Britons are being urged to check if they’re on the right benefit after a DWP correction exercise has found some people may have been receiving the wrong benefit for over a decade.

The benefit in question relates to Income Support, and those who claimed it on or after January 31, 2011, because of a disability or health condition, may be entitled to a special payment.

This is because they should have been told to claim income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) instead, which may have provided them with more money.

Those who are still receiving Income Support will need to be assessed to find out if they should move to income-related ESA.

But people will have to apply for the assessment and special payment, and strict eligibility criteria must be met to qualify.

Who could be eligible?

Those who are still getting Income Support, which will soon be fully replaced by Universal Credit, may be entitled to a special payment if both of the following apply:

• They made a claim for Income Support on or after January 31, 2011, because of a disability or health condition
• They were not getting the Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance when they made the claim.

People will need to have a Work Capability Assessment to find out how their disability or health condition affects how much they can work.

Claimants will only be eligible for a special payment if they are assessed as having ‘limited capability for work’ or ‘limited capability for work and work-related activity’.

Those who have moved from Income Support to income-related ESA or Universal Credit may be entitled to a special payment if all of the following apply:

• They made a claim for Income Support on or after January 31, 2011, because of a disability or health condition
• They were not getting the Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance when they made that Income Support claim
• They had a Work Capability Assessment when they moved from Income Support to income-related ESA or Universal Credit and were found to have ‘limited capability for work’ or ‘limited capability for work and work-related activity’.

How to apply

To apply for the back payment, people are advised to contact Jobcentre Plus and say they’re enquiring about the ‘Income Support Claims Review exercise’.

People can do this by phoning 0800 169 0310, or the textphone on 0800 169 0314. People who can’t hear or speak on the phone can get through via Relay on 18001 then 0800 169 0310.

What will happen next?

People will be told if they need to provide any additional details to support their application. The DWP will then compare what the person was paid on Income Support with the amount they should have been paid on income-related ESA.

If the person would have been paid more on income-related ESA, they will be paid the money they should have had.

If they got more on Income Support than they would have gotten on income-related ESA, the DWP says they would not have to pay the extra money back.