Carer’s Allowance is the main benefit for carers. You have to be caring for someone for 35 hours a week or more, and at the moment (March 2017) it’s worth £62.10 a week, which is great if you’ve had to cut down your working hours to care for your loved one. You must be earning less than £110 a week net to qualify, but that can include deductions for any care you have to buy in to cover times when you are at work. So far, so simple.
Except it’s not quite that simple, as many of our SimplyHealth Care Community members have found. It’s a means-tested benefit, so you have to show the Local Authority proof of your income. You have to be over 16, not in full-time education or study, and have lived in the UK for two of the last three years. Crucially, the person you care for must be receiving at least one of these benefits – Personal Independence Payment daily living component, Disability Living Allowance at the middle or higher rate or Constant Attendance Allowance.
The following link is the official and most reliable source of information, despite being a bit dry: gov.uk/carers-allowance
What’s your experience of claiming Carer’s Allowance? Do you have advice for other members who are thinking of claiming? Share you story on the Care Community forum.
Best wishes,
SimplyHealth Care Community team