom flat (owner) | £8.54
|
| 2 bedroom flat (owner) | £8.54
|
| 3 bedroom flat (owner) | £12.04
|
| 4 (or more) bedroom flat (owner) | £17.01
|
1 bedroom house (owner)
| £8.54
|
| 2 bedroom house (owner) | £12.04
|
3 (or more) bedroom house (owner)
| £17.01
|
| Household component | £67.41
|
Childcare
If you have children, you could get help towards the cost of childcare while you're working. You may also get help if you have an illness or disability that restricts your ability to care for your children. We can pay up to the below hourly maximum rate per child.
| Childcare for under 3 year olds | £9.61
|
| Childcare for 3 to 4 year olds | £8.04
|
| Childcare for 5 to 11 year olds | £8.04
|
Medical and disability
If you have a long-term medical condition or disability that has lasted (or is expected to last) for at least 6 months, you may be able to get medical payments through Income Support.
There are 3 kinds of medical payment:
- clinical cost. Helps with the cost of GP visits
- personal care. Helps with the cost of getting someone to help you with your personal care. For example, housework and cooking
- mobility. Helps with the cost of transport if you have mobility problem
You can qualify for 1 or more of these areas, depending on the nature and severity of your medical condition.
Support for people with long term illnesses or disabilities
| Personal care: level 1 | £30.38
|
| Personal care: level 2 | £132.79
|
| Personal care: level 3 | £190.40
|
| Mobility: non-earner | £30.38
|
| Mobility: earner | £60.48
|
| Clinical cost (5 or more extra GP visits) | £3.99
|
| Clinical cost (9 or more extra GP visits) | £7.98
|
| Carer | £68.81
|
Carers
If you’re the main carer of a person with a serious medical condition or disability, you may be able to receive an Income Support carer’s payment. You can only claim for 1 person, even if you’re caring for more. However, the Income Support carer’s payment is separate to the Home Carer’s Allowance and it is possible to claim both.
Home Carer's Allowance
Cold weather payments
Cold weather payments will be made between November and May (for October to April) if the temperature drops below a certain level.
The payment is made to any household receiving Income Support that also includes:
- someone over pensionable age
- a child under the age of 3
- someone with a significant disability
The payments are made automatically and there is no need to apply for them separately. They are paid in the same way as regular Income Support payments
If you're just above the level of income to receive Income Support, you may qualify for the Cold Weather Bonus.
Food Costs Bonus and Cold Weather Bonus
Capital
You can have a set level of savings before your Income Support is affected. If you have anything above these levels, you’ll receive less benefit.
| Single adult with personal care element | £13,706 |
| Other single adult under pensionable age | £9,137 |
| Couple (at least 1 with personal care element) | £22,718 |
| Other couple under pensionable age | £15,145 |
| Single adult over pensionable age | £13,706 |
| Couple over pensionable age | £22,718 |
Income and earning disregards
When we decide how much Income Support you get, we ignore a set percentage or amount of:
- your income
- maintenance income
- your old age pension
These percentages and amounts can be found below:
| Earned income | 26% |
| Maintenance income | 26% |
| Old age pension income (if at or over pensionable age) | 26% |
Contact us
For more information and support on how Income Support benefits are made up, complete the Income Support query form.
Make an Income Support query
gov.je