Carers Allowance
Carers Allowance
Carer’s Allowance is £62.10 a week to help you look after someone with substantial caring needs.
You don’t have to be related to, or live with, the person you care for.
You must be 16 or over and spend at least 35 hours a week caring for them.
Carer’s Allowance is taxable. It can also affect your other benefits.
Eligibility
You might be able to get Carer’s Allowance if all of the following apply:
- you’re 16 or over
- you spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone
- have been in England, Scotland or Wales for at least 2 of the last 3 years
- you normally live in England, Scotland or Wales, or you live abroad as a member of the armed forces
- you’re not in full-time education or studying for 21 hours a week or more
- you earn no more than £110 a week (after taxes, care costs while you’re at work and 50% of what you pay into your pension) – don’t count your pension as income
- The rules are different in Northern Ireland.
- There are some exceptions to these conditions if you’re living in another EEA countryor subject to immigration control.
You might not get Carer’s Allowance if you already receive one of these benefits:
- State Pension
- Bereavement Allowance
- contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance
- contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Incapacity Benefit
- Industrial Death Benefit
- Maternity Allowance
- Severe Disablement Allowance
- training allowance
- Unemployability Supplement – paid with Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or War Pension
- Universal Credit
- War Widow’s or Widower’s Pension
- Widowed Mother’s Allowance
- Widowed Parent’s Allowance
- Widow’s Pension
You should still apply for Carer’s Allowance even if you get these as your other benefits might be increased if you have ‘underlying entitlement’.
Underlying entitlement
You can’t normally get 2 income-replacement benefits (e.g. Carer’s Allowance and the State Pension) paid together.
This is called the ‘overlapping benefit rule’. You will have ‘underlying entitlement’ to Carer’s Allowance, if you can’t be paid Carer’s Allowance because of this rule, instead.
This might mean you could get:
- the carer premiums in Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support
- the extra amount for carers in Pension Credit
- the carer element in Universal Credit
The person to whom you care for
The person you care for must already get one of these benefits:
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP) daily living component
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA) – the middle or highest care rate
- Attendance Allowance
- Constant Attendance Allowance at or above the normal maximum rate with an Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, or basic (full day) rate with a War Disablement Pension
- Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP)