claiming Attendance allowance

Esty76

Hi all, my aunt has an AA claim, now circumstances changed as her husband fell down stairs and broke his neck. so now not only her claim is different as eh has new things but he has a claim now too.  I wondered if 2 claims, one revised plus wanting extra support for housing care like stair lift, wetroom etc etc is taken into consideration? We already have council visiting but i wanted ti know is it still AA or should she be applying for something different? 

Spoonie_Turtle

Attendance Allowance is the only disability benefit for people of pension age.

If they are claiming Pension Credit it will almost certainly increase their entitlement.  If they don't, they should do a benefits calculation to see if they are now entitled to some.

[I don't understand why your aunt's claim would change, surely her care needs are the same.  The claim is not dependant on what help she gets, only based on her needs whether they're met or not.]

fatbelly

If she has a care need she should continue with her claim

elsien

A wish for a stair lift or a wet room has nothing to do with attendance allowance.

The options there would be to move to a different accessible property, or apply for a disabled facilities grant towards the work. 

If you’re suggesting that the aunt’s needs have changed because she may become a carer, that doesn’t really affect her own Support needs. She could however look into claiming carers allowance if she will be caring for him for more than 35 hours a week. 

Keep_pedalling

Do they own their home or do they rent. It sounds like the house is no longer suitable them. 

Rubyroobs

Your aunt cannot be paid carers allowance as she is over state pension age unless for some reason she has a very low state pension. If both on Attendance allowance  She can be awarded an underlying entitlement to carers allowance which could gain her a carers premium on other means tested benefits. They should get a benefit check done as this would likely make them more likely to be eligible to claim Pension credit with the addition of two severe disability premiums added into the pension credit calculation. Speak to Age UK or the council about this. As above they may be eligible for a disabled facilities grant for renovations. An occupational therapy assessment through the council would be the way to proceed.
If they are needing to pay for carers and savings are below £23250 then they should ask for a financial assessment through the council to see if they can get help with care costs.

Esty76

Thanks all the advice has been really helpful