Is Carers allowance for me really only £50 a week? (couple on UC)

MartBear

So I've been looking at my breakdown since we moved to UC, with me being my wifes carer, and noticed that we have £358 a month because I am a carer. Which seems odd. My CA gets paid separately, I get that, but i neve thought of it as being something to be deducted from my UC.

Then I looked at the UC breakdown, to see where it gets added, in order for it to be deducted for being separate.

I get listed as a carer, and thus get £198.31

So this is where my confusion lies. The way it currently seem, I get my UC + 200 for caring. Then lose 358, because I get it paid elsewhere. So my total breakdown is UC + 200 caring (with the £358 coming from somewhere else and being removed cancelling out)

If I didn't get Caring, Id get just my UC. no extra 200. But I also wouldn't get the £358 removed, because Id not get it elsewhere. so my total is just UC.

So my only difference is that £200. That is my only earnings as a carer? carers pay is absolutely ridiculous anyway. Having to basically commit to 35 hours of caring for £80 is akin to £2 an hour, but for less than £50 a week? i'm at £1.30 or something. I appreciate we are able to add extra hours of work soon (so long as i dont earn a single penny extra than allowed), if a job offers those small hours, maybe i'll be able to get one. They just dont turn up often.

But I just want to check I've broken this down right, and am being paid right. I know the Carers Allowance comes at a cut to the disability benefit my wife gets, and we do get a net gain, which was how it was explained when we had ESA. But just seems weird now that i see it written down, that for being a carer for your partner, you technically get £30 less of an already insultingly low payment as a thanks for saving the government billions a year in caring

poppy12345

Carers allowance is always deducted in full from any UC entitlement. The deduction looks higher than what you receive from CA but it's not. CA is a weekly benefit but UC is monthly and there's more than 4 weeks in a month. To work out the monthly deduction you do the following... £81.90 x 52 and divide by 12 = £354.90/month deduction. 

Yes, your UC is lower after deductions but you're not financially worse or better off by claiming carers allowance because you still receive CA as a separate payment. 

MartBear said:

I know the Carers Allowance comes at a cut to the disability benefit my wife gets, 

That's not correct. Claiming either CA or Carers element doesn't affect her disability benefit. 

If you do start working there's no earnings limit to carers element like there is with carers allowance so you could cancel the CA. 

powerspowers

Carers allowance is shockingly low! 

If your partner has an adult social care assessment there may be help you can get to pay for respite care or more support, you can’t use it to supplement your income though. 

Ponsienella2

Isn't Carer's Allowance £81.90 per week in 2024/2025 tax year?

poppy12345

Ponsienella2 said:

Isn't Carer's Allowance £81.90 per week in 2024/2025 tax year?

Yes it is. 

Muttleythefrog

Agree with Poppy's comment.... hopefully it clarifies the facts for you in terms of CA deducted in full as a monthly figure from UC award and no impact on her disability benefits. And yes being an 'unpaid carer' does mean receiving little in terms of (additional) benefits given the commitment.

Rubyroobs

If you take the carers allowance out of the equation as that gets paid separately then deducted, you still have half the couples element nd the carers element.

MartBear

poppy12345 said:

MartBear said:

I know the Carers Allowance comes at a cut to the disability benefit my wife gets, 

That's not correct. Claiming either CA or Carers element doesn't affect her disability benefit. 

If you do start working there's no earnings limit to carers element like there is with carers allowance so you could cancel the CA. 

When we were on ESA, she got the higher disability payment. I applied for carers, and was told at the time that my wifes higher disability would be cut by a small amount, and i would get the £80 a week. It was the Higher Disability premium, that was £20 a week at the time. She lost that as soon as I became her carer, which left us £60 a week better off.

I assumed that was what was going on with UC too.

Spoonie_Turtle

MartBear said:

poppy12345 said:

MartBear said:

I know the Carers Allowance comes at a cut to the disability benefit my wife gets, 

That's not correct. Claiming either CA or Carers element doesn't affect her disability benefit. 

If you do start working there's no earnings limit to carers element like there is with carers allowance so you could cancel the CA. 

When we were on ESA, she got the higher disability payment. I applied for carers, and was told at the time that my wifes higher disability would be cut by a small amount, and i would get the £80 a week. It was the Higher Disability premium, that was £20 a week at the time. She lost that as soon as I became her carer, which left us £60 a week better off.

I assumed that was what was going on with UC too.

Possibly just a crossed wire with terminology here then.

ESA is an income-replacement benefit like Carers Allowance is, that's why that was affected - they are overlapping benefits so people on the same benefit claim can't get the full amount of both. 

The disability benefits such as PIP and DLA aren't affected at all.

poppy12345

MartBear said:

poppy12345 said:

MartBear said:

I know the Carers Allowance comes at a cut to the disability benefit my wife gets, 

That's not correct. Claiming either CA or Carers element doesn't affect her disability benefit. 

If you do start working there's no earnings limit to carers element like there is with carers allowance so you could cancel the CA. 

When we were on ESA, she got the higher disability payment. I applied for carers, and was told at the time that my wifes higher disability would be cut by a small amount, and i would get the £80 a week. It was the Higher Disability premium, that was £20 a week at the time. She lost that as soon as I became her carer, which left us £60 a week better off.

I assumed that was what was going on with UC too.

The part in bold above.. The higher disability premium refers to Severe disability Premium which can't be claimed if someone is claiming Carers allowance for looking after you. However, she wouldn't have been entitled to that anyway, unless you were either registered blind or claiming a qualifying disability benefit yourself, such as PIP/ADP daily living, DLA mid/high rate care or Attendance Allowance. 

The Enhanced disability Premium which is also payable with Income Related ESA isn't affected by someone claiming carers allowance for looking after you.