Understanding your Benefit entitlement letter

These notes are to help you understand your statement of the details we have used to work out your benefit. The items below will only appear on your statement if they apply to you. If your benefit changes, your statement will show the reason for the change. If there is more than one change, you will have a statement for each change.

If you need independent advice on any of the decisions made, you may wish to contact the Citizens Advice Bureau.
Applicable Amount
This is the amount the government says you need to live on. Applicable amounts are made up of allowances and premiums.
• Allowances are worked out using the basic living needs of single people, couples and children
• Premiums are extra amounts to cover the special needs of families, single people, elderly people and some people with disabilities
Income
This is the weekly amount of income you get from:
• Wages, salary or earnings from self-employment. Deductions have been made for tax, national insurance and half of any amount you pay towards a private pension.
• Income other than earnings. This includes state benefits and allowances, private pensions and notional income from capital
Any amount we can disregard from your income is shown on the statement.
The word "capital" is used to cover savings, cash, property and investments. We have to take all capital over £6,000 into account.

People under 60 years of age
For every £250, or part thereof, over £6,000 – we will increase your weekly income by £1. This is referred to as “notional income”, this may reduce the amount of benefit we pay you.

People over 60 years of age
For every £500, or part thereof, over £6,000 – we will increase your weekly income by £1. This is referred to as “notional income”, this may reduce the amount of benefit we pay you.

If you have capital over £16,000 you cannot get Housing or Council Tax Benefit, unless you are in receipt of a Pension Credit Guarantee.
Rent (tenants only)
The gross rent is the full rent which you are charged. The eligible rent is the weekly amount of rent we have used to work out your Housing Benefit.
If you are a private tenant there may be deductions from the gross rent for:
• Any water rates, fuel charges or other services, if these are included in your rent.
• A rent deduction if the rent officer has set a rent for your home, which is lower than the rent you are charged.
For more information see Renting from a private landlord
Council Tax
Eligible Council Tax is the full weekly Council Tax charge. This is what we use to work out your Council Tax Benefit.
Deductions for Non-Dependants
Certain people (such as grown-up children or adult relatives) who share your home are called non-dependants. We may make a deduction from your benefit if you have anyone like this living with you, the amount of the deduction depends on how much income each non-dependant has. If we have made a deduction for a non-dependant, we have shown their name, and their total weekly income (before tax). If we do not know their income, the words "assumed high" will be shown. You can then send proof of their income to us if you would like us to consider reducing the deduction.

This document was last updated on 2007-08-29 12:01:13 published by the Revenues and Benefits team. Document Reference:LBE_130574