What Are The Benefits For 17-Year-Olds Living At Home In The UK?

State benefits that are provided in the UK are generally applicable for individuals above the age of 18 years. However, there are certain conditions under which specific benefits can be claimed by those who are 16 or 17 years old and qualify to meet essential criteria for these benefits. Through this article, we will explore the benefits that can be claimed by 17-year-olds who are living at home with their parents by discussing the key benefits in detail.

What Are The Benefits For 17-Year-Olds Living At Home In The UK?

You may be able to claim Universal Credit if you are a 17-year-old living at home, with your parents in the UK. However, the fact that you live with your parents may reduce the monetary amount of your benefits claim. Additionally, if you are in full-time education, apprenticeship or training, you may not qualify for Universal Credit.

In certain cases, once individuals are over 16 years old, they can start claiming their Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments directly; while other benefits will still be claimed by their parents.

17-year-olds who do not live at home with their parents may be entitled to Universal Credit as well as Jobseekers Allowance. If someone is 16 or 17 years of age, expecting a child or already has one (or more), they may additionally be able to claim Income Support.

To be able to claim Universal credit as a 17-year-old you must fulfil the following conditions:

The claimant does not have any have parental support and:

have limited capability for work
has a health condition or disability and they can provide medical evidence
is responsible for a severely disabled person or child
lives with a partner who is eligible for Universal Credit
is expecting a baby in the next 11 weeks
has had a baby in the last 15 weeks

Can I Claim Universal Credit If I Am 17 And Living At Home?

Yes, you can claim Universal Credit if you meet the essential criteria to qualify for the benefit, are 17 years old and living at home.

Universal Credit is a state benefit for UK citizens above the age of 18 and below state pension age. It aims to provide financial assistance to individuals who are either out of work or on a low income. It is a monthly payment that claimants receive to help them to cover living costs.

To qualify for Universal Credit, claimants must be able to fulfil the below eligibility criteria:

aged between 18 (in some cases it may be 16 or 17) and state pension age
unemployed or on low income
between the claimant and their partner, total savings are less than £6,000
experiencing high costs for childcare
suffering from a disability or health condition
caring for someone else

The amount of Universal Credit that an individual receives depends on their personal circumstances and income (if any). For instance, someone who is single and younger than 25 years of age will be eligible for Universal Credit amounting to around £257 per month. Meanwhile, this amount will rise to around £509 for someone who is living with a partner and either one of them or both of them are above the age of 25.

Can I Claim Job Seekers’ Allowance If I Am 17 And Living At Home?

No, you cannot claim Job Seekers’ Allowance if you are 17 years and living at home. You can only claim this benefit at 17 years of age if you are not living with your parents.

Generally speaking, those seeking Job Seekers Allowance must be able to fulfil the following criteria:

aged 18 years or above
under state pension age
currently unemployed or working for less than 16 hours per week
previously held a job
available for and looking for work
have employment rights in the UK
previously paid National Insurance (in the recent 2 to 3 years)
currently not in full-time education
do not have an illness or disability that prevents being employed
live in England, Scotland or Wales

Should the above criteria be fulfilled, candidates will be able to claim JSA for 6 months; after which they will be advised by their work coach with regard to employment options.

Can I Claim Personal Independence Payments If I Am 17 And Living At Home?

Under certain circumstances, you will be able to claim Personal Independence Payments if they are 17 and living at home. Additionally, to claim Personal Independence Payments, individuals need to meet the below-listed criteria:

living in England, Scotland or Wales
have a long term disability, physical or mental condition
find it difficult to perform everyday tasks
expect these difficulties for a period of at least one year

What Are Means-Tested Benefits?

Means-tested benefits are those state benefits that are calculated on the basis of someone’s income, savings and capital. This is the reason why when someone is considered to be sharing your house or you and a partner appear to live together, their income and savings are also taken into account for your benefits claim and reduce the amount that you were receiving earlier.

Means-tested benefits include the following:

Income Support
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
Housing Benefit
Council Tax Reduction
Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit
Working Tax Credit
Universal Credit

Do I Have To Pay Council Tax If I Am 17 And Living With My Parents?

No, you do not have to make an individual contribution to council tax if you are 17 years old and living with your parents. Council tax is due on individuals once they are adults; which means that they must be at least 18 years of age.

Additionally, council tax calculations also take the following criteria into consideration:

your age (whether or not you are above 18 years of age)
if you are a full-time student
whether you are employed or receiving state benefits
whether you are living with parents to take care of them
if you are living with your parents because you need care

Council tax is not applicable to all the residents of a household but is, in fact, mandatory upon those adult members of a family who are either registered to pay council tax for their home or considered liable, depending upon their position in the hierarchy of liability.

However, a full council tax is applied with the understanding that the premises are occupied by two adults. In case, they are partners or spouses, both of them are jointly liable to pay. If they have children younger than 18 years of age, the children are not liable for payments. If they have children above the age of 18 but they are full-time students, council tax will not be levied upon them either.

If you have not been living with your parents earlier and have recently moved in with them, your addition to the household may have an impact on the council tax reductions that they were in receipt of earlier.

Who Does Not Count As An Adult?

The following list includes people who are not counted as adults for benefits and taxes:

children under the age of 18 years
full-time college and university students
individuals on apprentice schemes
student nurses
foreign language assistants who are registered with the British Council
live-in carers
those under the age of 25 getting funding from the Skills Funding Agency or Young People’s Learning Agency
people suffering from a severe mental impairment

Conclusion:

Through this article, we have learnt that there are very few benefits that can be directly claimed by individuals who are 17 years of age and living at home. While they may be able to claim a reduced amount of Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments in this situation, they must be living on their own to qualify for other benefits such as Jobseekers Allowance.

FAQs: What Are The Benefits For 17-Year-Olds Living At Home In The UK?

Can my 17-year-old claim Universal Credit?

Your 17 year old can claim Universal Credit under specific conditions. Firstly, while they may be able to claim Universal Credit at the age of 17 years while they continue to live with you; however, the fact that they live with their parents may reduce the monetary amount of their benefits claim. Additionally, if they are in full-time education, apprenticeship or training, they may not qualify for Universal Credit.

Can 17-year-olds claim job seekers allowance?

17-year-olds can only claim job seekers’ allowance if they are facing financial hardship and are not living with their parents. Additionally, they must be:

under state pension age
currently unemployed or working for less than 16 hours per week
previously held a job
available for and looking for work
have employment rights in the UK
previously paid National Insurance (in the recent 2 to 3 years)
currently not in full-time education
do not have an illness or disability that prevents being employed
live in England, Scotland or Wales

Can a 17-year-old claim PIP?

Yes, a 17-year-old can claim Personal Independence Payment if they are living in England, Scotland or Wales, have a long term disability, physical or mental condition, find it difficult to perform everyday tasks and expect these difficulties for a period of at least one year. Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a state benefit intended towards providing support to members of the community who are unable to meet their living costs due to a physical or mental condition or a disability that prevents them from performing everyday tasks,

Will my 17-year-old working affect my benefits?

No, the income of your 17-year-old will not affect your benefits claim as anyone under the age of 18 years is considered to be a dependent. Therefore their income is not counted towards the means test for a benefits claim.

At what age can you get Universal Credit?

You can claim eligibility for Universal Credit at the age of 18 years. However, if you are 16 or 17 years old and fall under certain specific situations, you may still be able to claim Universal Credit. To be able to claim Universal credit as a 17-year-old the claimant must fulfil the following conditions: