{"id":305068,"date":"2026-02-18T23:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T23:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/305068\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T23:42:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T23:42:09","slug":"cost-of-living-boost-announced-for-150000-adults-worth-400-per-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/305068\/","title":{"rendered":"Cost of living boost announced for 150,000 adults worth \u00a3400 per year"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 150,000 working\u2011age disabled adults receiving social care will be able to keep at least \u00a3400 extra each year from April after the Government confirmed a significant above\u2011inflation increase to financial support thresholds.<\/p>\n

Ministers have announced a seven per cent rise to the minimum income guarantee, the largest real\u2011terms increase in more than a decade, as part of wider measures aimed at helping vulnerable households manage living costs. <\/p>\n

The change means people receiving care in the community will retain more income after paying charges linked to home care and other local authority social care services.<\/p>\n

Under existing legislation, social care charges cannot reduce a person\u2019s income below a protected level.<\/p>\n

The latest changes strengthen that safeguard for working\u2011age disabled adults, who often face higher everyday living costs.<\/p>\n

The minimum income guarantee applies to people receiving social care while continuing to live in their own homes rather than in residential settings.<\/p>\n

Many disabled people currently contribute towards their care using disability benefits, leaving limited disposable income for essential expenses.<\/p>\n

Campaigners have long warned that care charges can leave individuals with very little remaining income once food, clothing, energy bills, water charges and insurance are accounted for.<\/p>\n

\"Couple\"\/<\/p>\n

Above-inflation rise to minimum income guarantee alongside home adaptation funding increase confirmed<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

Rates were frozen for several years, which advocacy groups say contributed to financial hardship.<\/p>\n

People with higher levels of disability who qualify for additional disability premiums are expected to benefit further, with some forecast to receive up to \u00a3510 more each year.<\/p>\n

Officials said the additional income is intended to help cover core household spending including heating, food and basic utilities.<\/p>\n

Alongside income support measures, the Government confirmed \u00a3723million will be allocated to the Disabled Facilities Grant next year to support home adaptations for older and disabled people.<\/p>\n

\"\\u200bDisabled<\/p>\n

Disabled adults will benefit from the support<\/p>\n

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GETTY<\/p>\n

The programme helped around 60,000 people last year to make property modifications such as stairlifts, ramps, widened doorways and accessible bathrooms, enabling them to live independently for longer.<\/p>\n

The current upper grant limit is \u00a330,000, though councils can exceed this cap where individual circumstances justify additional support.<\/p>\n

Regional allocations show the North West receiving the largest share at \u00a3124.3million, followed by the South East at \u00a3115million and London at nearly \u00a396million.<\/p>\n

These adaptations also support wider NHS capacity by helping prevent falls, reducing hospital admissions and enabling faster discharge.<\/p>\n

Health services are expected to benefit indirectly through reduced demand linked to avoidable injuries and delayed discharges.<\/p>\n

\"Manchester\"\/<\/p>\n

The North West will receive the largest share of the support<\/p>\n

| GETTY<\/p>\n

Stephen Kinnock, care minister, said: \u201cWe are determined to not only reform adult social care but do it in a way that helps some of the most vulnerable people in society with the daily pressures they face.<\/p>\n

“From April, more than 150,000 disabled adults will keep hundreds of pounds more each year \u2014 putting extra money back into their pockets to help with everyday costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the measures form part of wider Government plans to develop a national care service focused on quality, fairness and dignity.<\/p>\n

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Mencap, said: \u201cThis inflation\u2011busting seven per cent is a welcome step in the right direction,\u201d though the organisation continues to campaign for a long\u2011term system where social care is free at the point of need.<\/p>\n

The measures are expected to take effect from April as part of wider social care funding and reform planning. <\/p>\n

Officials said further details on implementation will be confirmed alongside local authority guidance ahead of the new financial year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 150,000 working\u2011age disabled adults receiving social care will be able to keep at least \u00a3400 extra…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":305069,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[72,943,113,61,60,1087],"class_list":["post-305068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-cost-of-living","tag-economy","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-money"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/305069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}