These benefits are paid
because you are considered unable to work or are not expected to work.
This could be for any of many reasons - because of sickness, caring
responsibilities, pregnancy, old age, etc. Only one of these benefits
can be paid at any one time, no matter how many of the ‘life situations’
they cover actually apply. For example, you may be a carer and have
health problems at the same time, so might qualify for Carer’s Allowance
or Incapacity Benefit.
However you can claim more
than one at the same time (in fact it is often a good idea to do so
because of the effect this then has on ‘means tested’ benefits like
Income Support) but the DWP will only pay you the highest one. They call
them ‘overlapping’ benefits. In this situation you are left with what’s
known as an ‘underlying entitlement’ to the benefit you’re not paid.
Qualifying for many of the
above benefits depends on you (or, in some cases, your partner) having
paid or been credited with certain National Insurance contributions
(‘stamps’). So although you might meet all the other conditions for the
benefit, if you don’t have the contributions, you won’t get it. In this
situation, you may be able to get Income Support instead. You may also
be able to get Income Support on top of any of the above benefits.
But the Benefits Agency
insist that if you might qualify for one of these Earnings Replacement
benefits - even, for example, if you know you haven’t got the
contributions - you claim it before they consider your entitlement to
Income Support. In reality, this often means claiming both one of these
benefits and Income Support at the same time - a foot on both step one
and two.
People caring for people with
mental health problems may be able to claim Carer’s Allowance, but this
can also mean a loss of money for the person you care for - check it
out!
Some routes to benefit are
more ‘secure’ than others - e.g. Jobseekers have to sign on fortnightly,
whereas people on the ‘sickness’ route might only be re-assessed every
few years.
