Carers Premium

Imperfect_One

I am currently in receipt of Carers allowance and as a result we receive a carers premium on our income support. I am hoping to enter full time HE in september and will no longer receive CA as a result. We have been told we will still be eligible for income support as my partner is not a student and is the claimant, however was wandering if anyone knows how long the carers premium runs on for ... on the calculation letters it says because you/your partner are caring for someone or were caring for someone until recently. How long will this until recently period last ?????????

Any help will be appreciated.

Ted_Hutchinson

[strike]As far as I am aware Carer's Premium only runs on for eight weeks if the person you are caring for dies.

In this case it will end when you start your further education. [/strike]
Edit: see post 5
If you stop getting or being treated as getting CA OR the person you are getting CA for dies your entitlement to a carer's premium will continue for a further eight weeks.

If the person you are caring for is your partner then someone else could get Carer's Allowance for looking after him while you are at college.

If you were caring for a child or someone else, then perhaps your partner could take over the caring role and thus retain the carer premium.

Imperfect_One

Ted_Hutchinson wrote:

As far as I am aware Carer's Premium only runs on for eight weeks if the person you are caring for dies.

In this case it will end when you start your further education.

If the person you are caring for is your partner then someone else could get Carer's Allowance for looking after him while you are at college.

If you were caring for a child or someone else, then perhaps your partner could take over the caring role and thus retain the carer premium.

Thanks Ted, I will calculate any possible effect in terms of instantly stopping and then anything better is an unlikely bonus. It is our child but my hubby cannot claim as he is on long term high rate incapacity and not able to.

Thanks again ... if I do go for the course I will let you know what happens.

Ted_Hutchinson

Imperfect_One wrote:

It is our child but my hubby cannot claim as he is on long term high rate incapacity and not able to.

I don't know who told you that but it simply isn't true.
I've known cases where one person on high rate care was getting Carer's Allowance for caring for their partner who was getting Carer's Allowance for looking after them.
If you haven't quite grasped that both were on high rate care, and both claimed CA for looking after the other.
In that case one was mentally deficient but physically competant and the other was mentally competant by physically incapable so both were on high care and both looked after each other.

There is absolutely no reason why your hubby shouldn't claim CA for caring for your child even if the care he provides is primarily supervision and guidance rather than more actively physical. He wouldn't get the benefit as it would overlap the IB but he would get the Carer's premium.

bigbill

This premium will continue in Income Support for eight weeks when your Carers stops.

Teds right on the other part.

Have your partner claim Carers instead, he will get underlying entitlement but more importantly the carer premium will still be paid.

Ted_Hutchinson

Thanks for pointing that out, I usually check before I post and this will remind me to make sure I do.

It seems to me that the canny use of this 8 week run on could enable a two carer couple to alternate their CA claims to ensure 2 Premiums are in payment for all of the year.

Is it possible to have each person in a couple claiming CA alternate months and thus ensure continuous double premiums using the 8 week run on?

mrsh_2

Have you checked with Carers Allowance Unit that you cannot continue to receive CA?
I thought that you only had to be looking after a person for a minimum of 35hrs per week (subject to income) to qualify.
Although you will be at college during the day you will be at home at night for more than 35hrs pw.
It is quite correct that your husband cannot receive both his incap and the CA, as they are 'overlapping' benefits, so he would only receive the one that is higher. However if he meets all the criteria and has an 'underlying' entitlement the carers prem would still be paid with IS.
I would discourage making alternate claims each month though!

Ted_Hutchinson

mrsh wrote:

I would discourage making alternate claims each month though!

Why not?
If this is the way the rules are set out why shouldn't you use them to your advantage?
Who cannot get Carer's Allowance?
You can’t claim Carer’s Allowance if you are in full-time education with 21 hours or more a week of supervised study

char1585

you get an 8 week run on