Paragraph 36 Meaning of “income”: pensioners

England and Wales

(1)

For the purposes of classes A and B in this scheme, “income” (“incwm”) means income of any of the following descriptions—

(a)

earnings;

(b)

working tax credit;

(c)

retirement pension income within the meaning of the State Pension Credit Act 2002;

(d)

income from annuity contracts (other than retirement pension income);

(e)

a war disablement pension or war widow’s or widower’s pension;

(f)

a foreign war disablement pension or war widow’s or widower’s pension;

(g)

a guaranteed income payment;

(h)

a payment made under article 29(1)(c) of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2011^f1, in any case where article 31(2)(c) applies;

(i)

income from capital other than capital disregarded under Part 1 of Schedule 8;

(j)

social security benefits, other than retirement pension income or any of the following benefits—

(i)

disability living allowance;

(ii)

personal independence payment;

(iii)

an AFIP;

(iv)

attendance allowance payable under section 64 of the SSCBA (entitlement to attendance allowance);

(v)

an increase of disablement pension under section 104 (increase for constant attendance) or 105 of the SSCBA (increase for exceptionally severe disablement);

(vi)

child benefit;

(vii)

any guardian’s allowance payable under section 77 of the SSCBA (guardian’s allowance);

(viii)

any increase for a dependant, other than the applicant’s partner, payable in accordance with Part 4 of the SSCBA (increases for dependants);

(ix)

any—

(aa)

social fund payment made under Part 8 of the SSCBA (the social fund); or

(bb)

occasional assistance;

(x)

Christmas bonus payable under Part 10 of the SSCBA (Christmas bonus for pensioners);

(xi)

housing benefit;

(xii)

council tax benefit;

F1(xiii)

bereavement support payment under section 30 of the Pensions Act 2014;

(xiv)

statutory sick pay;

(xv)

statutory maternity pay;

(xvi)

F2... statutory paternity pay payable under Part 12ZA of the SSCBA (statutory paternity pay)^f2;

F3(xvia)

statutory shared parental pay payable under Part 12ZC of the SSCBA;

F4(xvib)

statutory parental bereavement pay under Part 12ZD of SSCBA;

F5(xvic)

statutory neonatal care pay;

(xvii)

additional statutory paternity pay payable under Part 12ZA of the SSCBA;

(xviii)

statutory adoption pay payable under Part 12ZB of the SSCBA (statutory adoption pay);

(xix)

any benefit similar to those mentioned in the preceding provisions of this paragraph payable under legislation having effect in Northern Ireland;

F6(xx)

universal credit;

(k)

all foreign social security benefits which are similar to the social security benefits prescribed above;

(l)

a payment made—

(i)

under article 30 of the Naval, Military and Air Forces Etc (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 2006^f3, in any case where article 30(1)(b) applies; or

(ii)

under article 12(8) of that Order (unemployability allowances: children who have reached the child’s age limit), in any case where sub-paragraph (b) of article 12(8) applies;

F7(m)

a pension paid by a government to victims of National Socialist persecution;

(n)

payments under a scheme made under the Pneumoconiosis etc (Worker’s Compensation) Act 1979^f4;

(o)

payments made towards the maintenance of the applicant by the applicant’s spouse, civil partner, former spouse or former civil partner or towards the maintenance of the applicant’s partner by that person’s spouse, civil partner, former spouse or former civil partner, including payments made—

(i)

under a court order;

(ii)

under an agreement for maintenance; or

(iii)

voluntarily;

(p)

payments due from any person in respect of board and lodging accommodation provided by the applicant;

(q)

royalties or other sums paid as a consideration for the use of, or the right to use, any copyright, design, patent or trade mark;

(r)

any payment in respect of any—

(i)

book registered under the Public Lending Right Scheme 1982^f5; or

(ii)

work made under any international public lending right scheme that is analogous to the Public Lending Right Scheme 1982;

(s)

any payment, other than a payment ordered by a court or made in settlement of a claim, made by or on behalf of a former employer of a person on account of the early retirement of that person on grounds of ill-health or disability;

(t)

any sum payable by way of pension out of money provided under—

(i)

the Civil List Act 1837^f6;

(ii)

the Civil List Act 1937^f7;

(iii)

the Civil List Act 1952^f8;

(iv)

the Civil List Act 1972^f9; or

(v)

the Civil List Act 1975^f10;

(u)

any income in lieu of that specified in paragraphs (a) to (r);

(v)

any payment of rent made to an applicant who—

(i)

owns the freehold or leasehold interest in any property or is a tenant of any property;

(ii)

occupies part of the property; and

(iii)

has an agreement with another person allowing that person to occupy that property on payment of rent;

(w)

any payment made at regular intervals under an equity release scheme;

(x)

PPF periodic payments within the meaning of section 17(1) of the State Pension Credit Act 2002.

(2)

Where the payment of any social security benefit referred to in sub-paragraph (1) is subject to any deduction (other than an adjustment specified in sub-paragraph (4)) the amount to be taken into account under sub-paragraph (1) is to be the amount before the deduction is made.

(3)

Where an award of any working tax credit or child tax credit is subject to a deduction by way of recovery of an overpayment of working tax credit or child tax credit which arose in a previous tax year the amount to be taken into account under sub-paragraph (1) is to be the amount of working tax credit or child tax credit awarded less the amount of that deduction.

(4)

The adjustments specified in this sub-paragraph are those made in accordance with—

(a)

the Social Security (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations 1979^f11;

(b)

the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations 2005^f12;

(c)

section 30DD or section 30E of the SSCBA^f13 (reductions in incapacity benefit in respect of pensions and councillor’s allowances);

(d)

section 3 of the Welfare Reform Act 2007 (deductions from contributory employment and support allowance in respect of pensions and councillor’s allowances) and regulations made under it.

(5)

In sub-paragraph (1)(w), “equity release scheme” (“cynllun rhyddhau ecwiti”) means a loan—

(a)

made between a person (“the lender”) and the applicant;

(b)

by means of which a sum of money is advanced by the lender to the applicant by way of payments at regular intervals; and

(c)

which is secured on a dwelling in which the applicant owns an estate or interest and which the applicant occupies as the applicant’s home.

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1: Sch. Scheme para. 36(1)(j)(xiii) substituted (with application in accordance with reg. 1(3) of the amending S.I.) by The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements and Default Scheme) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/14), regs. 1(2), 18(a)
F2: Word in Sch. Scheme para. 36(1)(j)(xvi) omitted (with application in accordance with reg. 1(3) of the amending S.I.) by virtue of The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements and Default Scheme) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/44), regs. 1(2), 19(a)
F3: Sch. Scheme para. 36(1)(j)(xvia) inserted (with application in accordance with reg. 1(3) of the amending S.I.) by The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements and Default Scheme) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/44), regs. 1(2), 19(b)
F4: Sch. Scheme para. 36(1)(j)(xvib) inserted (with application in accordance with reg. 1(3) of the amending S.I.) by The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements and Default Scheme) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/16), regs. 1(2), 17
F5: Sch. Scheme para. 36(1)(j)(xvic) inserted (in relation to a council tax reduction scheme made for a financial year beginning on or after 1.4.2026) by The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements and Default Scheme) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2026 (W.S.I. 2026/13), regs. 1(2)(3), 19
F6: Sch. Scheme para. 36(1)(j)(xx) inserted (with application in accordance with reg. 1(3)(4) of the amending S.I.) by The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements and Default Scheme) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/34), regs. 1(2), 14
F7: Sch. Scheme para. 36(1)(m) substituted (with application in accordance with reg. 1(3) of the amending S.I.) by The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements and Default Scheme) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/14), regs. 1(2), 18(b)

Footnotes

f1: S.I. 2011/517.
f2: Part 12ZA was inserted by section 2 and Part 12ZB was inserted by section 4 of the Employment Act 2002 (c.22).
f3: S.I. 2006/606.
f4: 1979 c.41.
f5: The Public Lending Scheme is appended to S.I. 1982/719; it was substituted by Appendix 2 to S.I. 1990/2360. Amendments have since been made to it but they are not relevant to these Regulations.
f6: 1837 c.2.
f7: 1937 c.32.
f8: 1952 c.37.
f9: 1972 c.7.
f10: 1975 c.82.
f11: S.I. 1979/597.
f12: S.I. 2005/3360.
f13: 1992 c.4. Section 30DD was inserted by section 63 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (c.30). Section 30E was inserted by section 3 of the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Act 1994 (c.18). Both sections are repealed by the Welfare Reform Act 2007 (c.3), Schedule 8 (not yet in force).

Notes on Schedule

Commencement

I1: Sch. in force at 28.11.2013, see reg. 1(2)