Carers allowance vs Attendance Allowance

quill_2

weeeeeeeeeeeeee

Fleago

This link may be of help, quill. You could also try phoning the Benefits Enquiry Line who should be able to give you the definitive answer.

Hope this helps.

Fleago

cheepskate_2

he can under certain circs keep his aa if you apply for ca. are you on benefits then he may be able to keep it under certain circs, , but if you are not on benefits then he would lose it

TAZ

cheepskate wrote:

he can under certain circs keep his aa if you apply for ca. are you on benefits then he may be able to keep it under certain circs, , but if you are not on benefits then he would lose it

He would not ose his AA at all, you would receive carers allowance pruely because he is in receipt of AA they would not take that from him.

the only thing that is effected by you gett carers is any benefits you claim are reduced by the amount of Carers but then you are given a premium on IS etc.

if he get a premium on any benefit that might be reduced if you claim CA but not by much at all.

The benefits of the person you care for
If you claim Carer's Allowance, it could affect the amount of benefit the person you care for receives.

The person you care for could lose the severe disability premium in their income-related benefit or the addition for severe disability in their Pension Credit. However, if you only have an underlying entitlement to Carer's Allowance and are not actually paid it, this will not affect the benefits of the person you care for.

Informing the person you care for that you are making a claim
Because your claim for Carer's Allowance may affect the benefits of the person you are caring for, they will be asked to confirm in writing that they know you are claiming Carer's Allowance and that you are caring for them for at least 35 hours a week. This is on the claim form.

AGB863

quill wrote:

I am not on any other benefits. Partner luckily has a good enough salary so could manage for a while. Wasn't going to claim but seems silly not to if entitled to it but don't want Dad to lose out.
Have I understood people correctly then? Father wouldn't lose his AA which he needs to pay other people doing stuff for him?

Your father will not loose his Attendance Allowance. But if he is on pension credit, he may loose his severe disability premium that would be included in his claim.

margaretclare

I don't think you would be entitled to any of your father's AA. He gets that because he needs help. You're not the one needing help - he is!

AA is well worth having. I was surprised to find that I qualified for it for 2 years July 2005 - July 2007. As a result of AA I qualify for a WarmFront grant which wouldn't have been the case otherwise.

I have been somewhat miffed because my daughter gets DLA which entitled her to car purchase - because I'm over 65 I can't get car help, only stupid freebie bus passes which are useless (have used a bus approx 5 times in the last 5 years).

The idea of AA is that you can use it to pay other people to 'do stuff' for you.

Margaret

Ted_Hutchinson

quill wrote:

Thanks everybody.
Just one more question. Would I still be entitled to some of my father's attendance allowance if I applied for Carer's allowance or is it an either/or scenario for me in which case AA is worth more than CA?

I really do think you need someone to explain the system to you in greater detail than available online.
The point you appear not to have grasped is that your claiming Carers Allowance depends on you having someone who is Getting Attendance Allowance (or DLA) so the CA depends on the AA award continuing. If the AA ends then so does the CA which depends on it.

The Attendance Allowance also carries with it Premiums one of which is Severe Disability Premium The rules for this state he can only get it if he lives alone (there are exceptions to this rule) and no one else gets Carer's Allowance for looking after you
So if you got Carer's Allowance for looking after your father AND he currently lives alone AND gets the SDP it is the SDP that he will lose. Social Security Benefit Rates (122kb) has the details of how much the SDP (currently £46.75)is compared to Carer's Allowance (currently £46.95) so you can see that if he's getting SDP and will lose this if you get CA then it's a lot of fuss for nothing.

Ted_Hutchinson

quill wrote:

Hi.
What I meant was if Dad paid me some of his AA for doing stuff for him, would that influence my case for obtaining carer's allowance ie not qualify.

You can earn what you like and be paid anything up to but not more than £84 a week after certain deductions have been made (such as Income Tax).
It doesn't matter who pays you the money so your dad can do what he likes with his AA. It's only the SDP bit he loses if you Claim CA.

Ted_Hutchinson

margaretclare wrote:

I'll have to say goodbye to £62.45 a week from next July.

Well lets hope that is the case. It's however a little early to be counting chickens and we all go through "good" or perhaps "slighty better" patches only to find a fall, an accident or illness suddenly knocks the stuffing out of one.

It's one of the reasons why I personally think it should be easier and simpler to claim DLA/AA. Those people who have struggled through reconsiderations/appeals and even to the commissioners will be tempted to cling onto their hard fought for benefits should good fortune/health smile on them for a while. If you feel that "never again" will I go through that claiming/reconsidering/appealling ordeal then folk will be inclined to hang on to whatever they have obtained even though they feel in their heart of hearts they've now improved and no longer need it so much.

In my view, I feel that as there is a 3 months waiting period before you qualify for these awards it is reasonable, given the variable nature of conditions and the inevitable process of aging, that folks should wait 3 months before making a decision about asking for a review of their entitlements, should their health improve.

margaretclare

Ted_Hutchinson wrote:

....folk will be inclined to hang on to whatever they have obtained even though they feel in their heart of hearts they've now improved and no longer need it so much.

Exactly what has being going through my head.

If this second revision of hip replacement should fail again - or even if the opposite hip replacement, which is now 19 years old, should fail - I'll be back to square one. One of the reasons why I haven't felt too guilty about the AA is that it does help with the car costs - we need the car and the bus passes are useless.

Margaret

seven-day-weekend

margaretclare wrote:

.....the bus passes are useless.

Margaret

You keep on saying this Margaret Clare. Why are they useless? I know loads of pensioners who can't drive!

Also, not everyone can afford a car.