Birmingham Council Tax Support for War Pensioners and War Disablement Pension Recipients

Protected Category Status

War pensioners are one of Birmingham's six protected working-age groups for Council Tax Support. Protected status means your CTS award is calculated from a 100% baseline — not the 80% cap that applies to standard working-age claimants. In practical terms, if your income is at or below your applicable amount and you have no non-dependant deductions, your council tax bill could be reduced to zero.

The protection applies if you receive any of these:

• War Disablement Pension — paid by Veterans UK for a disability caused or made worse by service in the armed forces
• War Widow's or War Widower's Pension — paid to the surviving spouse or civil partner of someone who died as a result of service

Birmingham's published protected-category list names War Disablement, War Widow's and War Widower's Pensions; it does not list AFCS payments as a qualifying pension.

Income Disregards for War Pensions

War Disablement Pension and War Widow(er)'s Pension are fully disregarded when the council calculates your income for CTS purposes. They don't count towards the means test at all — the council ignores them completely when comparing your weekly income against your applicable amount.

This is a significant advantage. A veteran receiving a War Disablement Pension alongside a small occupational pension or part-time earnings may find that their countable income (after the war pension disregard and the £50 earnings disregard) falls below the applicable amount, producing a full award.

The Birmingham scheme's regulations list guaranteed income payments and certain Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments in its income definition, so do not describe them as fully disregarded or as automatic protected-category evidence.

Non-Dependant Deduction Exemptions

War pensioners receiving certain disability benefits also benefit from non-dependant deduction exemptions. If you or your partner receive PIP daily living component, DLA care component (middle or high rate), or Armed Forces Independence Payment, the council waives the non-dependant deduction for any adult living in your property.

This matters in multi-generational households. Without the exemption, an adult child earning £300 per week would trigger a £10.60 weekly deduction from your CTS award. With it, no deduction applies regardless of the non-dependant's earnings.

How to Claim

Apply through the standard CTS route — the Citizen Access Portal at birmingham.gov.uk/CTS. When the application asks about benefits, include your war pension or AFCS details. The council needs evidence: your most recent award letter from Veterans UK (or the War Pensions team at Norcross).

If you've been getting CTS at the standard 80% rate because the council didn't know about your war pension, report it as a change of circumstances. The council should reassess your claim and apply protected status. For working-age claims, backdating is limited to one month and requires good cause; pension-age claims can be backdated up to three months automatically.

Other Reductions to Check

War pensioners may also qualify for the disabled band reduction scheme (a separate statutory reduction that charges your property at one band below its actual band) if the property has been adapted for disability needs. This is council tax-wide, not CTS-specific, and it stacks with your CTS award.

The Birmingham Council Tax Reduction guide covers all six protected categories, the income disregard rules, and the interaction between war pensions and the council tax means test.

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