Are you a carer?

You are a carer if you provide help and support for someone, without being paid, due to their ill health or disability. 

Find out what benefits are available to you, where to get support, and what other entitlements and funding you could get to help you.

Carer’s Allowance is a non-means tested benefit paid to carers who meet certain criteria.

You may be eligible for Carer’s Allowance if you spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone who gets a qualifying disability benefit, and meet the other eligibility criteria.

If you claim Universal Credit, any Carer’s Allowance income you receive will be deducted in full. However, you’ll get extra money from having a 'carer element' added to your Universal Credit. See the Carers UK guidance on Universal Credit for more information about this. 

If you’re over pension age, you can still apply but you may not receive any additional money. 

The person you care for must get one of these benefits before you can be awarded Carer’s Allowance:

• Personal Independence Payment - daily living component
• Disability Living Allowance - the middle or highest care rate
• Attendance Allowance
• Constant Attendance Allowance at or above the normal maximum rate with an Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• Constant Attendance Allowance at the basic (full day) rate with a War Disablement Pension
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
  If you meet the criteria, you can apply online on the Gov.uk website here.

Carer’s Allowance will not reduce your total benefit entitlement. In some cases total income will stay the same and in some cases your total benefits income will increase.

In many cases Carer’s Allowance will have no effect on the benefits of the person you support. Carer’s Allowance will never affect the person’s disability benefit. However, if the person you care for gets an extra amount called a ‘severe disability premium’ then this will stop once you claim Carer’s Allowance.

The Carer’s UK website and helpline can explain this in more detail if you want to know more.

You might qualify for one or more means tested benefits. This will depend on your household circumstances.

Benefit calculators are websites designed to estimate the benefits you could claim. For example, betteroffcalculator.co.uk or entitledto.co.uk will estimate benefits based on the details you input.

Universal Credit is a benefit that has replaced most means-tested benefits across the United Kingdom. You can find out more and apply online at Gov.uk: Universal Credit.

You won’t be allowed to apply for Universal Credit if you’ve reached State Pension Age or you get a Severe Disability Premium in your current benefit award.

Universal Credit includes an element for carers, including carers who work. You can find out more at Carersuk.org: Universal Credit.

You can check if the Carer Element has been added to your award by reading your Universal Credit Statement. Each payment amount in the ‘Payments’ section of your Universal Credit account is clickable and leads to a link showing your Universal Credit Statement. The Universal Credit Statement will show the elements that make up your award. Your award will always include a Standard Allowance. Under that figure you should see a separate element labelled ‘Carer’ if the Carer element has been added.

 

If you’ve paid National Insurance in the past two tax years, and you’re currently unwell or a jobseeker, you might qualify for a contribution-based benefit.

Contribution-based benefits aren’t affected by savings and aren’t affected by some types of income.

New Style ESA is for people who can’t work because of ill health.
New Style JSA is for people who are looking for work.
You can’t claim one of these benefits at the same time as Carer’s Allowance.

Carers are often exempt from paying council tax. Ask your local council for a list of their Council Tax Discounts and Exemptions. These exemptions are not related to your income. Exemptions and discounts can be backdated.

Regardless of whether you get Carer’s Allowance, local councils have a duty under the Care Act 2015 to assess the needs of both carers and those with care needs. Any needs identified should then be supported financially (in some cases) or with other forms of help and support.

The Carers UK website for more information about Carers Assessments and Needs Assessments.

The Equality Act 2010 is another law that affects carers. The Equality Act has helped to set in place the way businesses should take into account the needs of customers with disabilities, with reasonable adjustments in place that allow accessibility at no extra cost.

For example, if you support someone to go to the cinema or another leisure activity such as the zoo or swimming, you should be entitled to free entry in many cases.

A card for free cinema entry is available here and in other cases, speak to centre managers or customer services to enquire about free carer entry.

Need further advice?

Before contacting the service, we encourage you to see the advice guides and tools located on the Financial Wellbeing pages as these may answer your query without the need to wait for an appointment.

If you do need to speak with someone, please see booking an appointment with the RCN Welfare Service.