Help if you're on a low income

You could get extra help if you or someone who lives with you gets any of these:

• Adult Disability Payment
• Child Disability Payment
• Pension Age Disability Payment
• Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance (Scottish Adult DLA)

Employment support

You may be able to get extra payments from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). These are called disability premiums.

If you’re eligible, you’ll get an extra amount on top of your normal payment. You’ll still get your usual disability payment from Social Security Scotland too.

You may be eligible if you get something from both of these lists:

• any of these Social Security Scotland benefits:
  • Adult Disability Payment
  • Child Disability Payment
  • Pension Age Disability Payment
  • Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance (Scottish Adult DLA)
• any of these from DWP:
  • Employment and Support Allowance
  • Housing benefit
  • Income Support
  • Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Pension Credit
  • Universal Credit

You should contact the Department for Work and Pensions to tell them about your disability benefit.

Tax credits

Tax credits ended on 5 April 2025. You could still get a payment from HMRC if both:

• Social Security Scotland backdates your disability benefit to a time when you got tax credits
• you tell HMRC within 1 month of getting your new decision

Christmas Bonus

Christmas Bonus is a tax-free £10 payment. It’s paid before Christmas to anyone who gets certain benefits during the first full week of December. You do not have to apply. It’ll be paid automatically if you’re eligible. Find out more about Christmas Bonus