No Carers unless the person is on benefits

sarah1972

Long story short. 

My husband has oesophageal cancer and I have been caring for him through chemotherapy & radiotherapy and next is a minimum 10 hour operation, time in ICU and then he will need even more home care when he gets discharged from hospital. 

I find it absolutely ridiculous that you cannot claim carers allowance unless the person you are caring for is on benefits ??? He isn’t entitled to anything so that means neither am I . 

How many carers out there who get nothing because of this odd rule. 

marcia_

sarah1972 said:

Long story short. 

My husband has oesophageal cancer and I have been caring for him through chemotherapy & radiotherapy and next is a minimum 10 hour operation, time in ICU and then he will need even more home care when he gets discharged from hospital. 

I find it absolutely ridiculous that you cannot claim carers allowance unless the person you are caring for is on benefits ??? He isn’t entitled to anything so that means neither am I . 

How many carers out there who get nothing because of this odd rule. 

 He needs to apply for PIP, Personal Independence Payments, he will qualify as he has cancer. It's not means tested and you will be able to claim carers allowance 

sarah1972

marcia_ said:

sarah1972 said:

Long story short. 

My husband has oesophageal cancer and I have been caring for him through chemotherapy & radiotherapy and next is a minimum 10 hour operation, time in ICU and then he will need even more home care when he gets discharged from hospital. 

I find it absolutely ridiculous that you cannot claim carers allowance unless the person you are caring for is on benefits ??? He isn’t entitled to anything so that means neither am I . 

How many carers out there who get nothing because of this odd rule. 

 He needs to apply for PIP, Personal Independence Payments, he will qualify as he has cancer. It's not means tested and you will be able to claim carers allowance 

He got declined pip with zero points 😢 We applied in July and got turned down last month. It’s gone to independent review which takes another 2 months.

marcia_

sarah1972 said:

marcia_ said:

sarah1972 said:

Long story short. 

My husband has oesophageal cancer and I have been caring for him through chemotherapy & radiotherapy and next is a minimum 10 hour operation, time in ICU and then he will need even more home care when he gets discharged from hospital. 

I find it absolutely ridiculous that you cannot claim carers allowance unless the person you are caring for is on benefits ??? He isn’t entitled to anything so that means neither am I . 

How many carers out there who get nothing because of this odd rule. 

 He needs to apply for PIP, Personal Independence Payments, he will qualify as he has cancer. It's not means tested and you will be able to claim carers allowance 

He got declined pip with zero points 😢 We applied in July and got turned down last month. It’s gone to independent review which takes another 2 months.

  So you applied for a mandatory reconsideration, many applications are turned over then or at appeal 

ETA...

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/benefits-and-financial-support/personal-independence-payment

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/benefits-and-financial-support/personal-independence-payment

sarah1972

marcia_ said:

sarah1972 said:

marcia_ said:

sarah1972 said:

Long story short. 

My husband has oesophageal cancer and I have been caring for him through chemotherapy & radiotherapy and next is a minimum 10 hour operation, time in ICU and then he will need even more home care when he gets discharged from hospital. 

I find it absolutely ridiculous that you cannot claim carers allowance unless the person you are caring for is on benefits ??? He isn’t entitled to anything so that means neither am I . 

How many carers out there who get nothing because of this odd rule. 

 He needs to apply for PIP, Personal Independence Payments, he will qualify as he has cancer. It's not means tested and you will be able to claim carers allowance 

He got declined pip with zero points 😢 We applied in July and got turned down last month. It’s gone to independent review which takes another 2 months.

  So you applied for a mandatory reconsideration, many applications are turned over then or at appeal 

ETA...

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/benefits-and-financial-support/personal-independence-payment

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/benefits-and-financial-support/personal-independence-payment

Yes, fingers crossed it gets turned over. Carers allowance isn’t backdated either so I can only apply ‘if’ we get PIP. 

MacMillan were awful, they just said you’re not entitled to anything but you can apply for pip if you want but I very much doubt you will get it and got me off the phone as quick as they could. 

Indie_Kid

marcia_ said:

sarah1972 said:

Long story short. 

My husband has oesophageal cancer and I have been caring for him through chemotherapy & radiotherapy and next is a minimum 10 hour operation, time in ICU and then he will need even more home care when he gets discharged from hospital. 

I find it absolutely ridiculous that you cannot claim carers allowance unless the person you are caring for is on benefits ??? He isn’t entitled to anything so that means neither am I . 

How many carers out there who get nothing because of this odd rule. 

 He needs to apply for PIP, Personal Independence Payments, he will qualify as he has cancer. It's not means tested and you will be able to claim carers allowance 

He's only automatically entitled to pip if his death can be reasonably expected within 12 months. For those with non terminal cancer, his needs need to have lasted for 3 months and expect to last another 9.

sarah1972

Indie_Kid said:

marcia_ said:

sarah1972 said:

Long story short. 

My husband has oesophageal cancer and I have been caring for him through chemotherapy & radiotherapy and next is a minimum 10 hour operation, time in ICU and then he will need even more home care when he gets discharged from hospital. 

I find it absolutely ridiculous that you cannot claim carers allowance unless the person you are caring for is on benefits ??? He isn’t entitled to anything so that means neither am I . 

How many carers out there who get nothing because of this odd rule. 

 He needs to apply for PIP, Personal Independence Payments, he will qualify as he has cancer. It's not means tested and you will be able to claim carers allowance 

He's only automatically entitled to pip if his death can be reasonably expected within 12 months. For those with non terminal cancer, his needs need to have lasted for 3 months and expect to last another 9.

It’s not terminal but we applied 3 months after diagnosis and we sent a consultants letter saying it will continue for at least another 12 months. He is having a 10 hour operation in 2 weeks and then ICU followed by 6 month’s rehabilitation followed by 12 months of immunotherapy 

Spoonie_Turtle

sarah1972 said:

marcia_ said:

sarah1972 said:

marcia_ said:

sarah1972 said:

Long story short. 

My husband has oesophageal cancer and I have been caring for him through chemotherapy & radiotherapy and next is a minimum 10 hour operation, time in ICU and then he will need even more home care when he gets discharged from hospital. 

I find it absolutely ridiculous that you cannot claim carers allowance unless the person you are caring for is on benefits ??? He isn’t entitled to anything so that means neither am I . 

How many carers out there who get nothing because of this odd rule. 

 He needs to apply for PIP, Personal Independence Payments, he will qualify as he has cancer. It's not means tested and you will be able to claim carers allowance 

He got declined pip with zero points 😢 We applied in July and got turned down last month. It’s gone to independent review which takes another 2 months.

  So you applied for a mandatory reconsideration, many applications are turned over then or at appeal 

ETA...

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/benefits-and-financial-support/personal-independence-payment

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/benefits-and-financial-support/personal-independence-payment

Yes, fingers crossed it gets turned over. Carers allowance isn’t backdated either so I can only apply ‘if’ we get PIP. 

The good news for you is CA can be backdated, either by three months or to the date of the PIP claim (i.e. the date you/your husband phoned to start the PIP claim), if that's taken more than 3 months

sarah1972

Spoonie_Turtle said:

sarah1972 said:

marcia_ said:

sarah1972 said:

marcia_ said:

sarah1972 said:

Long story short. 

My husband has oesophageal cancer and I have been caring for him through chemotherapy & radiotherapy and next is a minimum 10 hour operation, time in ICU and then he will need even more home care when he gets discharged from hospital. 

I find it absolutely ridiculous that you cannot claim carers allowance unless the person you are caring for is on benefits ??? He isn’t entitled to anything so that means neither am I . 

How many carers out there who get nothing because of this odd rule. 

 He needs to apply for PIP, Personal Independence Payments, he will qualify as he has cancer. It's not means tested and you will be able to claim carers allowance 

He got declined pip with zero points 😢 We applied in July and got turned down last month. It’s gone to independent review which takes another 2 months.

  So you applied for a mandatory reconsideration, many applications are turned over then or at appeal 

ETA...

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/benefits-and-financial-support/personal-independence-payment

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/benefits-and-financial-support/personal-independence-payment

Yes, fingers crossed it gets turned over. Carers allowance isn’t backdated either so I can only apply ‘if’ we get PIP. 

The good news for you is CA can be backdated, either by three months or to the date of the PIP claim (i.e. the date you/your husband phoned to start the PIP claim), if that's taken more than 3 months

I was told by them twice that it is never backdated more than 3 months regardless of pip claim date. I said but by the time pip is granted (although I doubt it ever will be) I will of been caring for him for over 6 months and they said that it’s just the way it is with no exceptions? 

Spoonie_Turtle

sarah1972 said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

sarah1972 said:

marcia_ said:

sarah1972 said:

marcia_ said:

sarah1972 said:

Long story short. 

My husband has oesophageal cancer and I have been caring for him through chemotherapy & radiotherapy and next is a minimum 10 hour operation, time in ICU and then he will need even more home care when he gets discharged from hospital. 

I find it absolutely ridiculous that you cannot claim carers allowance unless the person you are caring for is on benefits ??? He isn’t entitled to anything so that means neither am I . 

How many carers out there who get nothing because of this odd rule. 

 He needs to apply for PIP, Personal Independence Payments, he will qualify as he has cancer. It's not means tested and you will be able to claim carers allowance 

He got declined pip with zero points 😢 We applied in July and got turned down last month. It’s gone to independent review which takes another 2 months.

  So you applied for a mandatory reconsideration, many applications are turned over then or at appeal 

ETA...

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/benefits-and-financial-support/personal-independence-payment

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/benefits-and-financial-support/personal-independence-payment

Yes, fingers crossed it gets turned over. Carers allowance isn’t backdated either so I can only apply ‘if’ we get PIP. 

The good news for you is CA can be backdated, either by three months or to the date of the PIP claim (i.e. the date you/your husband phoned to start the PIP claim), if that's taken more than 3 months

I was told by them twice that it is never backdated more than 3 months regardless of pip claim date. I said but by the time pip is granted (although I doubt it ever will be) I will of been caring for him for over 6 months and they said that it’s just the way it is with no exceptions? 

Who told you that? 
We backdated my Mum's by 7 months to the start of my PIP claim and I'm not aware of the rules having changed.
Let's see … The wording on gov.uk is not completely unambiguous ("Your Carer’s Allowance can be backdated to the date PIP is awarded to the person you are caring for" - but the award date should mean the beginning of the claim, not the decision date) but AgeUK explicitly says it https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/factsheets/fs55_carers_allowance_fcs.pdf
"4.1 Backdating and advance claims
CA can usually only be backdated for 3 months, so it is important to claim as soon as you think you might be entitled.
If the person you care for has recently been awarded a qualifying benefit (see section 3.1), CA can be backdated to the start date of the qualifying benefit, even if this is more than three months ago. You must claim CA within three months of the start date of the qualifying benefit award"

sarah1972

Spoonie_Turtle said:

sarah1972 said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

sarah1972 said:

marcia_ said:

sarah1972 said:

marcia_ said:

sarah1972 said:

Long story short. 

My husband has oesophageal cancer and I have been caring for him through chemotherapy & radiotherapy and next is a minimum 10 hour operation, time in ICU and then he will need even more home care when he gets discharged from hospital. 

I find it absolutely ridiculous that you cannot claim carers allowance unless the person you are caring for is on benefits ??? He isn’t entitled to anything so that means neither am I . 

How many carers out there who get nothing because of this odd rule. 

 He needs to apply for PIP, Personal Independence Payments, he will qualify as he has cancer. It's not means tested and you will be able to claim carers allowance 

He got declined pip with zero points 😢 We applied in July and got turned down last month. It’s gone to independent review which takes another 2 months.

  So you applied for a mandatory reconsideration, many applications are turned over then or at appeal 

ETA...

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/benefits-and-financial-support/personal-independence-payment

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/benefits-and-financial-support/personal-independence-payment

Yes, fingers crossed it gets turned over. Carers allowance isn’t backdated either so I can only apply ‘if’ we get PIP. 

The good news for you is CA can be backdated, either by three months or to the date of the PIP claim (i.e. the date you/your husband phoned to start the PIP claim), if that's taken more than 3 months

I was told by them twice that it is never backdated more than 3 months regardless of pip claim date. I said but by the time pip is granted (although I doubt it ever will be) I will of been caring for him for over 6 months and they said that it’s just the way it is with no exceptions? 

Who told you that? 
We backdated my Mum's by 7 months to the start of my PIP claim and I'm not aware of the rules having changed.
Let's see … The wording on gov.uk is not completely unambiguous ("Your Carer’s Allowance can be backdated to the date PIP is awarded to the person you are caring for" - but the award date should mean the beginning of the claim, not the decision date) but AgeUK explicitly says it https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/factsheets/fs55_carers_allowance_fcs.pdf
"4.1 Backdating and advance claims
CA can usually only be backdated for 3 months, so it is important to claim as soon as you think you might be entitled.
If the person you care for has recently been awarded a qualifying benefit (see section 3.1), CA can be backdated to the start date of the qualifying benefit, even if this is more than three months ago. You must claim CA within three months of the start date of the qualifying benefit award"

I called the DWP carers line, they said it’s never from the start of a pip claim, it will only ever be from the date that pip is awarded. 

As it says from your post. ‘Backdated to the start of qualifying benefit’ which is the start date not application date apparently