PART 6Assessment of income and capital

SECTION 2

Income

Meaning of “income”29

1

For the purposes of these Regulations, “income” means income of any of the following descriptions—

a

earnings;

b

working tax credit F1;

c

retirement pension income within the meaning of the State Pension Credit Act F2;

d

income from annuity contracts (other than retirement pension income);

e

a war disablement pension or war widow's or widower's pension;

f

a foreign war disablement pension or war widow's or widower's pension;

g

a guaranteed income payment;

F22h

a payment made under article 21(1)(c) of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2005 F3, in any case where article 23(2)(c) applies;

i

income from capital, other than capital disregarded under Part 1 of Schedule 6;

j

social security benefits, other than retirement pension income or any of the following benefits—

i

disability living allowance;

ii

attendance allowance payable under section 64 of the Act;

iii

an increase of disablement pension under section 104 or 105 of the Act;

iv

a payment under regulations made in exercise of the power conferred by paragraph 7(2)(b) of Part 2 of Schedule 8 to the Act F4;

v

an increase of an allowance payable in respect of constant attendance under paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 8 to the Act;

vi

child benefit;

vii

any guardian's allowance payable under section 77 of the Act;

viii

any increase for a dependant, other than the claimant's partner, payable in accordance with Part 4 of the Act;

ix

any social fund payment made under Part 8 of the Act;

x

Christmas bonus payable under Part 10 of the Act;

xi

housing benefit;

xii

council tax benefit;

xiii

bereavement payment F5;

xiv

statutory sick pay;

xv

statutory maternity pay;

xvi

statutory paternity pay payable under Part 12ZA of the Act F6;

xvii

statutory adoption pay payable under Part 12ZB of the Act F7;

xviii

any benefit similar to those mentioned in the preceding provisions of this paragraph payable under legislation having effect in Northern Ireland;

k

all foreign social security benefits which are similar to the social security benefits prescribed above;

F23l

a payment made—

i

under article 30 of the Naval, Military and Air Forces Etc. (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 2006, in any case where article 30(1)(b) applies; or

ii

under article 12(8) of that Order, in any case where sub-paragraph (b) of that article applies;

m

a pension paid to victims of National Socialist persecution under any special provision made by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany, or any part of it, or of the Republic of Austria;

n

payments under a scheme made under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Worker's Compensation) Act 1979 F8;

o

payments made towards the maintenance of the claimant by his spouse, civil partner, former spouse or former civil partner or towards the maintenance of the claimant's partner by his spouse, civil partner, former spouse or former civil partner, including payments made—

i

under a court order;

ii

under an agreement for maintenance; or

iii

voluntarily;

p

payments due from any person in respect of board and lodging accommodation provided by the claimant;

F24q

royalties or other sums paid as a consideration for the use of, or the right to use, any copyright, design, patent or trade mark;

F25r

any payment in respect of any—

i

book registered under the Public Lending Right Scheme 1982 F9; or

ii

work made under any international public lending right scheme that is analogous to the Public Lending Right Scheme 1982;

s

any payment, other than a payment ordered by a court or made in settlement of a claim, made by or on behalf of a former employer of a person on account of the early retirement of that person on grounds of ill-health or disability;

t

any sum payable by way of pension out of money provided under the Civil List Act 1837 F10, the Civil List Act 1937 F11, the Civil List Act 1952 F12, the Civil List Act 1972 F13 or the Civil List Act 1975 F14;

u

any income in lieu of that specified in sub-paragraphs (a) to (r);

v

any payment of rent made to a claimant who—

i

owns the freehold or leasehold interest in any property or is a tenant of any property;

ii

occupies part of the property; and

iii

has an agreement with another person allowing that person to occupy that property on payment of rent; F19...

w

any payment made at regular intervals under an equity release scheme.

F20x

PPF periodic payments within the meaning of section 17(1) of the State Pension Credit Act.

F262

For the purposes of these Regulations and subject to regulation 44(2) (capital to be disregarded), a claimant’s capital shall be treated as if it were a weekly income of—

a

£1 for each £500 in excess of £10,000; and

b

£1 for any excess which is not a complete £500.

3

Where the payment of any social security benefit prescribed under paragraph (1) is subject to any deduction (other than an adjustment specified in paragraph (4)) the amount to be taken into account under paragraph (1) shall be the amount before the deduction is made.

4

The adjustments specified in this paragraph are those made in accordance with—

a

the Social Security (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations 1979 F15;

b

the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations 1975 F16;

c

section 30DD or section 30E of the Act F17 (reductions in incapacity benefit in respect of pensions and councillor's allowances).

F21d

section 3 of the Welfare Reform Act (deductions from contributory employment and support allowance in respect of pensions and councillor’s allowances).

5

Where an award of any working tax credit or child tax credit under the Tax Credits Act 2002 F18 is subject to a deduction by way of recovery of an overpayment of working tax credit or child tax credit which arose in a previous tax year the amount to be taken into account under paragraph (1) shall be the amount of working tax credit or child tax credit awarded less the amount of that deduction.

F276

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F277

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8

In paragraph (1)(w), “equity release scheme” means a loan—

a

made between a person (“the lender”) and the claimant;

b

by means of which a sum of money is advanced by the lender to the claimant by way of payments at regular intervals; and

c

which is secured on a dwelling in which the claimant owns an estate or interest and which he occupies as his home.