Attendance Allowance - Never Claimed Before

Not_Scammed

Hi,

I'm hoping someone on here can offer some advice about claiming Attendance Allowance.

My Father is 86 and curretly living in a care home.

Over the past few years he has become quite frail and unsteady - possibly due to him having prostrate cancer.  Over the past couple of years he has beome prone to falls and last year in June he fell and broke his hip.

Since then he has either been in hospital, convalescent care, a short 2 week period back at home followed by more time in hospital after problems with his catheta etc.

For the past three months he has been resident in a care home as he needs help with dressing, moving about and personal hygene etc. My parents have modest savings but above the 22K limit and so are having to pay the care home fee of £1000 a week from their savings.

I have only just become aware that he may be elligible for some assistance in the form of Attendance Allowance.

Are there any pitfalls that I should be aware of when making the claim?  Sorry if this seems a daft question but I've never been in this situation before and want to do the best for my Mum & Dad by getting them all the help they are allowed.

Thank you.

calcotti

If he is living in a care home he may not be eligible for Attendance Allowance, depends on whether or he pays all of the costs or whether the local authority is contributing to the costs.
https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance/eligibility

If you’re in a care home
You cannot usually get Attendance Allowance if you live in a care home and your care is paid for by your local authority. You can still claim Attendance Allowance if you pay for all your care home costs yourself.

Not_Scammed said: Are there any pitfalls that I should be aware of when making the claim?  

Not really. Just answer the questions on the form to explain the difficulties he has and provide some medical evidence.

Not_Scammed

calcotti said:

If he is living in a care home he may not be eligible for Attendance Allowance, depends on whether or he pays all of the costs or whether the local authority is contributing to the costs.
https://www.carehome.co.uk/advice/attendance-allowance-in-care-homes

Not_Scammed said: Are there any pitfalls that I should be aware of when making the claim?  

Not really. Just answer the questions on the form to explain the difficulties he has and provide some medical evidence.

The Local Authority are not contributing to the costs at all.

Rubyroobs

Yes if he is self funding he can claim Attendance allowance.
If he has day and nighttime care needs he should get the higher rate of £89.60 per week.
Just answer the questions, there is one about falls. Explain what supervision he needs. Does he get pain/ breathlessness etc when carrying out the activities. Does he need prompting with medications etc, help with washing and dressing etc ? Just detail all these things. If he needs enough care to be in a care home I doubt he will have any problems being awarded AA, but back up with hospital letters, OT assessment reports, maybe ask the care home manager to write a letter summarising his care etc.

in_my_wellies

Ring for a claim form. If successful I think your claim is backdated to the date of the phone call.

A very nice woman from Age Concern visited my mum when she claimed to help with the form. I completed the form but this woman asked several questions and added details I would never have considered. Mum was awarded the higher rate.

It is not means tested

Alice_Holt

You will find some helpful info here:

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/factsheets/fs34_attendance_allowance_fcs.pdf

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/attendance-allowance/

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/attendance-allowance/claiming-attendance-allowance/help-with-attendance-allowance-form/

https://www.carersuk.org/images//Factsheets/2021-22_factsheets/Attendance_Allowance_April_2021-22.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance

Not_Scammed

Wow, thank you all so much for being so helpful.

calcotti

in_my_wellies said:

Ring for a claim form. If successful I think your claim is backdated to the date of the phone call.

Yes that's correct. Takes 7 to 10 days to arrive but will be date stamped with date of call. While waiting you can prepare your thoughts on how you want to complete it by looking at the form online

Not_Scammed

calcotti said:

in_my_wellies said:

Ring for a claim form. If successful I think your claim is backdated to the date of the phone call.

Yes that's correct. Takes 7 to 10 days to arrive but will be date stamped with date of call. While waiting you can prepare your thoughts on how you want to complete it by looking at the form online

Thanks. I've just called them. As you say, I'll download the online form and assemble any evidence they may need to demonstrate my Dad's condition.