• YoungLivin' Home
• Search YoungLivin
• Advice
• Ask 4 Help
• Enjoy and Achieve
• Events
• Get Involved
• KYC (Kingston Youth Council)
• Learning and Earning
• Living Away From Home
• Connexions
• Jobs and Work Experience
• Interview Tips
• Covering Letters and CV Help
• Benefits
• Links
• Member of Youth Parliament (MYP)
• Positive Activities
• Staying Safe
• Student School Council Forums
• Weekly Poll
• Youth Opportunity Fund
• Youth Service Projects
• About Us

Benefits

There are lots of different financial benefits which may be available to you that can really help you get a start in your career, continue your education or live away from home.

Working and Job Seeking Benefits	Housing and Living Benefits	Educational Benefits
Job Seekers Allowance Income Support	Housing Benefit Working Tax Credit Child Tax Credit Carer's Allowance Incapacity Benefit Disability Living Allowance The Social Fund Child Benefit Extensions	Care to Learn Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA)

Working and Job Seeking Benefits

Job Seekers Allowance (JSA)

As an unemployed 16 or 17 year old you will only qualify for JSA in certain circumstances and only for a short period of time.

To qualify you must:

• be living away from home
• or prove that you will suffer severe hardship if you do not receive it (for example if your parents/ carers are on benefits)
• be registered for work or training with a Connexions Centre.

To claim JSA you must draw up an action plan with a personal adviser and complete an ES9 or ES11 form available from your local Connexions centre. Next you will have to take your completed ES9/ ES11 form along with some identification such as a National Insurance card, to your local Job Centre Plus office and get registered as unemployed.

You will be asked to sign a ‘job seekers agreement’ and keep in regular contact with the Connexions centre to show that you are actively looking for work or training. Connexions centres will need to make a note of your visits so tell them when you come into the centre.

Income Support

If you are under 18, still in education and have to live away from home you should be able to claim Income Support. Speak to a Connexions personal adviser for more information. If you are a University student you may be able to qualify under special circumstances.

Housing and Living Benefits

Housing Benefit

You may be able to claim Housing Benefit to help pay for rent if your income and savings are below a certain level.

• If you are single and aged under 25 you can only get Housing Benefit for bed-sit accommodation or a room in shared accommodation. You cannot get Housing Benefit if you are living with your parents or other close relatives and paying rent to them.
• You are unable to claim if you are a full-time student unless you are disabled or have children.

Working Tax Credit

Working Tax Credit is a weekly payment to help towards living costs if aged 16 or over, working 16 or more hours a week and income is below a certain level. You may be entitled to a higher level of working tax credit if you are disabled or claiming as part of a couple.

Child Tax Credit

Weekly payment to help towards living costs if aged 16 or over and have full responsibility for looking after a child. How much you receive depends on how many children you are responsible for, whether you live alone and the child's age. There are extra payments if the child is disabled.

Carer's Allowance

You may be able to claim Carer's Allowance if you are 16 or over and spend at least 35 hours a week caring for the same relative, friend or neighbour who themselves claim certain other benefits. Local authorities should make sure that the education, development and general well-being of young carers is not affected by caring responsibilities.

Incapacity Benefit

If you are over 16, you may be able to apply for Incapacity Benefit if you have been unable to work due to an illness or a disability. Usually you are only able to claim this if you have paid enough National Insurance contributions during your working life. However, you may still receive it if you are under 20 and have been too ill to work for 28 weeks.

Disability Living Allowance

You may be able to claim Disability Living Allowance for yourself or on behalf of a disabled child if you are responsible for their care. The award looks at two things: level of mobility and the amount the amount of care needed.

The Social Fund

You may be able to get financial help for some unexpected payments if you are already claiming Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance and some other benefits.

These include:

• budgeting loans
• crisis loans
• maternity grants if you're having a baby
• Council Tax Benefit

Helps people with no or little income to pay their council tax bill in all or part. You may be eligible to receive it if income and capital (including savings and investments are £16,000 and below). This benefit can be claimed via the local Council.

Child Benefit Extensions

Child Benefit can be extended for a short period of time for young people aged 16 or 17 who have left full time education or approved training

To qualify you must:

• have not already started work or training for which an allowance is payable e.g EMA
• have not been awarded social security payments in your own right e.g Bridging allowance or JSA, or Income Support
• have registered for work or training, education or training with the Connexions service
• show that you intend to go onto higher education but are waiting to start and have registered for work or training, education or training with the Connexions service
• show that you have joined the Armed Forces but are awaiting a placement

The extended benefit period will last for 20 weeks from the date the young person leaves full time education. The benefit will stop if the young person reaches the age of 18 within the extended benefit period, if the young person starts a job, training course or higher education or if the young person is awarded another social security benefit in their own right.

Educational Benefits

Care to Learn

Care to Learn is available to teenage parents and pays up to £155 per child per week (£170 in London) towards your childcare and travel costs while you learn. In addition registration fees (up to £80) and any deposits (normally up to £250) will be paid, along with childcare provision you may need in the holidays and any additional travel costs you may incur travelling to the child care setting

To qualify you must:

• be in or considering starting learning in school, college, 6th form or on an E2E course, Apprenticeship or NVQ course, a community course or an NHS cadetship. Finally if you are on work based learning you must have an unemployed status.
• be under 20 (on the day your course or learning programme begins)
• be a teenage mother or father
• show the other parent is unable to provide childcare
• show the other parent is not claiming Childcare Tax Credit

Note: your childcare provider must be registered with Ofsted.

This does not affect your own or your family’s benefits or allowances and you do not have to be on benefits to claim this. In addition you may also be eligible for an Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA). Speak to a personal adviser for more information.

Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA)

EMA is a weekly payment of £10, £20 or £30 depending on your household income. This is to encourage you to stick with your studying after compulsory education. EMA will also pay you bonuses of up to a total of £500 if you remain on your course and make good progress with your learning.

To qualify you must:

• have a household income of £30,810 or less
• be 16, 17 or 18 and about to or have already left compulsory education
• be thinking of joining an LSC funded E2E programme, starting full time education at school or college or joining a course that leads to an apprenticeship
• meet the residency eligibility requirements
• have your own bank account

To get an application form call the national EMA helpline free on 0808 101 6219; or visit the EMA website; ask at school or college or visit your local Connexions centre.