Disability premiums
Eligibility
Disability premium payments can be added to your:
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- housing benefit
You usually need to be eligible for the disability premium to qualify for the severe or enhanced premiums.
If you get income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) you can only get the severe or enhanced premium.
Use a benefits calculator to check your eligibility.
Disability premium
You or your partner must be under pension credit age and either registered blind or getting:
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Adult Disability Payment (ADP)
- Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP)
- Working Tax Credit with a disability element
- Attendance Allowance
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- War Pensioners Mobility Supplement
- Severe Disablement Allowance
- Incapacity Benefit
If you do not qualify, you may still get the premium if you’ve been unable to work for at least a year.
Severe disability premium
You must get the disability premium or income-related ESA, and one of the following qualifying benefits:
- PIP daily living component
- AFIP
- DLA care component at the middle or highest rate
- Adult Disability Payment - daily living component at the standard or enhanced rate
- 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’re in one of these situations:
- they get a qualifying benefit
- they’re registered blind
- they’re 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 one of the following for looking after you:
- Carer’s Allowance
- the carers element of Universal Credit
- Carer Support Payment
If you’re in a couple
You’ll 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 Carer’s Allowance, the carers element of Universal Credit or Carer Support Payment for looking after only one of you
- only one of you meets the eligibility criteria and the other is registered blind
Enhanced disability premium
To get this, you must be under pension credit age.
You must get the disability premium or income-related ESA, and one of the following:
- PIP daily living component at the higher (‘enhanced’) rate
- AFIP
- DLA care component at the highest rate
- Adult Disability Payment - daily living component at the enhanced rate
You’ll also get this if you’re in the support group for income-related ESA.