This factsheet explains the basic rules for carers allowance. If, after reading it, you want to find out more or need help with making a claim see the Where can I get more help or information? section below.
Carer's allowance (CA) is a benefit for people who regularly spend at least 35 hours a week caring for a disabled person. The amount of savings you have does not affect your CA.
To get carer's allowance you must:
You must not be subject to any limitation on your right to stay in this country, such as a limitation on working or claiming benefits. There are exceptions to this rule, for example if you have refugee status or exceptional leave to remain or are a European Economic Area (EEA) national.
If you claim disability living allowance you also have to satisfy the residence and presence test. For this you must:
Ordinarily resident is not defined. It is taken to mean the place where you normally live for the time being if there is a degree of continuity about your stay and it can be described as being settled.
Present means physically present in the UK.
If you go abroad to live in an EEA country and your CA is exportable you do not have to satisfy the residence and presence rules.
On 18 October 2007 the European Court of Justice ruled that carer's allowance can be paid to people who move from the UK to another country within the European Economic Area (EEA).
Information on claiming disability benefits if you live in another European country and taking disability benefits to other European countries is available on the DirectGov website at www.direct.gov.uk.
You can also find out more information about exporting carer's allowance by contacting the Pensions, Disability and Carers Service exportability team:
Exportability Co-ordinator
Room C216
Pension, Disability and Carers Service
Warbreck House
Warbreck Hill Road
Blackpool
FY2 0YE
Email: exportability.team@dwp.gsi.gov.uk .
The rates are:
You can get an extra £31.70 for an adult dependant - your husband, wife or civil partner or any other adult who looks after your child(ren) - if you made your claim before 6 April 2010.
If your partner has certain benefits or earnings or an occupational and personal pension of more than £31.70 you will not be paid the adult dependant addition.
If you have dependent children you may be able to get extra help by claiming child tax credit.
The amount of savings you have does not affect your CA.
CA can continue to be paid for up to 8 weeks after the person you care for has died.
You claim on form DS700 (DS700(SP) if you get a state pension). These forms are available from a Jobcentre Plus office, Pension Centre or by ringing the free Benefit Enquiry Line (0800 882200 or 0800 220674 in Northern Ireland).
You can also claim carers allowance online in Great Britain at www.direct.gov.uk/carers-ca.
If your state retirement pension is less than your CA (£53.90 a week) you will be entitled to a top up of CA to that amount.
If your pension is more than £53.90 you won't actually get CA but you will still have an "underlying entitlement" to it, which may help you to get means tested benefits.
Whichever applies you may still be able to get extra pension credit because you are entitled to CA.
If you get CA you are allowed to work but must earn no more than £100 a week after tax, NI contributions and half of any pension contributions have been taken into account.
If you pay someone to look after the person you care for or any of your children who are under age 16 you can have up to half of these payments offset against any earnings you receive. You cannot do this if the payments are made to a close relative.
A close relative is the parent, partner, son, daughter, brother or sister of a carer or the person being cared for.
If you are 'entitled' to receive CA you can also get the carer premium (or carer's addition if you are on pension credit) when claiming income support, income related employment and support allowance, housing benefit or council tax benefit.
If you receive another benefit, such as incapacity benefit, state retirement pension or contributory employment and support allowance, which prevents you actually being paid CA you can still get the carer premium or addition.
If you are 'paid' CA it may stop the person you care for from getting severe disability premium as part of their income support, income related employment and support allowance, housing benefit or council tax benefit. If you are not actually being paid CA because you are on another benefit you can get the carer premium/addition and the person you care for can keep their severe disability premium.
You can get help with carer's allowance at your local advice centre, such as a citizen's advice bureau. You can get more information about this from Factsheet F15 - finding a local advice centre.
You can also find out more detailed information about carer's allowance in Disability Alliance's 'Disability Rights Handbook', available to buy at www.disabilityalliance.org/drh35.htm.
You can also obtain copies of our factsheets and publications by contacting Disability Alliance on 020 7247 8776 (this is not an advice line) or by fax on 020 7247 8765. All factsheets are available at www.disabilityalliance.org/fact.htm. All publications are available at www.disabilityalliance.org/shop.htm.
www.disabilityalliance.org - April 2010
