Entitlement to carers allowance

jerh

I have been a full time carer for my parents for the last 7 years. Both were fully blind, my mother has mobility issues and my father suffered from vascular dementia.  My mother received severe disablement allowance and my father received attendance allowance. I received carers allowance on account of my father having attendance allowance and most of my time was spent helping him.

My father passed away recently so the carers allowance has now stopped.  I will still be looking after my mother full time due to her needs but I don't believe that her severe disablement allowance would be a qualifying benefit for me to claim carer's allowance against. Can someone confirm whether this is correct?

My secondary question is whether my mother can make a claim for attendance allowance (to replace her SDA). This would seem appropriate as she does need full time care now and would enable me to subsequently request carer's allowance.

Any advice appreciated!

poppy12345

She will be receiving SDA because she's blind and this will be part of Pension Credit. You will not be able to claim carers allowance for her because she's not claiming a disability benefit.

Yes, you can claim AA for her and it will not affect her SDA. However, she's she's awarded AA and you claim carers allowance for looking after her then she will lose the SDA. If she loses this then her Pension Credit may end, which could affect entitlement to other benefits.

Robbie64

poppy12345 said:

She will be receiving SDA because she's blind and this will be part of Pension Credit. You will not be able to claim carers allowance for her because she's not claiming a disability benefit.

Yes, you can claim AA for her and it will not affect her SDA. However, she's she's awarded AA and you claim carers allowance for looking after her then she will lose the SDA. If she loses this then her Pension Credit may end, which could affect entitlement to other benefits.

Severe Disablement Allowance is a benefit in its own right (it was introduced in 1984 as a non-contributory alternative to Invalidity Benefit, later Incapacity Benefit) and is separate from any severe disability premium / addition that is paid as part of Pension Credit. This SDA was closed to new claims in 2001 but people already in receipt of the benefit could continue to claim it and also claim it beyond pension age. The benefit would then (at pension age) be either reduced by or replaced by any State Pension that became payable. Some people continued to receive full SDA because they had not paid enough National Insurance to qualify for even the minimum State Pension (which required 10 years of NI contributions or credits).

The OP doesn't mention Pension Credit so I wonder what benefits both parents were receiving. If the mother is still receiving Severe Disablement Allowance and has no other income then a claim to Pension Credit should be considered. If the late father was receiving Attendance Allowance was he also receiving a State Pension? As the mother isn't in receipt of Attendance Allowance then no additional amount for severe disability would be in payment if Pension Credit is / was being paid.

The mother should also claim Attendance Allowance as soon as possible and it wouldn't replace Severe Disablement Allowance (assuming that is what is in payment) as they aren't overlapping benefits where only one or the other can be paid. Both can be claimed and paid. Indeed, it's possible / probable that the mother could have claimed AA a long time ago and has therefore missed out on a lot of extra financial support.

To the OP: could you clarify what benefits your mother currently receives?

jerh

Robbie64 said:

poppy12345 said:

She will be receiving SDA because she's blind and this will be part of Pension Credit. You will not be able to claim carers allowance for her because she's not claiming a disability benefit.

Yes, you can claim AA for her and it will not affect her SDA. However, she's she's awarded AA and you claim carers allowance for looking after her then she will lose the SDA. If she loses this then her Pension Credit may end, which could affect entitlement to other benefits.

Severe Disablement Allowance is a benefit in its own right (it was introduced in 1984 as a non-contributory alternative to Invalidity Benefit, later Incapacity Benefit) and is separate from any severe disability premium / addition that is paid as part of Pension Credit. This SDA was closed to new claims in 2001 but people already in receipt of the benefit could continue to claim it and also claim it beyond pension age. The benefit would then (at pension age) be either reduced by or replaced by any State Pension that became payable. Some people continued to receive full SDA because they had not paid enough National Insurance to qualify for even the minimum State Pension (which required 10 years of NI contributions or credits).

The OP doesn't mention Pension Credit so I wonder what benefits both parents were receiving. If the mother is still receiving Severe Disablement Allowance and has no other income then a claim to Pension Credit should be considered. If the late father was receiving Attendance Allowance was he also receiving a State Pension? As the mother isn't in receipt of Attendance Allowance then no additional amount for severe disability would be in payment if Pension Credit is / was being paid.

The mother should also claim Attendance Allowance as soon as possible and it wouldn't replace Severe Disablement Allowance (assuming that is what is in payment) as they aren't overlapping benefits where only one or the other can be paid. Both can be claimed and paid. Indeed, it's possible / probable that the mother could have claimed AA a long time ago and has therefore missed out on a lot of extra financial support.

To the OP: could you clarify what benefits your mother currently receives?

Many thanks for these responses.  I really appreciate it.  My dad received a decent occupational pension on retirement alongside a full state pension.  My mum never had paid employment but had been advised years ago to apply for the Service Disablement Allowance so she's been getting this benefit for some time. She has no state pension benefit in her own right but we are in the process for applying for a widow's state pension.  I moved back in with my parents about 7 years ago as it was becoming too difficult for my mum to look after my dad. At that time I applied for the attendance allowance for my dad and the carer's allowance for myself.  I'm sure I enquired about AA for my mum at the time too and was advised that she could not receive it at the same time as the SDA. I doubt my mum would be eligible for any means tested benefits but i was hoping for some way to claim a carers allowance for myself so I can continue to get some income (and state pension contributioons) for myself while I'm not working.

marcia_

 You can definitely claim AA alongside SDA so put a claim in 

Robbie64

The advice your mum was given, about not being able to claim AA alongside SDA, was incorrect and has possibly / probably meant your mum has lost out on many thousands of pounds in benefit.

I think your mum will inherit your late dad's full state pension though I'm not 100% certain of that. If that does happen, because the state pension will be more than the SDA, the latter will stop. SDA and State Pension are overlapping benefits where only the higher of the two can be paid.

Your mum should put in a claim for AA as soon as possible as without AA being in payment you won't be able to claim Carer's Allowance. Depending on any other income you have, you could claim Universal Credit. Whilst your mum is waiting for a decision on AA you will have to agree to jobsearch in order to get AA unless your Work Coach at the JobCentre agrees to reduce or switch off any jobsearch requirements pending the outcome of your mum's AA application. If you have no other income claiming UC may be the only option as it will take a number of weeks for a decision on AA to be made and then potentially three months or so for a claim on your CA to be made, both due to backlogs.

Your mum could also claim Pension Credit if she only has SDA as income. Once a decision has been made on her entitlement to State Pension her PC may reduce or end, depending on the amount of pension paid. Does she inherit any of your dad's Occupational Pension? If so, that will also count as income for Pension Credit.

poppy12345

Thanks Robbie, it was indeed the Severe disability Addition i was thinking about. I knew that SDA existed but didn't realise that some people still claimed it.

in_my_wellies

OP might be eligible for Carers Credit so National Insurance is credited.  Her doctor can sign the form. 

From .Gov.uk web-site 'Carers Credit':

If the person you’re caring for does not get one of these benefits, you may still be able to get Carer’s Credit. When you apply, fill in the ‘Care Certificate’ part of the application form and get a health or social care professional to sign it.