Can anyone tell me what happens to a disabled person’s severe disability premium if they have a formal paid carer living in their home?
My partner’s brother is disabled, and receives the severe disability premium as part of his benefits. His condition is getting worse, so he is going to start having a formally paid live in carer living at his house soon, but I’ve heard that for him to be living with another “able bodied” adult would impact on his SDP.
Can anyone here tell me how the SDP works when the disabled adult receiving the premium has a live-in carer, who does not claim Carer’s Allowance for the recipient, but instead gets paid to care through the council/social services (direct payments) and the SDP recipient has to pay the council a contribution towards the cost of that care.
Can’t find a straight answer anywhere online, so I expect this is a grey area, but I’m hoping someone here might know through experience? I feel like it would be odd for the DWP to take the SDP away from someone who needed a level of care that required a formally employed live in carer, especially if they were contributing towards the cost too, but who knows. Hope someone can clarify things for us.
I’m sure that whether or not someone gets SDP depends on whether or not someone else is claiming Carers Allowance for them. Unfortunately I don’t know where my benefits guide is at the moment, as I’m redecorating.
Severe disability premium is a additional amount that is included in other benefits. My advice is to ring CAB to see if they can help with your question.
Can I get a Severe Disability Premium ?
To get a Severe Disability Premium you have to be getting an income related benefit. This could be Income Support, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Guarantee Pension Credit, or Housing Benefit.
You also must be getting one of these benefits:
Attendance Allowance (or Constant Attendance Allowance paid with Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or War Pension)
Disability Living Allowance care component at the middle or highest rate
Personal Independence Payment daily living component
Armed Forces Independence Payment If you are single:
No one must be getting Carer’s Allowance or Carer’s Element of Universal Credit for looking after you, and
You must be the only adult in the household. If you live with a flatmate who you split bills with, you will probably be treated as the only adult in the household.
If you live with another adult who is not your partner, you might still be entitled to a Severe Disability Premium. This can be complicated and you should use our tool to find an adviser
If you are a couple:
Both you and your partner must each be getting one of these benefits:
Attendance Allowance (or Constant Attendance Allowance paid with Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or War Pension)
Disability Living Allowance care component at the middle or highest rate
Personal Independence Payment daily living component
Armed Forces Independence Payment
No one must be getting Carer’s Allowance or Carer’s Element of Universal Credit for looking after you
If someone gets Carer’s Allowance or Carer’s Element of Universal Credit for looking after just one of you, you can still get Severe Disability Premium at the single rate.
You must be the only adults in the household
Sometimes you can get Severe Disability Premium even if there are other adults in the household. This can be complicated and you should use our tool to find an adviser
Qualifying for a Severe Disability Premium in other situations
If you are part of a couple and your partner is registered blind, you can still qualify for SDP paid at the single rate even if your partner does not get a qualifying benefit.
Severe Disability Premium and carers
It is important to talk to the person who cares for you about whether they get Carer’s Allowance or the Carer’s Element in Universal Credit.
If the person who cares for you is thinking of claiming Carer’s Allowance or the Carer’s Element in Universal Credit, you should get advice. If your carer is paid Carer’s Allowance or Carer’s Element of Universal Credit, it will stop you from getting a Severe Disability Premium. Your Council Tax Support can also be affected. You can use our Find an Adviser tool to find local advice.