The Brain Charity

For many people in the UK, living with a neurological condition doesn’t just affect their health — it affects their income, housing, employment, and financial security, potentially leading to poverty.

Disabled people are more likely to live in poverty than non-disabled people. According to the UK Government’s Households Below Average Income data, 23% of working-age disabled adults live in relative poverty after housing costs, compared with 20% of non-disabled adults.

Source: UK Parliament briefing

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN07096/SN07096.pdf

When examining households, the picture becomes even clearer. Analysis by the New Policy Institute shows that almost half of people living in poverty are either disabled themselves or live in a household with a disabled person.

This is not about personal failure. It is about systems that are not designed to support individuals whose lives are profoundly impacted by long-term neurological conditions.

At The Brain Charity, we see the consequences of this every day through our Information & Advice Service, which supports people affected by neurological conditions in navigating benefits, housing, debt, employment rights, and accessing support.

The hidden link between neurological conditions and poverty

Neurological conditions can affect memory, mobility, communication, fatigue, concentration, emotional regulation, and processing speed. These challenges don’t exist in isolation — they can directly affect a person’s ability to earn an income, manage finances, and navigate complex systems.

One of the strongest drivers of poverty is exclusion from the workplace. In the UK, the employment rate for disabled people is around 53%, compared with over 80% for non-disabled people — an employment gap of nearly 30 percentage points.

For people with neurological conditions, symptoms such as fatigue, pain, cognitive impairment, or fluctuating capacity can make full-time or sustained employment difficult — particularly in workplaces that lack flexibility or understanding.

At the same time, disability brings extra, unavoidable costs. Research by Scope estimates that disabled households face average extra costs of £975 per month, including transport to medical appointments, higher energy bills, specialist equipment, and support needs.

Source: Scope

https://www.scope.org.uk/media/disability-facts-figures

These additional costs are rarely fully covered by disability benefits.

As a result, people with neurological conditions are more likely to experience poverty because of:

• Reduced or lost income due to illness or fluctuating symptoms
• Barriers to staying in work or returning after illness
• Long waits for diagnosis or treatment
• Significant extra living costs linked to disability
• A benefits system that is complex, stressful, and often inaccessible

For many people, financial hardship begins before a formal diagnosis and deepens over time without the right advice and support.

“I didn’t know what help I was entitled to”

One of the most common things we hear from people contacting The Brain Charity is:

“I didn’t know I could get help.”

Financial support, disability benefits, and legal protections are available, but accessing them can be extremely challenging. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Poverty and Inequality has highlighted that disabled people face persistent barriers in the social security system, particularly when benefits assessments and appeals fail to account for cognitive and neurological impairments.

Forms are long. Language is technical. Processes are rigid. Assessments are stressful and intimidating. For individuals with memory issues, communication difficulties, or fatigue, mistakes are easy to make — and these mistakes can be costly.

Without specialist advice, people may:

• Miss out on the benefits they are legally entitled to
• Accumulate debt while waiting for decisions
• Face housing insecurity or risk of eviction
• Be pushed further into crisis

This is where early, specialist advice makes a life-changing difference.

Why generic advice isn’t always enough

Many advice services are under intense pressure, and not all are equipped to understand how neurological conditions affect a person’s ability to engage with complex systems.

At The Brain Charity, our Information & Advice Service is neurology-informed. That means we understand how conditions affecting the brain can impact:

• Communication and comprehension
• Memory and organisation
• Fatigue and stress tolerance
• Confidence in challenging decisions or attending assessments

Our advisers take time. They explain things clearly, repeat information as needed, and tailor their approach to each individual. This might involve helping someone prepare for a benefits assessment, supporting them in challenging a decision, or advocating on their behalf when systems are failing to meet their needs.

How our Information & Advice Service helps

Our free, confidential Information & Advice Service supports people affected by neurological conditions, as well as their carers and families.

We can help with:

• Benefits advice and applications
• Challenging benefit decisions and assessments
• Debt and financial concerns
• Employment rights and workplace adjustments
• Accessing support services and practical help

For many people, one conversation is enough to prevent a situation from escalating — protecting income, housing, and wellbeing at a critical moment.

Poverty is not inevitable — support makes a difference

Living with a neurological condition should not mean living in poverty.

Evidence shows that when disabled people receive the right advice at the right time, they are more likely to stabilise their finances, remain in their homes, and maintain independence.

War on Poverty Day is a reminder that poverty is a structural issue, not an individual one — and that specialist advice services play a crucial role in preventing hardship before it becomes a crisis.

Get support from The Brain Charity

If you or someone you care for is struggling financially because of a neurological condition, you don’t have to face it alone.

Our Information & Advice Service is:

• Free
• Confidential
• Specialist
• Non-judgemental

Contact The Brain Charity’s Information & Advice Service today to get support with benefits, housing, money worries, and more.