People who are taking on caring responsibilities for another person could be due more than just payments from the Department for Work and Pensions. BBC expert Iona Bain urged people to check if they are eligible for Carer’s Allowance, revealing that around 5.8 million people in the UK are carers and many could qualify for the benefit.
For people under the state pension age, claiming their entitlement could even boost their state pension. But there could be a catch as Iona warned: “There are lots of intricacies and complexity with Carer’s Allowance in terms of how that might impact the benefits of the person who you are caring for.”
She added: “This is for all the brilliant people out there who are caring for folks, who are unpaid or informal carriers. We’re talking about an estimated 5.8 million people in the UK… Don’t be afraid to get the help.”
View 3 ImagesThe benefit can also help carers who have had to reduce their working hours(Image: GETTY)
Carer’s Allowance provides £86.45 a week to people who are caring for someone at least 35 hours each week and the person they care for receives certain DWP benefits like PIP or DLA.
You also need to be over the age of 16 and earning less than £204 per week after tax to be eligible. But it’s not just money that the benefit can provide, which is why Iona particularly urged carers under the state pension age to claim their entitlement.
Iona explained: “For every week of Carer’s Allowance that you get, you also get National Insurance credits and this will go towards making sure that you get your full state pension entitlement. And that is so important because people who care for others, have to take time out of work and this can mean that they might drop out the system.
“They might not be able to build up those NI credits which are really important for your state pensions. So it’s really good but claiming Carer’s Allowance takes care of that issue.”
Carer’s Allowance payments can be backdated by up to three months. There are slightly different processes and benefits if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Iona also set straight one common misconception about what counts as a ‘carer’ and what exactly ‘caring duties’ can entail that might make you eligible.
View 3 ImagesUnpaid carers don’t need to be related to the person they care for(Image: GETTY)
She said: “You don’t need to be related to the person that you are caring for. You don’t need to be living with them. You could be a close friend or a neighbour who’s providing that hands-on support.
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“When we think about what caring looks like, obviously, it can often be helping with things like getting somebody washed, getting them dressed, cooking their meals, but it can also be helping them manage their bills or doing their shopping for them.
“Caring encompasses so many different roles, it can take on so much. So if you think that you’re doing quite a lot of that that work and support for somebody in your life, definitely worth looking into whether you’re eligible for Carer’s Allowance.”
More information about Carer’s Allowance can be found on the Gov.uk website and Carers UK also provide support for people trying to apply for the benefit.