Benefits for Carers

RNIB – supporting people with sight loss Factsheet

1.Benefits for carers

Introduction There are benefits that you may be entitled to if you are looking after someone – including those with sight loss. You do not have to be living with the person or related to them to claim these benefits and the age of the person you are looking after doesn’t matter.

Carer’s Allowance Carer’s Allowance is not means-tested and does not depend on National Insurance contributions. It is taxable.

To claim Carer’s Allowance you must satisfy the following conditions: you must be 16 or over if you do any paid work, you must not earn more than £116 a week after deductions for tax, National Insurance and certain expenses such as contributions to a pension or care costs you must not be in full-time education. However, the meaning of “full time” is complicated and may depend on a number of factors including the type of course you are doing. If you are studying or thinking about studying then call our Helpline for further advice. you must spend at least 35 hours a week looking after a person who receives one of the following: middle or highest rate Disability Living Allowance care component the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (either rate) Attendance Allowance (any rate) Constant Attendance Allowance.

To claim Carer’s Allowance, you must also:  Be habitually resident in the UK – this is decided by looking at a number of factors including reasons for coming to the UK, the

RNIB charity numbers 226227, SC039 316 and 1109 length of your stay, future intentions, and previous links with the country.  Satisfy the past presence test – you will have had to be present in the UK for 104 out of the previous 156 weeks (two out of the last three years). You do not have to satisfy the past presence test if you have a terminal illness.

These rules are complicated and there are some exceptions, for instance if you are or have been living in a European Economic Area (EEA) country. Contact our Helpline if you think you may have difficulty passing these tests.

What else you should know about Carer’s Allowance If another person is already getting Carer’s Allowance for looking after someone, you cannot also get Carer’s Allowance to look after that same person. You can only get one award of Carer’s Allowance, even if you care for more than one person. If you as the carer have a disability or long-term illness, you can still receive Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Attendance Allowance (AA) for yourself at the same time as claiming Carer’s Allowance for looking after someone else. If you are getting Carer’s Allowance and the person you are looking after dies, you will continue to receive Carer’s Allowance for eight weeks after their death. Important: if the person you are looking after is claiming income- related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Jobseekers Allowance (JSA), Income Support, Pension Credit or Housing Benefit and their benefit includes the severe disability premium, their benefit may be reduced if you start getting Carer’s Allowance. However, their benefit will not be affected if you just get the carer’s premium because of an underlying entitlement to Carer’s Allowance (see “Can I receive Carer’s Allowance at the same time as other benefits?” below).

rnib.org.uk How to claim Carer’s Allowance If you live in England, Wales or Scotland, call the Carer’s Allowance Unit on 0345 608 4321 to request a claim form or go to www.gov.uk to download it or complete it online.

If you live in Northern Ireland, you can call the Benefits Enquiry line to claim. Call 0800 220674 (textphone 028 90311092) or visit www.nidirect.gov.uk.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), who administer Carer’s Allowance, can backdate your award for up to three months on request.

If the person you are looking after is waiting for a decision about their PIP or AA (or DLA for a child) claim and you claim Carer’s Allowance within three months of them getting their decision, your entitlement to Carer’s Allowance will then start from the same date as their entitlement to any of those benefits.

How much will I get? The basic rate of Carer’s Allowance is £62.70 a week. If you already receive means-tested benefits such as income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), income based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) or Pension Credit, you will not be financially worse off by claiming Carer’s Allowance.

If you are under state pension age, Carer’s Allowance also gives you Class 1 National Insurance contribution credits, which may help you to qualify for a State Retirement Pension. For more information about this see “What is Carer’s Credit” below.

Can I receive Carer’s Allowance at the same time as other benefits? You cannot normally receive payments for Carer’s Allowance at the same time as contribution-based ESA, the State Retirement Pension (SRP) or certain bereavement benefits. This is because the “overlapping benefit” rules say you cannot be paid more than

rnib.org.uk one of these benefits at the same time. However, it may still be worthwhile claiming Carer’s Allowance if you get a means-tested benefit such as income-related ESA, income based JSA or Pension Credit to establish “underlying entitlement” to Carer’s Allowance.

If you have underlying entitlement, you may be able to get an increased amount of income-related ESA, Income Support, Pension Credit, or Housing Benefit.

This increase is called the carer premium or the “additional amount for carers”. It is worth up to £34.95 a week.

Remember, you can still get PIP or AA (or DLA for a child) because of your own disability while claiming Carer’s Allowance for looking after someone else.

Means-tested benefits Many people get Income Support, income-related ESA or Pension Credit to top up their Carer’s Allowance as these benefits help people receive a minimum income.

Income Support is a weekly cash benefit paid to carers and some lone parents who are under state retirement age. Income based JSA is a weekly cash benefit paid to people looking for work who are under state retirement age. Income-related ESA is a weekly cash benefit for people whose ability to work is limited by their ill-health or disability and who are under state retirement age. Call the Jobcentre Plus claim line on 0800 055 6688 to find out more. Pension Credit is a weekly cash benefit for older people who have reached Pension Credit qualifying age. Call the Pension Credit claim line on 0800 99 1234 to find out more or to apply for it.

If you receive Income Support, income based JSA or Pension Credit as a carer then you can work for any number of hours a week. However, anything you earn over £20 a week will be counted as income in the calculation for these benefits.

rnib.org.uk If you get Income Support or income-related ESA you may be eligible to receive “maximum” Housing benefit, subject to other rules. For Guarantee Pension Credit you should be entitled to “maximum” Housing Benefit, subject to other rules.

Example of how to qualify for a carer addition if Carer’s Allowance is not being paid Mr Singh is 70 years old and spends at least 35 hours a week looking after his wife. She gets the lower rate of Attendance Allowance (but this is ignored as income) and a State Retirement Pension of £74.50 a week. Mr Singh receives £120.50 State Retirement Pension and a work pension of £52.00 a week. This means their total income is £247.00.

The government has calculated that a retired couple need £243.25 a week to live on and they will be entitled to Guarantee Pension Credit if they have an income of less than this each week.

Although Mr Singh can’t receive payments of Carer’s Allowance because he is getting a State Retirement Pension, and the “overlapping benefit “ rules stop him from being paid both benefits at the same time, if he claims Carer’s Allowance he will have an “underlying entitlement” to Carer’s Allowance.

Having an underlying entitlement to Carer’s Allowance means that the carer addition of £34.95 will be added to the amount Mr and Mrs Singh need to live on each week – and so the amount the government say they can have each week will increase from £243.25 to £278.20.

This means that Mr and Mrs Singh become entitled to Guarantee Pension Credit of £31.20 each week (the difference between their initial income of £247.00 and the increased amount the government says they need of £278.20).

rnib.org.uk Carer’s Credit What is Carer’s Credit Carer’s Credit is a National Insurance credit which is awarded weekly. It is not a benefit payment and you will not receive any money with Carer’s Credit. Instead, it helps you build up your qualifying years for the basic state pension. Bereavement benefits for spouses and civil partners will also be protected. You do not need to make a claim for Carer’s Credit if you receive Carer’s Allowance.

Do I qualify for Carer’s Credit? If you are caring for someone for 20 hours or more a week you will be eligible for Carer’s Credit if either: the person(s) you are caring for receives AA, Constant AA, the daily living component of PIP, or the middle or higher care component of DLA, or Armed Forces Independence Payment OR a health or social care professional has certified the person(s) you are caring for as needing the level of care you provide.

How do I apply? You can apply for Carers Credit on the CC1 application form by contacting the Carer’s Allowance Unit on 0345 608 4321 or you can download an application pack from www.gov.uk.

Other sources of help for carers A range of services are available to help you and the person you are looking after. The person you care for is entitled to an assessment of their needs by your local social services team. You can also ask for a separate carer’s assessment – social services should consider what support you need to continue caring for the person you are looking after. Local voluntary societies for blind and partially sighted people often have volunteer visitors who can provide advice and practical support. Call our Helpline on 0303 123 9999 for details of your local voluntary society.

rnib.org.uk Citizens Advice can usually give advice and information over the telephone, as well as on an appointment or drop-in basis. Visit www.citizensadvice.org.uk or call your local Citizens Advice Bureau. To find out more about your rights as a carer call the Carers UK Adviceline on 0808 808 7777, Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm, or visit www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice.

How we can help If you would like any more information about any of the benefits covered in this factsheet, you can speak to our Advice team by calling our Helpline. Our advisors can also carry out a full benefit check with you, and give you advice about applying for other benefits you may be missing out on.

Our Legal Rights Service is available to offer you help with more complex benefit cases. If you would like to challenge a benefit decision, or think you should be awarded more than you have been, we can help you with the appeals process.

As well as putting you in touch with our specialist advice services, our Helpline is your direct line to all the other support, advice and products available from RNIB.

If you contact our Helpline, we can: give you information about your eye condition and available treatments provide emotional support from qualified counsellors let you know about the people, services and organisations available to help people with sight loss in your local area help you join and use our library service of over 40,000 titles in braille, Moon, giant print and audio.

Call our Helpline on 0303 123 9999, we’re ready to answer your call Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 1pm. You can also email us at [email protected].

rnib.org.uk The factsheet gives general guidance only and is not an authoritative statement of the law.

RNIB Legal Rights Service September 2017

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