If you have a good reason for not claiming earlier, you can ask us to consider backdating your benefits.  This section explains about backdating benefit. You can get more information from the Benefits Office at:

Revenue & Benefits Services
Bournemouth Borough Council
Town Hall
St Stephen’s Road
Bournemouth
BH2 6EB
Tel: 01202 451592

Download a pdf Backdating leaflet

When will my benefit start?
Your benefit will normally start from the Monday after we receive your claim. If you receive either Income Support (IS), income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA-IB) or income related Employment & Support Allowance, and you make a claim within one calendar month of your application for IS, JSA-IB or ESA-IR, your benefit claim will normally start on the Monday after IS, JSA-IB or ESA-IR is awarded.

Can you backdate my benefit?
For working age claimants we will not automatically backdate benefit. However, if you can show you had good reasons for not claiming benefit earlier, we may backdate your benefit. If you can show good reasons, we can only backdate benefit for up to 6 calendar months from the date we receive your request for backdating.

For claimants in receipt of Pension Credit, we can backdate benefit for up to 3 months, or the date you started to receive Pension Credits, whichever is earlier. This will be done automatically when you claim benefit. If you wish to backdate your claim to an earlier date, then you will need to show you had good reasons for not claiming earlier, your claim can only be backdated for up to 6 months.

What do you consider to be good reasons?
Unfortunately, the benefit regulations do not say what are, and what are not, 'good reasons' so we must consider each case individually. Before we can backdate benefit, we must be satisfied that anyone else of the same age and with the same health and experience as you would probably also not have been able to claim.

Not knowing that you could claim benefit earlier will not normally be considered as a 'good reason'. However, not claiming because you were in hospital or had severe health problems, or a close relative had died, could be considered as 'good reasons'. 'Good reasons' must apply for the whole period you're asking us to backdate your benefit for.

How do I apply for backdating?
If you want to ask us to backdate your Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit, you should contact the Benefits Office and ask for an Application Form to Backdate Benefit or you can download a pdf copy here.

When you return the application form you will be asked to provide any relevant supporting evidence, for example, a doctor's letter.