Modified Housing Benefit Scheme
Disregards for War Disablement and Bereavement Pensions
Within the calculation of Housing Benefit entitlement, most incomes are included in the assessment, but some are disregarded.
The Council is given discretion by 134 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 to disregard some or all of any prescribed war disablement pension or war widow’s pension (as defined in Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act 2007).
Whereas statute defines that £10 per week of these must be disregarded in the assessment of a claimant’s income, for Housing Benefit purposes, we resolve to disregard those incomes in full. This 100% disregard continues to support the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant.
The incomes to be disregarded are:
- pensions under the Armed Forces Pensions and Compensation schemes (and similar payments for); war disablement, war widows, war widowers, and war bereaved civil partners.
- payments compensating for non-payment of the above.
- equivalent payments from governments outside the UK.
- pensions paid to the victims of Nazi persecution by the governments of Germany or Austria or by the government of the Netherlands.
Our Chief Financial Officer is given delegated authority to update this policy with consequential changes in the event of changes to legislation regarding the payment of War Disablement and Bereavement Pensions, or their treatment within Housing Benefit legislation.