Carer’s Allowance is a benefit payment administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It is designed to help those with the additional expenses that arise from looking after someone. Those in receipt of Carer’s Allowance could get up to £69.70 per week which means around £3,600 annually.
With the cost of living crisis continuing to hurt peoples’ incomes and savings, many will be looking to see if they are eligible for this support.
To get this DWP benefit payment, applicants need to be caring for someone for at least 35 hours per week.
Claimants need to be over 16 years old but below the state pension age, which is 66, to be eligible for Carer’s Allowance.
Furthermore, applicants must not be earning any more than £132 a week from employment or being self-employed.
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This specific threshold takes into account deductions from income tax and National Insurance.
Anyone in receipt of Carer’s Allowance does not need to be related to, or living with, the person they are caring for.
However, the person they are looking after must be claiming at least one of the necessary qualifying benefits for their carer to be eligible for the benefit payment.
Through the DWP, multiple disability benefit payments are available for those who have a long-term health condition or illness.
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Among the qualifying disability benefit payments for a carer to be eligible for Carer’s Allowance include:
Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
Disability Living Allowance
Attendance Allowance, and Disablement Benefit
Armed Forces Independence Payment
Child/Adult Disability Payment
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Recently, Carer’s Allowance recipients received a 3.1 percent payment rise in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate of inflation from last September.
This also hiked the payments of the Carer’s Credit of Universal Credit, a separate benefit which assists unpaid carers.
However, inflation has since soared to 9.4 percent as of today (August 9) and is expected to exceed 13 percent in the coming months.
Experts in the social care sector are sounding the alarm that unpaid carers are at risk of falling into poverty as the cost of living crisis worsens.
Helen Walker, the chief executive of Carers UK, explained: “Many carers have a reduced capacity to work because of their caring responsibilities or have had to give up work altogether.
“Despite the majority of carers having taken on more care during the pandemic, which has protected our health and care systems, they face a real terms cut in the level of financial support they receive. Carers do not deserve more hardship when they have done so much.
“Caring for someone can mean extra costs like having to use more electricity for special equipment, more heating to keep someone frail or unwell warm, and needing to spend more on special food.
“According to Carers UK’s recent research, Under Pressure, a quarter of carers receiving carer benefits were already using a foodbank.”
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