Benefits for being a carer
mo1_2
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does anyone know what benefits u can claim if u give up working to be a carer?my dad has lived with me for 30 years hes now 93 and i have looked after him,but due to my health problems i am now finding this difficult and me and my husband have talked about him stopping working to care for him but we cant get the right answers to how much worse off we will be
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He has to be in receipt of certain benefits for someone to apply for CA for him:
https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance/eligibility
And you must care for him for at least 35 hours per week.
Where have you asked about the benefits you may be entitled to?
Maybe try CAB or Age UK.
https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance/how-to-claim
Re your question 'how much worse off you'll be if your OH stops work to care for your Dad', that will be the amount of his wages less the amount he'll receive in CA.
However, with a reduced household income you may be entitled to more benefits.
I advise you to get a face-to-face appointment with either CAB or Age UK.
Contact social services and tell them that your health is deteriorating because of the care you are giving your Dad and that you need help.
If it's going to take time before they can get to you, use some of his AA to employ carers to give you a break. He's given that money because he needs care so use it.
Your husband would probably be better off keeping his job if he can.
Are you claiming Carer's Allowance?
It would be worth asking someone to come and do a full benefit check. Was your Dad ever in the military? If so, contact SSAFA - https://www.ssafa.org.uk/ - or the British Legion - https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/
If not, try AgeUK.
Contact SSAFA. They were brilliant when my parents needed help.
Is he using his AA to pay for help? If he doesn't want personal care from anyone else, use it to pay for a cleaner, someone to do the washing and ironing, gardening, anything that makes your life easier!
You have to fight his corner with SS. They always have an eye on the budget and will always offer the absolute minimum, especially if there are family willing to do the rest.
These people gave my late uncle an extra pension in similar circumstances. It is another attendance allowance type form to struggle through and then they send a doctor to take a look.
http://www.veterans-uk.info/pensionscompensation.htm
What is the nature of your father's disability - can some of it be laid at the door of his military service.
[Don't quote me on this but I think I am right in saying that soldiers rations included a free issue of addictive cancer sticks?]
As well as getting top rate Attendance Allowance, how "self funding" would dad be should he be forced into a care home ?
ie If everything he owned was sold (and any debts he has paid off) how much money would he have?
My late mother, after being struck down by a stroke, really needed 24 hour care as in some ways she was left with the mental capabilities of
a 3 year old. I managed to keep her at home by buying in care workers and getting the maximum use of social services support (meals on wheels, day centre etc,) BUT the powers that be would rather have had her tucked up safe in a care home. [No chance of nasty recriminations if there was some accident in her own home - and when the local authority/NHS knows that they will not be picking up the tab, they can be more insistent about hiving off their responsibility.]
Had to smile wryly at this. Old film of soldiers arriving from the Dunkirk beaches - met on disembarkation by Red Cross nurses. And what did they get? 'Char, a wad and a fag'. Translation: A mug of tea, a sandwich and a cigarette. Usually the cheapest kind of the latter, which were Wills Woodbines. Called by the old sweats 'coffin nails'. Truer than they knew.
It's quite likely that this is where the emphysema comes from. Please don't tell me that he still uses these things and also uses oxygen 24/7? Very, very risky if so. Although I have seen that, way back when I was a district nurse. Hair-raising.
Before I found wisdom, I became old.