Carer's Credit

Bugle_Girl

Good Morning.

I am new here, so please be kind!

I wonder whether anyone would be able to advise me on a matter I am confused about?

I am a carer to my disabled child, and as a result of this, I receive Carer's Allowance. However, I am also disabled, and my husband is generally my carer, providing invaluable support, help and guidance to me on an ongoing basis. Without his help, I would be lost.

Somebody has recently made me aware that there is the possibility my husband could claim a new benefit which came into force in April this year, called Carer's Credit. It is not the same as Carer's Allowance, in that it does not pay anything monetary, but contributes to carer's N.I contributions by means of credits, to help build a better state pension for the carer.

I understand my husband would not be able to claim Carer's Allowance for me, as he is self employed, and to be honest, we've never considered going down that route, because we never considered it appropriate due to him working.

What I am wondering is, is it possible to be a carer (as I am to my child), but also be cared for by a carer (as I am by my husband), and for my husband to qualify for this Carer's Credit? He cares for me well over the stated 20 hours per week. I suppose I just feel a bit odd about the whole thing, because I am concerned that the Carer's Allowance people might think it is strange that I myself am a carer, yet I am also being cared for, even though in our case it is legitimate (and frankly, I have to look after my child, because there really is no other choice - and nobody knows nor would understand my child like I do). I agree it is a strange situation to be in, but my disabilities affect me in ways which do not affect that of me caring for my child. It's a bit complicated, but I'd rather not go into the type of disabilities on an open forum.

Anyway, that's about it in a nutshell. So, the main question is.....is it legitimate to BE a carer and HAVE a carer simultaneously, and for my carer to claim Carer's Credit, or will the Carer's Allowance people look upon this unfavourably? We do not claim anything else in terms of benefits, so my husband's self employment earnings are the main source of income into our household, disregarding the disability allowance for my child and my carer's allowance for looking after my child.

Thank you in advance for any help you are able to offer.

C.C.L.

Hi Bugle Girl, and welcome to the forum.
As far as I'm aware, your husband would need to be in receipt of carers allowance to have Carers Credit, previously known as home responsibility protection Your husband would not be able to claim this if his income is more than £95 per week.
There would be nothing to stop him being your carer, even though you are a carer yourself, apart from the amount of money he earns.
Without qualifying for the carers allowance, no NI contributions can be made.
Thinking about it logically, that would enable anyone to say they were carers and get NI credits, but no way am I saying that's what you would do, I'm just pointing out the pitfalls.
I know foster carers get NI credits, but they are registered as carers too.
If you require any more info, or to check what this means to you, try ringing the helpline on 0800 882200.

Mojisola

Carer's Credit has replaced Home Responsibilities Protection.

Your OH is self-employed so presumably he's paying a stamp for his pension now? You can't get the the Carer's Credit if you're already getting NI contributions because you're working.

Indie_Kid

What rate of DLA care do you receive?

From Direct Gov: ( http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/CaringForSomeone/MoneyMatters/DG_10038111 )
To qualify for Carer’s Credit you must care for one or more disabled people for a total of 20 hours or more per week. Each person you care for must receive:
Disability Living Allowance care component at the middle or highest rate; or
Attendance Allowance at any rate; or
Constant Attendance Allowance at any rate

sleepless_saver

C.C.L. wrote: »

As far as I'm aware, your husband would need to be in receipt of carers allowance to have Carers Credit, previously known as home responsibility protection Your husband would not be able to claim this if his income is more than £95 per week.
.

If he was getting carers allowance, he would already be getting NI contributions credited so no need for carers credit.

For carers credit, there is no earnings or savings limit.

Mojisola

The same page also says this -

Care Certificate
If the person being cared for does not receive one of these benefits, you must provide a Care Certificate signed by a health or social care professional (HSCP). A Care Certificate is supplied with each application pack.
The application pack contains:
The form
Detailed notes on who is eligible and what you need to do
A Care Certificate

which I didn't know about. Does anyone have any experience of this?

Bugle_Girl

Thank you all for your replies.

This is the information I have found on the website:-

Carer’s Credit has been introduced from 6 April 2010. It is a National Insurance credit which helps carers build up qualifying years for the basic State Pension and additional State Pension.

To qualify for Carer’s Credit you must care for one or more disabled people for a total of 20 hours or more per week. Each person you care for must receive:

• Disability Living Allowance care component at the middle or highest rate; or
• Attendance Allowance at any rate; or
• Constant Attendance Allowance at any rate

Find out more about Carer's Credit including who is eligible and who to contact by downloading the application pack below.

Where a person being cared for does not receive an appropriate qualifying benefit, Carer’s Credit can still be awarded if you supply a Care Certificate. This will need to be signed by a health or social care professional (HSCP).

It doesn't mention anything about whether a carer is working or not, nor whether they are self employed, just that they have to be caring for someone for 20 hours pw or more. The section I have highlighted in bold is what interests me most, as I do not receive DLA for myself currently, so I was wondering if I could get my GP to sign a Care Certificate instead. My husband does not get Carer's Allowance, but I was under the impression Carer's Credit was something different? I know that if you're currently in receipt of Carer's Allowance, you would automatically qualify for credits, but I thought this Carer's Credit was for carers who cared for less than 35 hrs pw, but more than 20 hrs pw. Please do correct me if I have got my details wrong, as I'm not very clear on this!

Mojisola: Re: "You can't get the the Carer's Credit if you're already getting NI contributions because you're working". Please could you provide a link or details of where it states this on the website, as I'm struggling to find it. Many thanks.

Mojisola

"If you cannot work or do not earn enough to pay National Insurance contributions (NICs) because you are caring for someone, you may still be credited with NICs"

You have to pay NI if you're working and earn enough. If you're paying NI already, there's no need for you to be credited with years.

If your OH stops working, there are two options - the certificate you've got information about or the Child Benefit. He could receive Carer's Credit if he is the named person on the Child Benefit application.

It's also important to realise that these benefits may not give you complete years of credit. It may be necessary to top up some years if you don't think you're going to get 30 years of contributions.

mkcj

"Additional State Pension

If you do not earn enough to pay NICs or you are self-employed, you can still build up an entitlement to additional State Pension, also called State Second Pension, if:

• you are entitled to Carer's Credit"

As a self employed person I assume he pays Class 2 National Insurance contributions but is not entitled to the State Second Pension. The way I understand it he could claim Carers Credit in order to receive this.

Bugle_Girl

Thanks again for your reply, Mojisola.

MKCJ: Thank you for that.....I think that may be what I was searching for! I will certainly look into that further.

Mojisola

Let us know what you find out, Bugle Girl. It's useful to hear the result - it helps us give better answers to people in the future.