Benefit cap

There’s a limit on the amount of benefit that people in Carmarthenshire aged 16 to 64 can get. This is called a benefit cap. You can find out if the benefit cap will apply to you using the .gov.uk calculator, it only takes a few minutes to complete. You'll need information about the amount of weekly award for each benefit or allowance you or someone in your household gets. 

When added together the benefit cap will limit the total income you can get from the following benefits:

• Bereavement Allowance
• Child Benefit
• Child Tax Credit
• Employment and Support Allowance (except where it is paid with the support component)
• Housing Benefit
• Incapacity Benefit
• Income Support
• Jobseeker's Allowance
• Maternity Allowance
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Widowed Parent's Allowance
• Widowed Mothers Allowance
• Widows Pension
• Widows Pension Age-Related

The cap will not apply if you qualify for Working Tax Credit or get any of the following benefits:

• Disability Living Allowance
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• Attendance Allowance
• Industrial Injuries Benefits
• Employment and Support Allowance, if paid with the support component
• War Widow's or War Widower's Pension
• War pensions
• Armed Forces Compensation Scheme 
• Armed Forces Independence Payment  
• Carers Allowance
• Guardians Allowance

The cap will be applied through deductions from your Housing Benefit payments. If you are getting benefits and could be affected by the benefit cap you should have already been contacted by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). They will help you understand what the cap might mean for you. DWP will help you to get information about the changes and to think about what you can do now to get ready.

Your Housing Benefit may go down to make sure that the total amount of your benefit is not more than the cap level. If this happens you may have to use money from your other benefits to pay towards the rent for your home.

If you're getting benefits and seeing a Jobcentre Plus adviser, a Work Programme provider or a Work Choice provider, they will continue to help you. They will help you to look for work and to get the skills you may need to find a job. If you're not currently in contact with one of these, you'll be offered an appointment to discuss the help and support that might be available. If you find work the cap may not apply to you.