Apply for a special payment if you claimed Income Support because of a disability or health condition
How to apply for a special payment if you claimed Income Support because of a disability or health condition instead of Employment and Support Allowance.
- From:
- Department for Work and Pensions
- Published
- 29 June 2023
- Last updated
- 13 October 2025 — See all updates
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
If you made a claim for Income Support on or after 31 January 2011 because of a disability or health condition, you may be entitled to a special payment. This is because you should have been told to claim income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) instead and you may have got more money.
If you are still on Income Support, you will be assessed to find out if you should move to income-related ESA.ESA.
Eligibility
If you are still getting Income Support
You may be entitled to a special payment if both of the following apply:
- you made a claim for Income Support on or after 31 January 2011 because of a disability or health condition
- you were not getting Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance when you made that Income Support claim
You will need to have a Work Capability Assessment to find out how your disability or health condition affects how much you can work. You will only be eligible for a special payment if you are assessed as having ‘limited capability for work’ or ‘limited capability for work and work-related activity’.
If you have moved from Income Support to income-related ESA or Universal Credit
You may be entitled to a special payment if all of the following apply:
- you made a claim for Income Support on or after 31 January 2011 because of a disability or health condition
- you were not getting Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance when you made that Income Support claim
- you had a Work Capability Assessment when you moved from Income Support to income-related ESA or Universal Credit and you were found to have ‘limited capability for work’ or ‘limited capability for work and work related activity’
How to apply
Contact Jobcentre Plus and say you’re enquiring about the ‘Income Support Claims Review exercise’.
Jobcentre Plus
Telephone: 0800 169 0310
Textphone: 0800 169 0314
Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 169 0310
British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service if you’re on a computer - find out how to use the service on mobile or tablet
Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm
Find out about call charges
What happens next
You will be told if you need to provide any information to support your application.
DWP will compare what you were paid on Income Support with what you should have been paid on income-related ESA. If you would have been paid more on income-related ESA, you will be paid the money you should have had.
If you got more on Income Support than you would have got on income-related ESA, you will not have to pay the extra money back.
Updates to this page
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Textphone details removed - Relay UK can be used instead.
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Added translation