Premiums
Qualifying for premiums depends on your circumstances.
You can qualify for either one, but not both, of the following.
•Disability premium of £35.10 (£50.05 for a couple). You get a disability premium if you get:
1Sch 2 paras 11 and 12 IS Regs ◦disability living allowance (DLA);
◦PIP;
◦long-term incapacity benefit (IB);
◦severe disablement allowance;
◦working tax credit with a disabled worker or severe disability element;
◦war pensioner’s mobility supplement;
◦constant attendance allowance;
◦exceptionally severe disablement allowance.
You also qualify if:
◦you are certified as severely sight impaired or blind, and for 28 weeks after coming off the register; or
◦you are terminally ill and have been entitled to statutory sick pay (SSP) for at least 196 days; or
◦you have been receiving a disability premium since before October 2008 because of incapacity for work.
If you are the IS claimant and you have a partner, you get the disability premium if s/he gets any of the qualifying benefits or is blind.
•Pensioner premium of £152.90 for couples. People who have reached pension age claim pension credit (PC) (see
here) rather than IS. However, you get a pensioner premium if you are under this age and getting IS and you have a partner who has reached this age.
2Sch 2 paras 9, 9A and 10 IS Regs
In addition, you can qualify for any, or all, of the following.
3Sch 2 para 6 IS Regs•Carer premium of £37.70. You get a carer premium if you are entitled to carer’s allowance (CA) (see
here). If you are entitled to CA but not paid it because it overlaps with another benefit (eg, IB), you still qualify for a carer premium. You get two carer premiums if both you and your partner qualify.
•Enhanced disability premium for an adult of £17.20 (£24.60 for a couple). You get this premium if you get the highest rate of the DLA care component or the enhanced rate of the PIP daily living component.
4Sch 2 paras 13A and 15(8) IS Regs •Severe disability premium of £67.30. This is a premium for severely disabled people who live alone, or can be treated as living alone. You qualify for this premium if you get the middle or highest rate of the DLA care component, or the standard or enhanced rate of the PIP daily living component, and no one gets CA for looking after you. You do not get it if you live with another person aged 18 or over (eg, a friend or parent), unless s/he is separately liable for rent, or you only share a bathroom or hallway, or in some other circumstances.
5Sch 2 para 13 IS Regs See CPAG’s
Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook for details. If you have a partner, you do not qualify unless s/he also qualifies in her/his own right or is severely sight impaired or blind. If you both qualify, you get two premiums.