Eligibility to claim Carer's Allowance?

Spruance

My father is 81 years old and was already suffering from diminished mobility prior to suffering a TIA (mini-stroke) in April of this year. He suffered no mental after effects but it does seem to have affected his self-confidence so much so that he is no longer able to function independently. He needs help showering in the morning, dressing, assisting up and down stairs and with other domestic tasks. He no longer drives and so I take him to all of his medical appointments etc and pretty much do everything for him along with managing his medication. This help is given freely and unconditionally but friends have asked me if I am claiming carer's allowance, which indeed I am not.

I am not currently working but as I don't qualify for JSA (have had 2 spells on JSA in the past 4 years interspersed with ESA during personal ill health) I am living off my investments.

Both my parents live with me in my (owned outright) house, which is fortunate in the present circumstances, but they only receive their pension and have not claimed attendance allowance for my father which seems to be somehow linked to carer's allowance in what I have read up on so far.

So really the question is am I eligible to claim Carer's Allowance, and is this means tested?

nannytone_2

your father needs to be in receipt of attemdamce allowance fpr ypi to claim carers allowance.

it isnt means tested, but means tested benefits can be affected by it, as it is classed as 'income'

CACHAF

Your father does need to claim attendance allowance for you to be able to claim carers allowance. You also need to be providing 35 hours of care a week to him to qualify. This would then also potentially open up the possibility of claiming income support instead of JSA (as you are excused from work on the grounds of having a full time role as a carer) if you qualify on the income / savings points.

The application form for attendance allowance is now all available to complete and submit online, as is the carers allowance which you cannot complete until attendance allowance is awarded. However carers allowance can be backdated to the date the attendance allowance was awarded.

The best thing to do is to first have a chat with the dr or consultant that deals with your fathers care and ask if they would support an application for attendance allowance. Then give the diability benefits advice line a call on 08457 123 456, they can be very helpful.

If you want help to complete the forms then they can advice or most councils have a welfare rights unit who can come out and help fill in the forms with you.

If you want any more help then feel free to PM me, I have experience of doing this when my gran had a massive heart attack and came to live with my husband and I. It seems very daunting and overwhelming to apply but working through it systematically and having some help in place should get you through it.

Hope it goes well for you x

Pollycat

CAB can help with completing the AA form, they know the right terminology to use.
We applied for Mum, completed the form in great detail and the claim was rejected but we got an appointment with CAB. the advisor said she was surprised that it had been rejected but gave us some key phrases to use in the appeal.

Also, maybe check if your parents are entitled to any other benefits - maybe Pension Credit.

Spruance

Many thanks for the advice.:)

I have had previous assistance from CAB on a personal matter so that is also well worth looking into, and I am sure that my dad's GP practice will be sympathetic to the situation as they are seeing him fairly frequently at the moment and so they fully understand his limitations.

Pollycat

Spruance wrote: »

I am sure that my dad's GP practice will be sympathetic to the situation as they are seeing him fairly frequently at the moment and so they fully understand his limitations.

We thought the same.

After we'd sent in the claim, we had a letter from DWP saying that they had asked for a report from Mum's GP.

We took that as a positive sign so were very disappointed with the rejection.

When we got hold of the GP report we were furious.

I'm sure the GP was writing about a different patient.

The GP totally missed off one illness she suffers from, has had hospital visits about and is degenerative!

Most of the questions weren't completed fully - it looked like it had been done with one eye on the TV and the other on a holiday brochure.

One question asked about medication, response to treatment and prognosis - the GP only provided a list of medication, no mention of 'response to treatment or prognosis'.

In fact, I tore the GP report to pieces in our appeal and said this:

Although Dr XXX has answered 'not known' in the report at 6a,6b & 6c, this does not mean that there are no problems regarding self-care, insight of dangers or ability to get around.

I believe that Dr XXX has not completed this report fully, giving full consideration to diagnosis and clinical findings.

Good luck