Pensions and benefits
If you are severely or profoundly deafened you are entitled to all the various Social Services
and State benefits on the same basis as everyone else.
As a result of your deafness alone, there are other benefits to which you might be entitled. Some of
these relate to education and employment and are explained in the relevant sections of this booklet.
However, irrespective of whether you are in employment or education, you may well be able to claim
Disability Living Allowance (DLA), [or Attendance Allowance (AA) if you are over 65], Incapacity Benefit
or Council Tax Benefit.
Although there are inconsistencies in applying the DLA/AA rules, many deafened people have made
successful claims, often after appeal.
In addition, if you are deafened and meet certain other conditions, you may be entitled to other
benefits/credits. Since all of these payments are dependent your personal circumstances, you will need
contact the benefit provider to see if you qualify but before doing that you may find that contacting
the Benefit Enquiry Line (See Factsheet 1 for details) is a helpful first step.
As a general guide, the table below provides a signpost to possible entitlement.
See also Factsheet 4
| |
Personal Conditions |
Benefit/Credit |
| 1 |
Deafened and not working (or working less than 16 hours per week) |
Jobseeker's Allowance, Incapacity Benefit or Income Support |
| 2 |
Deafened with low earnings |
Inland Revenue Working Tax Credit |
| 3 |
Deafened, on a low income and paying Council Tax |
Council Tax Benefit. Housing Benefit |
| 4 |
Deafened and responsible for at least one child or qualifying young person |
Child Tax Credit |
| 5 |
Deafened as a result of exposure to noise or an accident at work |
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit |
| 6 |
Deafened due to serving in the Armed Forces |
War Disablement Pension |
| 7 |
Deafened and needing help to live independently |
Community Care Grant |
| 8 |
Aged 60 and over with low/modest income |
Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit part) |
| 9 |
Aged 65 and over with low/modest income |
Pension Credit (Savings Credit Part) |
A further benefit available to deafened people is that Social Services may provide certain aids to
daily living such as the alerting systems and text-phones mentioned in this booklet. Again there is
inconsistency in what might be provided even though there is a requirement for Social Services to
provide appropriate support. It is certainly worth seeing what is available.
Should you decide that you are unable, or do not wish, to continue working or decide to seek alternative
employment, then it is important you first consider what benefits could be available to you from any
occupational pension scheme of which you have been a member. These benefits will depend on the type of
scheme to which you belonged and for some schemes there may be a provision for benefits to be taken
early in the event of ill-health. However such early benefits would usually be significantly less than
would be available at your normal retirement date.
Details of your scheme benefits should be available on request from your employer or from the Trustees
of your scheme. Your trade union representative may also be able to arrange for the details to be
obtained. If you have a private insured pension, then you should contact your Insurance Broker.
You should also take advice from an Independent Financial Adviser should you want to consider investing
any cash sum to secure a pension. See Yellow Pages under Financial Advisers and Investment Consultants.
See also Factsheet 4
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