My partner and I have just been granted Pension Credit. She is also in receipt of Disability Living Allowance. We were discouraged from alloying for the carers allowance with DLA as it would have meant being ‘reassessed’ for PIP and would have possibly meant losing the Motorbility car.
We have just been leading through the Pension Credit documents and have come across something called ‘Carers Premium’. This could potentially make a difference to our lives. BUT what I need to know is whether claiming it will in any way compromise the Disability Living Allowance?
Extra Pension Credit for severely disabled people or carers.
If someone gets Attendance Allowance or the middle or highest rate care component of DLA , PIP or AFIP , they may be entitled to extra Pension Credit of £65.85. If someone gets Carer’s Allowance they may be entitled to extra Pension Credit of £36.85.
Carers Premium ?
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How much is the carer premium?
Carer premium is £36.85 a week for each person who qualifies.
How do I get the carer premium?
You must be entitled to Carer’s Allowance. It does not matter whether or not Carer’s Allowance is actually paid to you. For example, you may be getting another benefit, such as State Pension, which overlaps with Carer’s Allowance and stops you getting a payment. But as long as you have an underlying entitlement to Carer’s Allowance, you are eligible for the carer premium.
If you already get Carer’s Allowance and the means-tested benefit you’re entitled to, you don’t have to do anything. The carer premium should be added on automatically by the relevant government department.
If you don’t already get the means-tested benefit that you want the carer premium to be added to, you must make a new claim. For example, if your weekly income is £1.00 too high to get income-related ESA but you qualify for a carer premium of £36.85 a week, you could make a new claim for income-related ESA and get an extra £35.85 a week.
You need to contact the department that deals with the means-tested benefit that you’re getting or want to get. This will usually be the Department for Work and Pensions , or the Disability and Carer’s Service in Northern Ireland. If you’re claiming Housing Benefit, contact your local council (or the Northern Ireland Housing Executive , if you live in Northern Ireland).
If the person you look after gets the severe disability premium included in their means-tested benefit, their severe disability premium may stop if you claim Carer’s Allowance. Ask a benefits adviser for more information.
What should I do if my circumstances change?
If you are receiving the carer premium and there is a change in your circumstances, you need to report it to the relevant government department. You should also tell them if you have given incorrect information by mistake. >
For once , CUK may have come up trumps.
From elsewhere on this site … The CUK Advice Team on this :
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My daughter was recently awarded Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
If I make a claim for Carer’s Allowance, could it affect her payments? I’m unable to work at the moment because my husband works away from home and I need to be around to look after my daughter.
We were discouraged from alloying for the carers allowance with DLA as it would have meant being ‘reassessed’ for PIP
Personally, I don’t understand this statement. Who advises you here.
Everyone will eventually be on PIP. It’s putting of the inevitable. Carers allowance still stands if your cared for is still on DLA.
All claimants who are on DLA will be contacted by the DWP. So many still wait!!
People can continue to get DLA or PIP beyond the age of 65, if they continue to satisfy the relevant disability tests, but new claims must have been made before the person’s 65th birthday.
Attendance Allowance (AA) may be claimed by people aged 65 or over with care needs, but it has no mobility component.
If someone is receiving their pension they cannot claim Carers Allowance - both are classed as “Income Substitutes” and you can only have one or the other, not both.
However, if you are a carer, claiming other benefits, you can still have a “Carers Credit”.
(Chris will rap my knuckles if any of this is wrong!)
