On this page you will find information about:
- Accessing benefits, loans, and grants in the UK.
- The different types of benefits.
- How the Royal British Legion could help you access financial support.
There are many benefit, grant and loan programmes that support people across the UK. Some schemes have been set up with the Armed Forces community specifically in mind. Whether you are a carer, living with a disability, or have children, you could be eligible to receive support with:
- heating and housing
- receiving low income
- emergency and crisis payments
- bereavement
- separation from a partner, and
- employment.
You may be entitled to claim some of these benefits based on your income, contributions, and circumstances.
If you are currently serving
There are benefits of working in HM Armed Forces that you may be entitled to. You can find out more about what you are eligible for on the Discover My Benefits website.
Benefits, grants, and loans in the UK
Benefits
There are three different types of benefits available in the UK. The type of benefit will help to define your eligibility for support.
Read more about benefits which you may be eligible for in:
Means-tested benefits
You can claim means-tested benefits if your income is below the amount the government says you need to live on. Your income and savings will be taken into account when deciding how much you will receive. Examples of means-tested benefits are:
- Universal Credit
- Pension Credit
- Housing Benefit
- Council Tax Support, and
- Social Fund (Sure Start Maternity Grant, funeral payment DWP, Cold Weather Payment).
Learn more about means-tested benefits on the Turn2Us website.
Contribution-based benefits
You can claim contribution-based benefits if you have paid enough National Insurance contributions to qualify for a benefit.
Benefits which depend on National Insurance contributions are:
- Maternity Allowance
- Contribution-based/New Style Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
- New Style Employment and Support Allowance
- Bereavement Benefits
- Basic State Pension, and
- New state pension.
Find out more about contribution-based benefits on the Turn2Us website.
Non-means tested benefits
You can claim some benefits depending on your circumstances such as sickness, disability, or caring for children. These benefits are mostly non-means tested, and do not depend on your National Insurance contribution record.
Read more about the following non-means tested benefits here on the RBL Knowledge Base:
- Disability Living Allowance – for those under 16 who are living with a disability in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and overseas.
- Personal Independence Payment – for those between 16 and state pension age who are living with a disability or long-term health condition in England, Scotland and Wales.
- Adult Disability Payment, and for those between 16 and state pension age who are living with a disability or long-term health condition in Scotland and some overseas locations.
- Financial support for carers and people who receive support.
Learn more about non-means tested benefits on the Turn2us website.
Can I claim universal credit if I am posted overseas?
Guidance for currently serving personnel and their families.
Yes, if you are posted Overseas you are entitled to make a claim for Universal Credit regardless of your location. The Armed Forces community who are stationed overseas can submit a claim online.
Compensation schemes for those who have served
If you have served in HM Armed Forces and are living with an injury that was caused or made worse by your service, you may be eligible to receive a War Pension or Armed Forces Compensation.
Government loans
Budgeting Loans – England, Scotland and Wales
A Budgeting Loan can help pay for essentials such as clothes, rent, debts, furniture, and maternity expenses.
Budgeting Loans are interest-free which means you only pay back what you borrow. You will normally have to repay the loan within two years.
Find out more about Budgeting Loans on GOV.UK.
Eligibility
You may be eligible for a Budgeting Loan if you have been getting one or more of the following benefits for six months or more:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, and
- Pension Credit.
Read more about the eligibility criteria for Budgeting Loans on GOV.UK.
How to apply
You can apply for a Budgeting Loan online or by post.
Social Fund Budgeting Loan – Northern Ireland
A Social Fund Budgeting Loan can be used to pay for essentials such as:
- furniture or household equipment
- clothing or footwear
- advance rent and removal costs when moving to a new home
- travelling expenses within the UK
- things to help you look for or start work
- improving, maintaining or securing your home
- maternity or funeral expenses
- repaying a hire purchase or other debts you took out to pay for any of the above.
Receiving a Social Fund Budgeting Loan will not count as income and will not affect any other benefits you may be receiving.
Learn more about Social Fund Budgeting Loans on the nidirect website.
Eligibility
You may be eligible to receive a Social Fund Budgeting Loan if you, or your partner, have been continuously receiving one, or more, of the following benefits for the past 26 weeks:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or
- Pension Credit.
If you were receiving Universal Credit and then moved to Pension Credit, any time that you were receiving Universal Credit will be counted towards the 26 weeks.
How to apply
You can apply for a Social Fund Budgeting Loan online, by post or telephone.
Grants
Disabled Facilities Grants – England, Northern Ireland, and Wales
Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) are mandatory grants from local councils to individuals that fund adaptations to a disabled person's home.
Disabled Facilities Grants are awarded by local councils to those who are living with a disability of long-term condition. The grant is used to make adaptations to the individual’s home.
Read frequently asked questions about Disabled Facilities Grants on the RBL Knowledge Base website.
Food vouchers and grants for those with young children - England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
If you are caring for young children you may be eligible for the grants below which can be used to purchase healthy foods.
They are:
- Healthy Start Vouchers – England, Northern Ireland, and Wales
- Best Start – Scotland
- Sure Start Maternity Grants – England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Find out more about food vouchers for families with young children on the RBL website.
Crisis Grants – Scotland
Crisis Grants can help with the costs associated with an emergency.
Examples of what the grant could be used for include:
- you need help to get food or with heating costs
- there's a fire or flood at home
- you've lost money
- an unexpected crisis happens
- you're a victim of domestic abuse and you need help with things like moving away from an abuser
- you're a grandparent or other relative who has taken over caring for a child, and you're waiting on a transfer of benefits, or
- you're facing a gap in your normal income because of a redundancy or change at work.
Eligibility
To be eligible for a Crisis Grant you must be 16 or over, and on a low income. You do not need to be receiving any benefits to be eligible.
How to apply
You will need to apply for a Crisis Grant through your local council.
Read more about Crisis Grants and how to find your local council on the mygov.scot website.
Community Care Grants – Scotland
A Community Care Grant can help to support someone to start to live, or to carry on living a settled life in a community.
Eligibility
You may be eligible for a Community Care Grant if:
- you're leaving care or imprisonment and need help to start a settled home
- you've been homeless, or living an unsettled life, and need help to start a settled home
- you need support to stay out of care
- you're caring for someone who's been released from prison or a young offender's institution
- you're experiencing great pressure and need help to keep a settled home
- you're escaping domestic abuse, or
- a child's health is at risk.
You must additionally be over 16 years old and on low income. You do not need to be receiving any benefits to be eligible.
How to apply
You must apply for a Community Care Grant through your local council.
Emergency Assistance Payment (EAP) – Wales
This grant could help you to pay for essential items such as food, gas, electricity, clothing, or emergency travel.
Find out more about EAP grants including eligibility and how to apply on the GOV.WALES website.
Individual Assistance Payment (IAP) - Wales
This grant can help you, or someone you care for, to live independently in their home or a property you/they are moving into.
It can be used to finance items such as:
- A fridge, washing machine or other ‘white goods’, or
- Home furniture such as beds, sofas, and chairs.
Read more about IAP including eligibility and how to apply on the GOV.WALES website.
Financial support by UK nation
There are more benefits, grants, and loans which you may be eligible for. Learn more about financial support in:
Support accessing benefits, grants and loans from the Royal British Legion
The Royal British Legion’s Benefits, Debt, and Money Advice (BDMA) team provides free, confidential advice and support to appeal benefits decision’s and give advice for those in unmanageable debt.
If you live in Scotland
The Royal British Legion does not have a BDMA team in Scotland, but you can get in touch with PoppyScotland who offer advice to the Armed Forces community.
Read more about PoppyScotland and how to contact the charity on the RBL Knowledge Base website.
To find out more about the support the RBL could offer you, contact us via
Telephone overseas: +44 (0)20 3376 8080
Calls are free from UK landlines and main mobile networks
Email: [email protected]
