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Applying for Income Support

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About Income Support (easy read)

Income Support is extra money we can give to help people who do not have enough money.

Here we will tell you about:

who can get Income Support
what you need to do to apply for it

Income Support can help pay for things like:

the cost of housing
the cost of living, like food and electricity
health needs
childcare

The amount we give out depends on how much money your family has.

Income Support is usually paid to you every week.

You do not pay tax on Income Support.

We can give out one-off payments to help with expensive costs or for emergencies.

If there is a change in how much money people earn in your family, you must tell us no more than 14 days later.

It is a criminal offence if you do not tell us of any changes:

we might charge you for any money we overpaid you
we might take you to court
you might lose the benefits you get or have to repay them

Telling us about changes to how much money you have

Anyone can tell us about changes to how much money you have.

You can do it online using our change of circumstance form or book an appointment with us in person or call us.

+ 44 (0) 1534 444 444

Who can apply for Income Support

You can apply for Income Support if:

everyone in your home brings in a low amount of money
you pass the Income Support residence test
you're working or looking for work
you have an illness that means you cannot work

The needs of your family in your home

You get Income Support depending on the needs of your family in your home.

This is called an Income Support Household.

Your Income Support Household includes:

you
children
adult children under 25 who are in full-time education, training or looking for work

Your Income Support Household also includes a person who is in a relationship with you, like if you are married or in a civil partnership.

Your Income Support Household does not include any other family members who share your home with you.

So, if a child over 25 is living with their parent, they would both have to make different Income Support claims.

How we decide if you are in a relationship with someone

A relationship is when 2 people share their lives together.

This includes couples who may or may not be married or in a civil partnership.

A civil partnership is when two people legally say they are partners and share their lives together.

People who are married or in a civil partnership may or may not live together.

We can see you are in a relationship if you:

are married or in a civil partnership
tell friends and family that you're a couple
are with only one partner
you share activities in your home

you support each other by sharing money
you have children together or support each other’s children
you live in the same home

These are just some ways that show you are in a relationship.

You do not have to do all of these things to be in a relationship with someone.

How to apply for Income Support

To apply for Income Support:

check online to see if you can get Income Support
if you can, we'll email you a link to an online form to fill in
complete the form and send it back to us
we'll let you know what documents we need from you

When we have your form and documents, we'll:

let you know how much money you can get
answer any questions you might have
give you any extra support that you might be able to get

If someone else is looking after your Income Support

You may need your Income Support to be paid to someone else to look after it.

You may want someone else to speak to us about your Income Support claim.

For either of these reasons, you will need to fill in an ‘authority to disclose' information form.

If you do not agree with our decision

If you are unhappy about what we decide about your Income Support, you can ask us to look at it again.

If you still do not agree with what we decide, you can appeal.

Appeal means asking an independent group of people to make a final decision about your Income Support.

Find out more

If you have any questions about Income Support, you can contact the Work and Family Team.

To talk to someone face to face about Income Support you can:

Book an appointment with us

+ 44 (0) 1534 444 444 and press option 1

Contact us

+ 44 (0) 1534 444444

Customer and Local Services
PO Box 55
La Motte Street
St Helier
Jersey
JE4 8PE

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Applying for Income Support

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