If you claim Housing Benefit any capital and/or savings could have an impact on the amount you receive.
If you are in receipt of Income Support, Income based Job Seekers Allowance (JSA IB), Income Related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA IR) or Guaranteed Pension Credit (GC) then any capital and/or savings you have are ignored.
If you do not get one of the benefits noted above then we will look at the savings of you, your partner and any dependent children. The rules about how we calculate capital depend on whether you are working age or pension. We will tell you how we calculated your capital in our decision about your claim.
What are savings?
Savings include things like:
- Cash
- Bank, Post Office and/or Building Society accounts.
- Premium Bonds
- Savings Certificates
- Stocks, Shares and Bonds
We do not take into account any savings held in:
- Pension Schemes
- Annuities
- Life insurance
- Funeral plans for pension age people
What counts as capital?
Capital includes things like:
- Property, other than the one you live in
- Capital that someone else is looking after for you
- Some payments of income
- Some arrears payments
- Some payments made in instalments
- Capital held outside of the UK or not held in Sterling
- Business assets when self-employment has ended.
- Any company you own
- Any trusts you have
- Some compensation payments after a certain amount of time
Considering whether certain savings and/or capital affects your entitlement can be complicated so if you are unsure ask us for advice.
- Contact us online
- Call us on 0300 1234 121
