information on claiming benefits and universal credits

Foster parents can still claim means-tested benefits because the payments received from your fostering allowance are not included in your income when determining eligibility for these benefits.  If you were receiving means-tested benefits prior to fostering, such as income support, child tax credit, or housing benefit, and your financial situation remains unchanged, becoming a foster parent will not impact your ability to continue receiving these benefits.

There are two types of benefits – contributory and non-contributory. Whether you’re eligible for these benefits will depend on your personal circumstances.

CONTRIBUTORY BENEFITS

The first kind are contributory benefits, which are for people who’ve worked and paid National Insurance Contributions. These include:

• Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Employment Support Allowance (ESA)
• Retirement Pension, Widows Pension and Maternity Benefits

NON-CONTRIBUTORY BENEFITS

The other type of benefits are non-contributory benefits, which are dependent on your income (aka means-tested benefits). These include:

• Carers Allowance (fostering income is disregarded)
• Income Support
• Working Tax Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Jobseeker’s Allowance (income based)
• Housing and Council Tax Benefit

There are also some other non-contributory benefits that are not means-tested, which include;

• Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• Personal Independence Payment
• Attendance Allowance
• Universal Credits and other forthcoming changes to the benefits system