Carers allowance help please

room512

My husband is disabled and gets PIP enhanced on both aspects and is in the ESA support group.  We receive UC but our circumstances have changed and I don’t know whether to continue to claim the carers element of UC or to apply for carers allowance. I have tried the calculators but they aren’t helping.

My situation is that I was working but my contract has been ended and so now I have no work or income. We rent currently but we are going to move to a new area and live in my mum’s house which is empty due to her being permanently in a care home which she pays for. 

We will be living rent free and I do care for my husband over 35 hours a week and just need some breathing space to get my own health back on track before seeking work. 

I am unsure what we will be entitled to. We have savings under £6000.  

Will we be entitled to free council tax?  Will we be entitled to free dental care?
Any help gratefully received. I really do not understand UC.

KxMx

Carers Allowance would be deducted in full from your UC award, so no financial gain to claiming.
CA would pay you a better class of NI compared to what you get via UC.

You would continue to get Carers Element under UC. 

Council Tax Reduction is decided on at a local level with each local authority having different rules for this, meaning it's very hard to advise on individual cases from here.

With no take home pay you should qualify for free dental (though finding an NHS dentist these days is another issue). 

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/help-with-health-costs-for-people-getting-universal-credit/

room512

Thanks. I have emailed the council of the area we are moving to regarding council tax.  We are going to stay with our current dentist as they are NHS and stay with a family member when we have check ups.

room512

So in regards to pension contributions I currently have worked for 30 years so would I be better to claim carers allowance and get the better class of NI? Sorry for all of the questions.  I am suffering from extreme anxiety due to all of this! 

nannytone_2

The credit you receive from universal credit, is toward your state pension. Carers allowance would give you a class one credit, which would enable you to claim some  Contributions based benefit in the future

NedS

KxMx said:

Carers Allowance would be deducted in full from your UC award, so no financial gain to claiming.
CA would pay you a better class of NI compared to what you get via UC.

You would continue to get Carers Element under UC. 

In addition to the above, Carers Allowance is also taxable income (if that is relevant to you) whereas UC is not.