Severe Disablement Allowance

    Severe Disablement Allowance has been replaced with Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) – Jobcentre Plus will re-assess your Severe Disablement Allowance claim to see if you’re capable of work or eligible for ESA.

    Your claim won’t be re-assessed if you’ll reach State Pension age before 6 April 2014.

    Re-assessing your claim

    If you’re not about to reach State Pension age, Jobcentre Plus will send you a questionnaire. This will ask you how your illness or disability affects your ability to complete everyday tasks.

    1. Complete this questionnaire and return it by the deadline. Include original medical reports or letters that are relevant – you’ll get these back.

    2. Jobcentre Plus will tell you if you need a face-to-face Work Capability Assessment – you must go.

    3. If the re-assessment shows you’re capable of working, your Severe Disablement Allowance will stop. Jobcentre Plus will discuss your next steps, including claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance.

    4. If the re-assessment shows you can’t work, you’ll be transferred automatically onto ESA.

    Working and Severe Disablement Allowance

    Usually your Severe Disablement Allowance is not affected if you:

    • do volunteer work
    • work and earn up to £20 a week
    • work for less than 16 hours a week on average and earn up to £101 a week for 52 weeks
    • do ‘supported permitted work’ and earn up to £101 a week

    Supported permitted work is supervised by someone from a local authority or voluntary organisation whose job it is to arrange work for disabled people.

    If your circumstances change

    Tell the Jobcentre Plus office dealing with your claim if your circumstances change – this can affect how much you get. Their number will be on any letters they’ve sent you.

    The benefit cap

    The benefit cap limits the amount of benefit that most people aged 16 to 64 can get. Some individual benefits aren’t affected, but it may affect the total amount of benefit you get.