There are two ways that carers may be able to get extra money: Carer's Allowance| and Carer Premium|.
Carer's Allowance
Carer's Allowance (CA) is a weekly benefit for carers.
To qualify you must:
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be aged 16 or over
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spend 35 hours a week caring (being present for the purpose of company and supervision, as well as actual assistance, is likely to count as time caring)
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not earn more than £95 a week
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not be a full time student
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care for a disabled person getting either
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Attendance Allowance
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Disability Living Allowance middle or high rate care
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Constant Attendance Allowance (of at least £54.80 a week)
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be the only person claiming CA for looking after the same person
How much CA am I entitled to?
The 2008/2009 weekly rates are:
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for you: £50.55
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for the dependant adult: £30.20
Both these amounts are taxable.
The amount of CA you get is affected by the following benefits:
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Contribution-based Jobseekers Allowance
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Retirement Pension
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War Widows Pension
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Maternity Allowance
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Widow's/Bereavement Benefits
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Incapacity Benefit
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Severe Disablement Allowance
If the amount of these benefits is
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less than £50.55, then CA is paid to top it up to £50.55. (For example, if your retirement pension is £40 a week you will get a CA top-up of £10.55.)
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more than £50.55, then you will not be paid CA, but will have an 'underlying entitlement' to the Carer Premium. (You must make a claim for CA to establish underlying entitlement.)
Carer Premium
Income Support/Pension Credit is assessed by comparing your weekly income against your applicable amount, this is the amount of money the Government says you need to live on each week. If your income is less than this, Income Support/Pension Credit is paid to top it up to the level of your applicable amount.
A carer premium (£27.75 a week) is added to your applicable amount if you receive CA or you have an underlying entitlement to CA.
This means you will either be entitled to more Income Support/Pension Credit or may now be able to claim for the first time.
For example, a retired couple would normally have an applicable amount of £189.35 a week. If one of them gets CA or has an underlying entitlement, their applicable amount will increase to £217.10. Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance are ignored when considering income.
The carer premium is also used in the calculation of income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.
More details on Carer's Allowance
Advantages of claiming CA
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You are credited with class 1 national insurance stamps for each week on CA. These count towards retirement pension and incapacity benefit.
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You will receive a £10 Christmas bonus.
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You may also be entitled to maximum Housing and Council Tax Benefit.
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If you qualify for income support or pension credit, you can get extra health benefits such as:
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free prescriptions
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dental treatment
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vouchers for glasses and free NHS eye tests.
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How to claim CA
Claim forms can be obtained by phoning the Department for Work & Pensions' Disability & Carer's Benefit Helpline on 0800 882200
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Warning!
Claiming CA can affect the disabled person's means-tested benefits in certain circumstances so advice should be sought before a claim is made. A detailed pack on Benefits for carers is available here.|
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Useful contacts
As well as the Welfare Benefits Helpline (contact details can be found in the Contact Us box on this page), you will be able to get further information from these sources:
Disability Information Service|
Dundas Resource Centre
Oxgang Road
Grangemouth
FX3 9EF
Telephone and minicom: 01324 504304
Fax: 01324 504312
email: dis@falkirk.gov.uk|
Carer's Allowance Unit
Palatine House
Lancaster Road
Preston
PR1 1HB
Telephone: 01253 856123
Textphone: 01772 899 489
Fax: 01772 899354
email: cau.customer-services@dwp.gsi.gov.uk|
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