Premiums for people with disabilities

Premiums can only be added to Income-related benefits and not contribution based benefits.

Disability premium

To qualify for a disability premium with Income Support you or your partner must be under pension credit age and either registered blind or getting at least one of the following:

• Disability Living Allowance
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Working Tax Credit with a disability element
• Attendance Allowance
• Constant Attendance Allowance
• War Pensioners Mobility Supplement
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Personal Independence Payment 

If you get income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) you cannot get the disability premium, but you may still qualify for the severe and enhanced premiums.

Severe disability premium

You must get the disability premium or income-related ESA, and one of the following qualifying benefits:

• standard or enhanced daily living part of PIP
• middle or higher rate care part of DLA
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Attendance Allowance (or Constant Attendance Allowance paid with Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or War Pension)

You usually cannot have anyone aged 18 or over living with you, unless they are in one of the following situations:

• they get a qualifying benefit
• they are registered blind
• they are a boarder or subtenant (but not a close relative)
• they make separate payments to the landlord

You cannot get the severe disability premium if someone is getting Carer’s Allowance or the carers element of Universal Credit for looking after you.

If you are in a couple

You will get the higher amount of severe disability premium if both you and your partner are eligible.

You can get the lower amount if:

• someone gets Carers Allowance or the carers element of Universal Credit for looking after only one of you
• only one of you meets the eligibility criteria and the other is registered blind

Enhanced disability premium

You get this if you’re under Pension Credit age, you receive Income Support or income related ESA and either you or your partner receive one of the following:

• the higher rate care part of Disability Living Allowance
• the enhanced rate daily living part of Personal Independence Payment
• Armed Forces Independence Payment

These premiums are not paid with Pension Credit however there are additional amounts you may receive if you are severely disabled.

For further information see Understanding Pension Credit

More useful links

• Income Support
• Employment and Support Allowance