Carers Allowance

Lechagrin

Hi,

I am divorced and I currently work full time and I care for my grown up daughter. I have long commute times for work and it is all getting very difficult to manage. My daughter claims PIP and we have discussed me claiming Carers Allowance. I am aware that I can earn a certain amount and still claim Carers Allowance but now that i have made the decision to just concentrate on being a carer (and finding part time work to do around the caring), I am finding it difficult to quickly find a job that falls within the income limits and the times of day I am required at my daughter's. Does anyone know please, if I gave up my full time job to continue caring (my caring easily works out at more than 35 hours a week), will I be able to claim UC to supplement the Carers Allowance whilst I continue to look for and find a job that fits in within my limits (earnings and times of day), and, will I be financially penalised by benefits (either UC or Carers Allowance) for giving up my job?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Lucy.

pmlindyloo

The first thing to check is whether you are in a full service universal area or not. This would tell you which benefit you should be applying for.

Check here:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/before-you-apply/Check-if-youre-eligible-for-Universal-Credit/

and come back and tell us exactly what is says.

Lechagrin

Hi,

Many thanks for the information Robbydabanca.

Hi pmlindyloo, many thanks for the link. I checked it and it says 'Universal Credit in your area'. Underneath where it has a drop down menu for if you have children, it says 'Full Service area, however, my children are all grown now.

pmlindyloo

Lechagrin wrote: »

Hi,

I am divorced and I currently work full time and I care for my grown up daughter. I have long commute times for work and it is all getting very difficult to manage. My daughter claims PIP and we have discussed me claiming Carers Allowance. I am aware that I can earn a certain amount and still claim Carers Allowance but now that i have made the decision to just concentrate on being a carer (and finding part time work to do around the caring), I am finding it difficult to quickly find a job that falls within the income limits and the times of day I am required at my daughter's. Does anyone know please, if I gave up my full time job to continue caring (my caring easily works out at more than 35 hours a week), will I be able to claim UC to supplement the Carers Allowance whilst I continue to look for and find a job that fits in within my limits (earnings and times of day), and, will I be financially penalised by benefits (either UC or Carers Allowance) for giving up my job?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Lucy.

OK, so it looks as if you are in a full service area for Universal Credit.

For carers when claiming UC it is quite different to claiming Carer's Allowance on the old benefit system.

Universal Credit has a carer's element which is awarded when you are caring for someone who is severely disabled. (severely disabled has the same criteria as Carer's Allowance)

The important bit is that you do not have to claim Carer's allowance to receive the Carer's element in Universal Credit. Therefore you are not restricted to an earnings limit but you do have to provide the 35 hrs of care each week.

If you were eligible for the Carer's element then you would be placed in the No Work Related Requirements group in your Universal Credit claimant commitment.

Of course, whether you would actually be entitled to any Universal Credit would depend on your earnings and savings/capital.

This link sets it out quite well:

https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/financial-support/help-with-benefits/universal-credit

and you can also contact this organisation for further help/questions.

You could also play around with a benefits calculator (this site has one called 10 min benefits check up under Income on band at top of main site) to see how much you would get based on different earnings levels.

poppy12345

Lechagrin wrote: »

Hi,

I am divorced and I currently work full time and I care for my grown up daughter. I have long commute times for work and it is all getting very difficult to manage. My daughter claims PIP and we have discussed me claiming Carers Allowance. I am aware that I can earn a certain amount and still claim Carers Allowance but now that i have made the decision to just concentrate on being a carer (and finding part time work to do around the caring), I am finding it difficult to quickly find a job that falls within the income limits and the times of day I am required at my daughter's. Does anyone know please, if I gave up my full time job to continue caring (my caring easily works out at more than 35 hours a week), will I be able to claim UC to supplement the Carers Allowance whilst I continue to look for and find a job that fits in within my limits (earnings and times of day), and, will I be financially penalised by benefits (either UC or Carers Allowance) for giving up my job?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Lucy.

If your daughter claims an Income Related benefit as well as PIP then she maybe claiming Severe Disability Premium with this. This premium is paid when a person lives alone, or is classed as living alone. If she claims this SDP and you claim Carers Allowance for her then she will lose the SDP and that's £62.45 per week your daughter will lose out on.

Lechagrin

Thank you so much pmlindyloo for taking the time to reply, this information is so helpful, many thanks. I will have a good read through the Carers UK link. I posted on here because when I tried a benefits calculator earlier it mentioned Income Support, and I didn't think that was still an option so it was really throwing me. It is all such a minefield. You have been so helpful, many thanks again.

Lucy

Lechagrin

Hi Poppy12345,

Many thanks for your reply. My daughter has a husband but he works full time, she doesn't claim any income related benefits. I think she might claim contribution based ESA as she qualified for that, I am not sure whether she still gets that though. Could I ask please, would that be effected if I claimed Carers Allowance?

Lucy.

Ames

Lechagrin wrote: »

Hi Poppy12345,

Many thanks for your reply. My daughter has a husband but he works full time, she doesn't claim any income related benefits. I think she might claim contribution based ESA as she qualified for that, I am not sure whether she still gets that though. Could I ask please, would that be effected if I claimed Carers Allowance?

Lucy.

ESA wouldn't be affected by you claiming CA.

pmlindyloo

Lechagrin wrote: »

Thank you so much pmlindyloo for taking the time to reply, this information is so helpful, many thanks. I will have a good read through the Carers UK link. I posted on here because when I tried a benefits calculator earlier it mentioned Income Support, and I didn't think that was still an option so it was really throwing me. It is all such a minefield. You have been so helpful, many thanks again.

Lucy

Interesting that you tried a benefits calculator and it didn't assess you for Universal Credit as they usually do when you put in your postcode.

I am wondering if you have misread/misunderstood the CAB link I gave.

A quick solution would be to ring your local CAB and ask them if you would have to claim US or Income Support in your circumstances.

I can't do it without knowing your post code and not a good idea to give that on a forum. If you know your local council (where you pay your council tax) and are happy to disclose then I could check for you.

Lechagrin

Hi pmlindyloo,

Many thanks again for your reply. The benefits calculator I tried earlier today before finding this forum was 'Entitled To', I can't remember if it asked for my postcode. On the link you provided it says I am in a UC area and I gave that my postcode, so I am certain now that I am in a UC area. The Carers website is very helpful, thank you again for that.

What I was really worried about, when I posted here, was whether I would be penalised for giving up my job to carry on caring, giving my daughter better help during the times of the day she really needs me. I have always worked, I am not sure if I can get UC based on the fact that I would not qualify (under rules before UC) for a means tested benefit. As it is, I work full time but I have no savings or capital and I live in a Council house.

I assumed if I give up my job I will not be able to claim but Robbydabanca has already mentioned to me that their benefit was not penalised for giving up a job to be a carer. I suppose this is the worrying thing, giving up my job then applying, I just wanted to try and get as much info as I can before I take that step. I am hoping I can claim the Carers element of UC whilst I carry on looking for a job to fit around my daughter. I am guessing I then let UC know I have found a suitable job and they reassess?

You have all been ever so helpful, many thanks, Lucy.

pmlindyloo

Lechagrin wrote: »

Hi pmlindyloo,

Many thanks again for your reply. The benefits calculator I tried earlier today before finding this forum was 'Entitled To', I can't remember if it asked for my postcode. On the link you provided it says I am in a UC area and I gave that my postcode, so I am certain now that I am in a UC area. The Carers website is very helpful, thank you again for that.

What I was really worried about, when I posted here, was whether I would be penalised for giving up my job to carry on caring, giving my daughter better help during the times of the day she really needs me. I have always worked, I am not sure if I can get UC based on the fact that I would not qualify (under rules before UC) for a means tested benefit. As it is, I work full time but I have no savings or capital and I live in a Council house.

I assumed if I give up my job I will not be able to claim but Robbydabanca has already mentioned to me that their benefit was not penalised for giving up a job to be a carer. I suppose this is the worrying thing, giving up my job then applying, I just wanted to try and get as much info as I can before I take that step. I am hoping I can claim the Carers element of UC whilst I carry on looking for a job to fit around my daughter. I am guessing I then let UC know I have found a suitable job and they reassess?

You have all been ever so helpful, many thanks, Lucy.

There are different kinds of Universal Credit areas. Live service area and full service area. Which did yours say?

Just a little concerned as the benefits calculator would have asked for your post code and should have assessed you for universal credit if you were in a full service area. Live service areas are different to full service areas as they have different conditions for applying.

Sorry, for banging on about this but it is important in your circumstances.