component of Disability Living Allowance, the Personal Independence Payment enhanced rate of the daily living component or Armed Forces Independence Payment. There are limited circumstances when the pensioner premium would apply. It is now only paid when the claimant is above Pension Credit age and their partner has not yet reached that age, but they are unable to claim another benefit (e.g. if the claimant is currently receiving a Severe Disability Premium). Since Pension Credit has features that make it more attractive than Income Support (in particular the way savings are treated) this is unlikely to occur frequently. Severe disability premium applies if all of the following conditions are met: The claimant gets the care component of Disability Living Allowance (middle or higher rate), Attendance Allowance, the daily living component of the Personal Independence Payment or armed forces independence payment lives alone (there are exceptions to this rule) no one claims Carer's Allowance for looking after them Mortgages For home-owners with a mortgage, Income Support may, depending on various qualifying conditions, help pay towards mortgage interest costs. There can be a waiting period of thirteen to thirty-nine weeks. Older people Claimants reaching the retirement age, and with an older partner who is that age, may apply for Pension Credit to replace their Income Support payments. They should contact The Pension Service four months before that time. Appeal A refusal to grant Income Support may be appealed to the First-tier Tribunal. This should be done working one month of the date of any decision under dispute. If the appellant has good cause, this deadline can be extended a further 12 months (making a total of 13 months from the date of decision). See also Guaranteed minimum income Social Fund (UK) Supplemental Security Income, a similar programme offered by the United States Social Security Administration Welfare state References Further reading Colombino, U. (2009). Evaluating alternative basic income mechanisms: a simulation for European countries, Discussion Papers 578, Research Department of Statistics Norway. Social security in the United Kingdom