My 93yr old mother gets Attendance Allowance at the higher rate. I am her full-time, live in & only carer 24/7. I used to get Carer’s Allowance but since I got my state pension that is no longer available for me to claim. I have Power of Attorney for her financial affairs. As I am still providing all her care is it legitimate for me to receive a weekly payment from my mothers AA ?
1 Like
Basically, as I understand it, Attendance Allowance can be used to pay for extra support and assistance - i.e. gardener, cleaner, extra carer visits. Being retired at the time I was never eligible for Carers Allowance so my mother used to pay towards the running of my car as it was mainly used for her benefit.
You can check out CUK’s factsheet here
There are no restrictions on how you can spend your Attendance
Allowance. You do not have to spend it on paying for the care that you
need. However, your council or trust can take Attendance Allowance into
account when calculating how much you might need to pay for any care
services you receive.
1 Like
As you have Power of Attorney, please talk to the Office of Public Guardian (OPG) who regulate things like this. I know they have issued guidance on this subject that will help you. From memory it’s the National Minimum Wage less 20% and no need to declare it for tax, but please don’t take this as gospel, get the official guidance. Take this as a pointer in the right direction, because until you know the right person to ask, you can’t ask the right question!!! As you have POA, presumably mum is mentally frail? Did you know that she is exempt from Council Tax as a result. It’s easy to apply for and can be backdated. Martin Lewis knows of one case when £8.000 was refunded!!!
Thank you for the information. She already gets exemption from Council Tax & I will contact the OPG for confirmation of what you say regarding AA.
1 Like
Actually, it’s not just about her AA, but paying you a proper wage, depending on her assets.
Peter, do you have any brothers or sisters?
Does mum own or rent her property?
I have a Sister and Mum owns house ( no mortgage)
If your sister doesn’t do any caring, it’s extra important that mum pays you for the care you provide. Not to do so would mean that your sister inherits extra money for doing absolutely nothing.