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  2. Benefits and money
  3. Benefits and financial support
  4. Guide to benefits
  5. Welfare changes

The Benefit Cap

The Benefit Cap is an upper limit on the amount of benefit a household can receive. It applies if you or your partner, if you have one, is of working age.

Applying the Benefit Cap 

For the Benefit Cap to apply, someone in the household must receive Housing Benefit.

A household means you, your partner (if you have one) and any children you are responsible for and who live with you.

Benefit Cap limits

The Benefit Cap limits are:

  • £384.62 a week if your household is made up of a couple (with or without children) or you are a lone parent and you have children living with you, that you are responsible for
  • £257.69 a week if you are a single person and have no children living with you

How Benefit Cap is calculated

Some of the benefits that are received by you, your partner (if you have one) and any children who live with you and you are responsible for, are added together to work out if you are above the limit.

It does not include individuals who may live in your household, who you are not responsible for.

Benefits which count towards Benefit Cap

The following benefits all count towards your household income:

  • Bereavement Allowance
  • Child Benefit
  • Child Tax Credit
  • Employment and Support Allowance (except where the support component has been awarded)
  • Housing Benefit
  • Incapacity Benefit
  • Income Support
  • Jobseeker's Allowance
  • Maternity Allowance
  • Severe Disablement Allowance
  • Widowed Parent's Allowance
  • Widowed Mother's Allowance
  • Widow's Pension
  • Widow's Pension (age-related)

Households not affected by Benefit Cap

The Benefit Cap does not apply to households living in Supported Exempt Accommodation.

It does not apply if you or your partner qualify for Working Tax Credit or if you, your partner or any children you are responsible for and who live with you receive one of the following benefits:

  • Attendance Allowance
  • Carer's Allowance
  • Disability Living Allowance
  • Personal Independence Payment
  • Employment and Support Allowance (where the Support component has been awarded)
  • Guardian's Allowance
  • Industrial Injuries Benefit
  • Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (Guaranteed Income Payments)
  • Armed Forces Independence Payment
  • War Pensions (this includes the War Widow’s/Widower’s pension and War Disablement Pension)

One off payments such as Discretionary Support Service payments, Bereavement payments, Cold Weather and Winter Fuel payments are excluded from the calculation.

This list is not exhaustive.

How Benefit Cap is administered

For those affected by the Benefit Cap, it is administered through a reduction in Housing Benefit or Universal Credit.

For those getting Housing Benefit, if your household is, or becomes affected by the Benefit Cap, you will receive a Housing Benefit award notification from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, advising that your Housing Benefit amount will reduce due to the Benefit Cap.  

This letter will also detail the benefits and itemised amounts used to calculate the Benefit Cap.

For those getting Universal Credit, the Benefit Cap might apply to your income from Universal Credit together with other benefits such as Child Benefit and will be shown on your Universal Credit statement if it has been applied.

  • Find out more about Universal Credit

Help available for affected households

Finding work could mean that the Benefit Cap would not apply to you because qualifying for Working Tax Credit will mean that you are not affected by these new rules. If you earn £658 or more per month, or you and your partner combined earn £658 or more per month, after tax and National Insurance contributions, while getting Universal Credit then you will not be affected by the Benefit Cap.

You can get help finding work by contacting your nearest Jobs and Benefits office  where an adviser will support you.

If you use sign language, you might be able to use the video relay service to contact Jobs and Benefits offices using British Sign Language (BSL) or Irish Sign Language (ISL). To access the service go to:

  • Jobs and Benefits office  

An additional Supplementary Payment, to cover any loss of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit, may be available for households with children identified as being affected by the Benefit Cap. This does not affect your tax credits entitlement and you won't have to pay any tax on it.

If you are affected by the Benefit Cap, and think you may be entitled to this payment, contact the Welfare Supplementary Payments Team to check if you are eligible. The payments will cover any loss of Housing Benefit.

The Supplementary Payments are made every four weeks in arrears and are paid to the person who receives the Housing Benefit or Universal Credit - this could be the claimant, their landlord or a letting agent acting on the landlord’s behalf.

Any landlords or letting agents must be on the Landlord Register to receive a Supplementary Payment where applicable. If they are not, the payments are made to the benefit claimant.

Anyone affected by the Benefit Cap who is not eligible for a Supplementary Payment, may be eligible to apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment to make up for a reduction in their Housing Benefit.

More information

More information on finding work/claiming Universal Credit or Working Tax Credit can be found at:

  • Job Centre Online 
  • Working Tax Credit - the basics
  • How you make a claim for Universal Credit

More information on Housing Benefit and claiming Discretionary Housing Payment can be found at:

  • Housing Benefit and claiming Discretionary Housing Payments

More information on Benefit Cap can be found at:

  • Northern Ireland Benefit Cap information
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Welfare changes

  • Appeal a benefits decision
  • Benefit debt deductions from your pay
  • Benefit sanctions
  • Changes to Employment and Support Allowance
  • Changes to Housing Benefit
  • Changes to the Social Fund
  • Claim Discretionary Support
  • Discretionary Support
  • Discretionary Support self-isolation grant
  • Finance Support
  • Getting ready for Universal Credit in Northern Ireland
  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
  • Short-term Benefit Advance
  • Social Fund Budgeting Loan
  • Social Fund Sure Start Maternity Grant
  • Support if you're affected by welfare changes
  • The Benefit Cap
  • Universal Credit Contingency Fund short-term living expenses grant
  • Welfare changes
  • Welfare changes helpline

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What to do next

Comments or queries about angling can be emailed to anglingcorrespondence@daera-ni.gov.uk 

If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit.  Contacts for common benefits are listed below.

Carer's Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912
Email 
dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Discretionary support / Short-term benefit advance

Call 0800 587 2750 
Email 
customerservice.unit@communities-ni.gov.uk

Disability Living Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912 
Email dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Employment and Support Allowance

Call 0800 587 1377

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Contact your local Jobs & Benefits office

Personal Independence Payment

Call 0800 587 0932

If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

Comments or queries about the Blue Badge scheme can be emailed to bluebadges@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk or you can also call 0300 200 7818.

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If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk.

 

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For queries or advice about pensions, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

If you wish to report a problem with a road or street you can do so online in this section.

If you wish to check on a problem or fault you have already reported, contact DfI Roads.

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