So that no family out of work will receive more in benefits than the average take home pay of a family in work the Government has introduced a limit on the total amount of benefit that working age people can receive.
A family will receive a maximum of £384.62 in benefits and a single person no more than £257.69 per week.
How will it be worked out?
The cap will apply to the combined income a household receives from the following out-of-work benefits:
- Bereavement Allowance
- Carer’s Allowance
- Child Benefit
- Child Tax Credit
- Employment and Support Allowance (except where it is paid with the support component)
- Guardian’s Allowance
- Housing Benefit
- Incapacity Benefit
- Income Support
- Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Maternity Allowance
- Severe Disablement Allowance
- Widowed Parent’s Allowance
- Widowed Mother’s Allowance
- Widow’s Pension
- Widow’s Pension Age-Related
Households will not have their benefits capped if a member of the household is claiming:
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or the Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Attendance Allowance
- Industrial Injuries Benefit
- Working Tax Credit
- The support component of Employment Support Allowance
- War Widow’s/Widower’s Pension.
However, this does not apply if it is a non-dependant member of the household who is in receipt of DLA or Attendance Allowance (for example if parents are caring for an adult disabled child).
Will I be affected?
You can see if you might be affected by using the Benefit Cap Calculator (external link).
How will the cap be administered?
The cap will be applied through deductions from your Housing Benefit payment.
If your Housing Benefit goes down, you may have to use money from your other benefits to pay towards the rent of your home.
If you are already getting benefits and could be affected by the cap, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will contact you and offer advice.