A Severe Disability Premium is an extra amount that is included in some means-tested benefits to help with the cost of disability.

To get a Severe Disability Premium (SDP), you have to be getting an income-related benefit. This could be: 

• Income Support

• income-related Employment and Support Allowance

• income-based Jobseeker's Allowance

• Guarantee Pension Credit

• Housing Benefit.

You also must be getting one of these benefits:

• Attendance Allowance (or Constant Attendance Allowance paid with Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or War Pension)

• Pension Age Disability Payment (Scotland)

• Disability Living Allowance care component at the middle or highest rate

• Scottish Adult DLA care component at the middle or highest rate

• Personal Independence Payment daily living component

• Adult Disability Payment (Scotland) daily living component

• Armed Forces Independence Payment

If you are single:

• No one must be getting Carer’s Allowance, Carer Support Payment (Scotland) or the Carer’s Element of Universal Credit for looking after you, and
• You must be the only adult in the household. If you live with a flatmate who you split bills with, you will probably be treated as the only adult in the household.
• If you live with another adult who is not your partner, you might still be entitled to a Severe Disability Premium. This can be complicated and you should use our tool to find an adviser in your area.

If you are a couple:

• Both you and your partner must each be getting one of these benefits:
  • Attendance Allowance (or Constant Attendance Allowance paid with Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or War Pension)
  • Pension Age Disability Payment (Scotland)
  • Disability Living Allowance care component at the middle or highest rate
  • Scottish Adult DLA care component at the middle or highest rate
  • Personal Independence Payment daily living component
  • Adult Disability Payment (Scotland) daily living component
  • Armed Forces Independence Payment

• No one must be getting Carer's Allowance, Carer Support Payment (Scotland) or Carer’s Element of Universal Credit for looking after you.

• If someone gets Carer’s Allowance, Carer Support Payment (Scotland) or Carer’s Element of Universal Credit for looking after just one of you, you can still get Severe Disability Premium at the single rate.

• You must be the only adults in the household

• Sometimes you can get Severe Disability Premium even if there are other adults in the household. This can be complicated and you should use our tool to find an adviser

Qualifying for a Severe Disability Premium in other situations

If you are part of a couple and your partner is registered blind, you can still qualify for SDP paid at the single rate even if your partner does not get a qualifying benefit.

Severe Disability Premium and carers

It is important to talk to the person who cares for you about whether they get Carer’s Allowance, Carer Support Payment (Scotland) or the Carer’s Element in Universal Credit. 

If the person who cares for you is thinking of claiming Carer's Allowance, Carer Support Payment (Scotland) or the Carer's Element in Universal Credit, you should get advice. If your carer is paid Carer’s Allowance, Carer Support Payment (Scotland) or Carer’s Element of Universal Credit, it will stop you from getting a Severe Disability Premium. Your Council Tax Support can also be affected.

You can use our Find an Adviser tool to find local advice.

The Severe Disability Premium does not exist in Universal Credit. 

If you were entitled to a Severe Disability Premium on Income Support, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), or income-related Jobseeker's Allowance at the time you claimed Universal Credit, you are entitled to transitional protection. 

Legacy benefits are ending and being replaced by Universal Credit. Make sure you get the Severe Disability Premium added to your current benefit before switching to Universal Credit, so you qualify for transitional protection. Once you apply for Universal Credit, you won’t be able to add the Severe Disability Premium.

If you were entitled to a Severe Disability Premium on Housing Benefit, you won't get any compensation payment in Universal Credit.

There are two rates of Severe Disability Premium:

Single person rate - £82.90 per week
Couple rate - £165.80 per week

If you and your partner both get a qualifying benefit and someone gets Carer's Allowance, Carer Support Payment (Scotland) or Carer’s Element of Universal Credit for looking after you (or your partner), your Severe Disability Premium will be paid at the single rate.

If you are getting Severe Disability Premium, it will show on your award letter as ‘extra money because you are severely disabled’.

Lots of people who are entitled to a Severe Disability Premium have not been getting it.

Severe Disability Premium can be backdated to when you became entitled to it. In some cases, this can be for a long time and can mean you get a big back payment.

Because a Severe Disability Premium is an extra amount on other benefits, how you claim it depends on which benefits you get.

You will need to contact the office for the benefit you get and tell them that you think you should be entitled to a Severe Disability Premium.

• Income Support

• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)

• Pension Credit

• Housing Benefit (England, Scotland and Wales): You can use the GOV.UK website's local council finder to find your local authority’s contact details.

• Housing Benefit (Northern Ireland): You can contact the NI Housing Executive or use their online service.

After you tell the benefits office that you think you should be getting a Severe Disability Premium, you might be sent a form to fill out.

If you disagree with the decision made on your benefit claim, you can ask for a written statement of reasons.

If you still believe the decision is wrong, for example due to incorrect information being used, you can ask for it to be looked at again, and/or appeal.

The time limits are strict. You will usually be given one month to dispute a decision, so it is important to seek advice and act quickly.

If the decision you want to challenge was made by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) , you can find more information on our page on Challenging Decisions by the Department for Work and Pensions.

If you had claimed a Severe Disability Premium in your Housing Benefit, you can find more information on our page on Challenging Housing Benefit Decisions.