A little-known benefit could pay you as much as £11,715 a year from the DWP – and it’s open to anyone of any age.

The Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit pays £225.30 per week – almost as much as a full new state pension – but you don’t have to be of state pension age. As the name suggests, the benefit is payable to those who have been involved in an accident at work. It’s also payable to anyone who picked up a condition, disease or illness through their employment, and there’s a full list of 70 diseases which make you eligible for the payments.

The benefit covers anyone who was disabled due to an accident at work, or on a training scheme or course, or caught one of 70 ‘prescribed diseases’ listed as eligible for the payments by the DWP. 

The government explains: “The Industrial Injuries Scheme provides non-contributory no-fault benefits for disablement because of an accident at work, or because of one of over 70 prescribed diseases known to be a risk from certain jobs.

“The scheme also covers people working on approved employment training schemes or courses. The benefits payable under the scheme are known as Industrial Injuries Scheme Benefits (IISB).

“Benefits are paid to employees who were employed earners at the time of the accident or when they contracted a prescribed disease, or to people who were working on an approved employment training scheme or course.

“You can claim IIDB if you were employed in a job or were on an approved employment training scheme or course that caused your disease.”

In order to qualify as eligible, you need to undertake an assessment. That assessment will result in a ‘disablement rating’ of between 0 and 100%. The disablement score dictates how much you’re paid, with 14% the minimum disablement score to receive a payment.

Those with a 100% score get the full £225.30, and those on 50% get £112.65, and those with a 20% score get £45.06 per week.

The diseases eligible for IISB payments include:

• asthma

• chronic bronchitis or emphysema – also known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

• deafness

• pneumoconiosis (including silicosis and asbestosis)

• osteoarthritis of the knee in coal miners

• prescribed disease A11 (previously known as vibration white finger)

• Dupuytren’s contracture

The scheme also covers asbestos related diseases including:

• pneumoconiosis (asbestosis)

• diffuse mesothelioma

• primary carcinoma of the lung with asbestosis

• primary carcinoma of the lung without asbestosis but where there has been extensive occupational exposure to asbestos in specified occupations

• unilateral or bilateral diffuse pleural thickening

For the full list, click here.