Incapacity Benefit is payable to people who are ill or disabled and have been incapable of work for four or more days in a row and who are not entitled to Statutory Sick Pay.
The Short Term (lower) rate is tax-free, but the Short Term (higher) and Long Term rates are taxable.
To get Incapacity Benefit a person must have paid enough National Insurance Contributions at the right rate and the right time.
People who live in a Jobs & Benefits office area will be offered an enhanced claims service.
For all new or repeat claims customers must comply with a work focused interview with a Jobs & Benefits Adviser.
Failure to do so may result in the loss of benefit.
Incapacity Benefit is based on a person's incapacity for:
- work in their normal occupation for the first 28 weeks of incapacity (The own occupation test)
- all work from the 29th week of incapacity (The Personal Capability Assessment)
A person is treated as having a normal occupation if they have worked for 16 hours or more a week, for more than 8 weeks out of the 21 weeks prior to the start of the claim.
A person will be subject to the Personal Capability Assessment from the start of the claim if they had no regular occupation prior to this.
Former Invalidity Benefit ClaimsThe Personal Capability Assessment applies to previous Invalidity Benefit recipients with the following exceptions:
(1)people, aged 58 or over on 13 April 1995, who were continuously in receipt of benefit (ignoring breaks of 8 weeks or less) since 1 December 1993; or
(3)people suffering from one of a number of prescribed severe illnesses.
Additional Pension is frozen at the 1994 rates.
Entitlement to Invalidity Allowance remains.
Medical certificates are required to cover incapacity until the person has passed the Personal Capability Assessment and has been advised that medical evidence is no longer required. Medical evidence is required for the duration of the claim for people in group (1) above.
Effect on Income Support claimsAll claims to Income Support based on incapacity are subject to the medical test.
With some exceptions the medical test will apply to Income Support recipients who were in receipt of benefit prior to the 13 April 1995.
Qualification for the Income Support Disability Premium will be 52 weeks with the following exceptions:
- people already receiving the premium on 13 April 1995;
- people receiving the premium through Severe Disablement Allowance;
- people entitled to the premium on other grounds, e.g.
- they get Disability Living Allowance
- they are registered blind etc.
New claims
If you are over pension age you cannot make a new claim for Incapacity Benefit.
Long Term Incapacity Benefit ceases at pension age.
Where a person reaches pension age after incapacity has commenced, Short Term Incapacity Benefit may be payable for up to 52 weeks.
Clients will not be subject to Income Tax if they were in receipt of Invalidity Benefit prior to 13 April 1995.
For all other cases tax will only be due if the person's Incapacity Benefit and any other taxable income exceeds their tax allowance.
Clients with other taxable income e.g. Occupational pension will receive gross Incapacity Benefit.
Tax will be recovered by adjustment of the customers tax code which is being applied to their other income.
Clients who are due to pay tax on sole income of Incapacity Benefit will have the tax deducted from their benefit, on behalf of HM Revenue & Customs by the Social Security Agency.
Effective from 10 April 2008
Personal benefit
Short Term Incapacity Benefit (Under pension age)
| Weekly Amount |
Rate |
| £63.75 |
lower rate |
| £75.40 |
higher rate |
Short Term Incapacity Benefit (Over pension age)
| Weekly Amount |
Rate |
| £81.10 |
lower rate (100%) |
| £84.50 |
higher rate (100%) |
Long Term Incapacity Benefit
£84.50
The person may be entitled to an age addition if they are receiving Long Term Incapacity Benefit and were under age 45 on the first day of incapacity for work. This includes days of Statutory Sick Pay.
Incapacity Age Addition is paid on one of two scales, depending on the person's age on the first day of incapacity:
Rates of Incapacity Benefit Age Addition
| Weekly Amount |
Rate |
| £ 8.90 |
lower rate - if the client was aged between 35 and 44, inclusive |
| £17.75 |
higher rate - if the client was aged under 35 |
Rates of Dependency Increases (Adult)For spouse, civil partner or someone looking after children or young persons with:
| Weekly Amount |
Criteria |
| £39.40 |
Short Term Incapacity Benefit |
| £48.65 |
Short Term Incapacity Benefit (if beneficiary over pension age) |
| £50.55 |
Long Term Incapacity Benefit |
The increase for an adult dependent is only payable if:
- the dependant is over age 60; or
- there are dependant children and there is title or underlying title to a Child Dependency Increase.
Where you get an increase of benefit for your partner (other than a partner aged 60 or over), your partner may be required to take part in a Work Focused Interview with a Personal Adviser.
Rates of Dependency Increases (Child)For people in receipt of Short Term Incapacity Benefit at the higher rate and Long Term Incapacity Benefit prior to 6th April 2003.
Also, people who are over pension age and in receipt of Short Term Incapacity Benefit at the lower rate prior to 6th April 2003.
Rates of Dependency Increases (Child)
| Weekly Amount |
Criteria |
| £8.75 |
for the first child |
| £11.35 |
for any subsequent child |
Earnings may affect the extra benefit payable for the person's spouse, civil partner or person looking after children or qualifying young persons if the amount earned exceeds a prescribed limit.
If the person's spouse, civil partner or the person who looks after children or qualifying young persons earns more than the weekly earnings limit, no extra benefit is payable for the first or only child, and, depending on the amount earned over the earnings limit, any other children or qualifying young persons.
From 6th April 2003 you cannot claim an increase for children or qualifying young persons. You can however claim Child Tax Credit.
A customer who is receiving Incapacity Benefit may only work in permitted circumstances.
Permitted work introduces more flexible rules for people who want to try paid work while still getting Incapacity Benefit because of illness or disability.
You can:
- work for less than 16 hours a week, on average, and earn no more than £88.50 a week for 52 weeks, or
- work for less than 16 hours a week, on average, and earn up to £88.50 a week for as long as your illness or disability is considered sufficiently severe that you meet the threshold of incapacity without undergoing a medical assessment, or
- work and earn up to £20 a week, at any time, for as long as you are on benefit, or
- do supported permitted work and earn no more than £88.50 a week for as long as you are on benefit.
We use supported permitted work to mean work that is supervised by someone who is employed by a public or local authority, or a voluntary organisation, whose job it is to arrange work for people with disabilities. This could be work done in the community or in a sheltered workshop. It also includes work as part of a hospital treatment programme.
You do not need your doctor's approval to start permitted work.
If you make a new claim for Incapacity Benefit we may take any pension income over £85 a week into account when we work out how much money you are due.
If your pension income increases or decreases you must tell us straightaway as this may affect the amount of Incapacity Benefit you get.
By pension income we mean one of the following pensions
- occupational pension
- personal pension
- public service pension
- stakeholder pension
- a pension from a self-employed pension scheme
- permanent health insurance payments arranged by an employer and the contract of employment has ended
- pension protection fund payments due to employer insolvency.
People who are entitled to Long Term Incapacity Benefit, who have worked and paid or are treated as having paid full rate Class 1 National Insurance Contributions for at least 10% of their working life since 1978, may, from 6 April 2002, start to accrue Additional State Pension through State Second Pension. - See Retirement Pension for further information.
If a customer does not understand or disagrees with a decision, they can ask for an explanation and/or for the decision to be looked at again. They also have the right of appeal.
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