Your Weekly Income
The money we count as income includes any earnings, pensions and other benefits you receive.
If you have a partner sharing your home, we count your joint incomes and savings together. If you are getting Income Support or Income Based Job Seekers Allowance, you will automatically get the maximum Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit we can pay, less any charges for other people living with you and sharing your home.
If you are not getting Income Support or Income Based Job Seekers Allowance, to find your weekly income for benefit purposes, we add together:
- any wages you and your partner earn (we take off Income Tax, National Insurance contributions and half any private pension contributions first);
Plus
- Any other income, like pensions, benefits or allowances that you and your partner get. e.g. Pension Credits , Retirement Pension, Incapacity Benefit, Works Pension, Widow's Pension, Tax Credits, etc.;
Plus
- An extra amount for any savings between £3,000 and £16,000 you and your partner have (between £6,000 and £16,000 if you and your partner are aged 60 years or over.
The proof that you need to provide.
If you are working we normally need you to send in pay slips as proof of your earnings. If you are paid weekly we need to see your last five payslips; if you are paid fortnightly we need to see your last 3 payslips; and if you are paid monthly we need to see your last two pay slips.
If you are unable to supply payslips, you should ask your employer to complete a Certificate of Earnings form. Alternatively, you can ask your employer to provide a letter showing the same details as the Certificate of Earnings form.
Your Capital
You can still claim benefits from the Council if you have savings or investments as long as you don't have more than £16,000.
If you have a partner, your joint capital must be less than £16,000 to claim, unless you are only claiming Second Adult Rebate.
If your capital is more than £6,000 but less than £16,000, your benefits may be affected.
For Working-Aged people we add £1 to your weekly income figure for each £250 or part of £250 you have over £6,000. Any amount we have added in this way is shown on your letter.
Pensioners on a standard claim we add £1 to your weekly income figure for each £500 or part of you have over £6,000. Any amount we have added in this way is shown on your letter.
If you have less than £6,000 savings or you are getting Income Support or Income Based Job Seekers Allowance we ignore any savings when we work out your benefits.
