Carer's Allowance

If you are a carer aged 16 or over, you may be able to get Carer’s Allowance, which is worth £43.15 a week.

If you get Carer’s Allowance, find out whether you qualify for the Carer Premium  - you may get more money! Carer Premium is an extra amount of money (up to £25.10 a week) which is included in the calculation of benefits such as Income Support, Income-Based Job Seekers’ Allowance, Housing Benefit And Council Tax Benefit (called Rent Rebate in Northern Ireland).

To get Carer’s Allowance you need to meet all the rules. They are quite complicated but your local JobCentre Plus, Citizens Advice Bureau or Benefits Adviser can help you work them out. Here are some of the rules

• You must look after someone for at least 35 hours a week. If you care for more than one person, you must look after one of them for at least 35 hours a week. Time spent travelling or helping someone get about can count towards the 35 hours.
• The person you look after must be getting benefits themselves. The benefits they might be getting include Disability Living Allowance (DLA) at the middle or higher rate and Attendance Allowance.
• You must not be in “supervised” study (this means at lessons) for more than 21 hours per week.
• You must not earn more than £79 a week. When you work out how much you earn, you may be able to take off some of your weekly costs from your earnings.

For more info on your rights as a carer go to www.carersonline.org.uk

For info on benefits www.directgov.co.uk; www.adviceguide.org.uk, or visit your Local Citizens Advice Bureau.