Are you a caregiver?  Do you spend at least 35 hours a week taking care of someone with a disability in the UK?  Perhaps you are related or live with someone who has a disability and you provide help for them on a fairly regular basis?  If any of these are true you could be eligible for the Carer’s Allowance (CA). After reading this you should then speak to the Carer’s Allowance team.

The Ins and Outs of Carer’s Allowance

Carer’s Allowance is money that goes to those who are providing regular help or care to a person with a disability for at least 35 hours per week.  There are some caveats however to the Carer’s Allowance.  Caveat’s such as the person you are providing the care for has to be receiving a positive and or a substantial benefit from the help you are giving them, and in a few cases, this gets put into a certain kind of pay rate.

The typical rate for Carer’s Allowance is paid out at 64.60 pounds and often times gets increased every April.  Even if you aren’t related or living with the person receiving your care you are still eligible for the allowance.  As long as you don’t already make over 120 pounds per week you will qualify for Carer’s Allowance as well.

Another thing about Carer’s Allowance is that it is not means-tested and it also doesn’t depend on any national insurance plans or claims. What this means is that it’s not based on your savings or personal earnings, however, the amount of money you do earn might affect your entitlement.  Although, when it comes to means-tested benefits Carer’s Allowance factors into your income in full when it’s calculated.

If you are receiving the Carer’s Allowance or even if you entitled to one but do not claim it because of what are called the Overlapping Benefit Rules, you’ll have a Carer’s Premium and or Additional amount added on to your income support/means-tested benefit.  Overlapping Benefit Rules are there to make sure you are only paid one income support benefit at a time.  Other benefits that fall into this are those such as Income Related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit, Housing Benefits, and Jobseeker’s Allowance.

If you live in Scotland you may also get what is called the Carer’s Allowance Supplement if you receive Carer’s Allowance.  The Carer’s Allowance Supplement (CAS) is an extra benefit or income support payment for those who care for someone at least 35 hours a week who are living in Scotland.  

The Carer’s Allowance Supplement is an extra 221 pounds which gets doled out twice a year in April and September.  Those in Scotland can really benefit from having both the Carer’s Allowance and Carer’s Allowance Supplement.

Throughout the UK the Carer’s Allowance is helping those caring for and those being cared for have a little bit better life.