Unpaid carers can claim certain other DWP benefits without jeopardising their Carer’s Allowance funds
Carer’s Allowance offers £83.30 a week for unpaid carers who meet the caring and earnings criteria. However, carers with their own health conditions or disabilities can also qualify for up to £187.45 per week on top of this through Personal Independence Payments (PIP).
PIP is the primary disability payment for adults in England, providing different rates ranging from £29.20 per week to £187.45 per week depending on how severely a person’s mobility or daily life is affected by their health condition.
Carers who have health conditions that meet the criteria of PIP may be able to claim the benefit without it impacting their current support. As Carers UK pointed out: “If you’re a carer with an illness or disability, you can claim PIP for yourself and it won’t affect any Carer’s Allowance you’re receiving.
“If you receive PIP, any other benefits you’re receiving won’t go down; they may even increase. If you’re a carer, claiming PIP may even help you qualify for certain benefits (such as Carer’s Allowance), and it may entitle you (whether you’re the claimant or carer) to further help with Council Tax and Housing Benefit. So having a benefits review if you’re awarded PIP may be useful.”
PIP provides financial assistance to cover the cost of being disabled and allows access to other support like the Blue Badge scheme as it is a gateway benefit. People must be under the state pension age to make their first claim for PIP otherwise they should apply for Attendance Allowance instead.
As of August 2024, government figures reveal that 1.4 million people are claiming Carer’s Allowance, but a staggering 410,000 of these carers don’t receive any payments from the benefit due to how other Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits interact with Carer’s Allowance.
For instance, you can’t pocket the full rate of both Carer’s Allowance and state pension simultaneously. Despite this, it’s still worth claiming the benefit even if you don’t receive any direct finances from the DWP for it, as it provides you with underlying entitlement.
Like Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Carer’s Allowance is a gateway benefit, meaning having this entitlement gives you access to other support. Carers UK clarified: “You will be sent a letter of ‘underlying entitlement’. This tells the benefit agencies that you are still a carer, and because of this it may mean certain benefits you’re already receiving increase (if they’re means-tested, ie based on your earnings, income or capital) or you may be eligible to receive certain benefits for the first time.”
The charity pointed out that many carers don’t consider themselves as unpaid carers or find they’re too swamped to apply for their benefit entitlement amongst their caring responsibilities. However, it stressed: “It’s important to make sure you’re getting the maximum support you’re entitled to, especially when you reach State Pension age.”
In addition to the financial and other support provided by Carer’s Allowance, it also offers National Insurance credits. These are used to enhance your National Insurance record, which is utilised to calculate your state pension amount.
Under the new state pension scheme, people require a minimum of 35 qualifying years to receive the full £230.25 per week. Each year spent receiving National Insurance credits or making National Insurance contributions counts as a qualifying year.
More information about Carer’s Allowance and PIP can be found on the Gov.uk website. As well as a state pension forecast tool revealing where your National Insurance record currently stands.