Carers' Allowance

[barry1010]

Carers' Allowance is currently £76.75 a week and is not intended to replace a carers salary.  The carer cannot earn more than £139 a week after deductions to qualify for the allowance.

People in receipt of state pension cannot get the allowance although they might get an 'underlying entitlement' in very limited circumstances.

"Unpaid carers in England and Wales contribute a staggering £445 million to the economy every day – that’s £162 billion per year (Petrillo and Bennett, 2023).

The value of unpaid care is equivalent to a second NHS in England and Wales, which in 2020/21 received an estimated £164 billion in funding (Petrillo and Bennett, 2023)."

It is hugely expensive to care for someone in the home full time.  We are fortunate that we can afford to care for our loved ones and get a lot of help from relatives, friends and neighbours.   It would be impossible otherwise. I am not complaining about caring for them - we want to for as long as it is possible.

Should all carers get more money from the state? 

I struggled to know which category to place this question so settled for body and soul

 

 

[Redhelen72]

Yes but it has to come with some form of checks. 

Checks to ensure the person being cared for is being cared for, can you imagine paying someone to care for old aunt flo and 2 years later aunt flo is found in squallor.

It could open a whole can of worms.

[barry1010]

Those checks would be expensive and every 'benefit' is open to fraud.   Occasionally we read about a relative hiding their dead relative for months and years in order to claim the pension.

Sadly we also read about people being neglected and worse in care homes which are supposed to be regularely inspected by the Care Quality Commission in England and similar in the rest of the UK.

[Redhelen72]

Yes but as it is public funding something needs to be put in place to reduce the risk as much as possible.

It could be as simple as gathering data from the NHS - when was the last time aunt flo was seen etc

Could you imagine the critisism the goverment who brought that in would get if someone did take advantage of an elderly person

[Canary42]

Yes.

But that's because I'm a Leftie who believes the more fortunate members of society should help those less fortunate.

The Righties will say the carers are spongers, and care services should be fully paid for by the caree, and provided by a profit-making enterprise.

[barry1010]

What checks are made of the long term unemployed in receipt of benefits?  I know they are supposed to spend x amount of hours a week looking for work - but how closely monitored is it?

[Redhelen72]

I don't know because I have not worked that area, but I have worked other areas of public funding and there are checks made to ensure as much as possible that public funding is used correctly

[naomi24]

I would think it's easier to check if someone really needs a carer than to check if the unemployed are skiving.  For the former, at least checks can be made through medical records.

[Moorea7]

Are the people being cared for allowed to claim for benefits
in their own right?

[barry1010]

To get carers allowance the person cared for must be in receipt of certain benefits related to their medical problems such as attendance allowance, PIP or the care component of DLA (some people still get DLA)

[Countrylover]

It's so totally unfair that those like hy husband don't get a penny from the state for being carers after reaching state pension age.  I get attendance allowance which basically I can spend on whatever I want and it's helped.  Both of us are in our mid 70s.   He was as fit as a fiddle.  His knees now need replacing  ad he constantly looks tired and worn out.  This is worrying me.  But he refuses  to talk about it  He is saving the state a whole lot of money and I feel guilty.  He never complains.

We don't qualify for any other benefits and have only once in our lifetime had any state benefits and that was a short period of redundancy and was peanuts years ago.

I worked until I reached pension age.  I could have applied for disability allowance but didn't.  It didn't even cross my  mind.  Those on disability allowance when working can continue on it and get attendance allowance as well.  I can't even apply for it as I'm over pension age.  The same applies for mobility allowance and pensioners credits.A ll carers should get more money.  I feel very strongly now we are suffering for being elderly,  and many on benefits for life and never intending to work are sitting back and enjoying themselves and producing offspring that will more than likely fall into the same bracket.

We have noone who can step in to help.   We are not short of money, but we are far from rich.  I live in fear now that I might one day have to resort to a care home.  (It will be Switzerland before that happens !)

 

 

[Countrylover]

Nothing to do with being a lefty or righty Canary, I am neither.  Its a broken system.  

[barry1010]

I agree and sympathise with you, CL.  

I must point out though that nobody can get both attendance allowance and DLA or PIP, not even those who got DLA whilst working.

My oldsters would be in care homes if they didn't live with us and as they never owned their own homes and have very little savings the tax payer would bear the burden.  As both their state pensions are less than £3 a week over the limit they don't get pension credit and the miriad of other benefits that goes with that.

[bednobs]

it's the mobility component of PIP that you cant claim after retirement age, but can still get it if you claimed it before retirement.

If your first claim is when you are past retirement age, you have to apply for AA which only has the care component

[Countrylover]

Barry.  Thanks. A friend who still gets her Disability allowance still gets it but come to thi k of it doesn't get attendance allowance.

[Countrylover]

Thanks Bednobs.  All I know is we can't claim anything.  

[Countrylover]

I suppose we come from a generation where the work ethics was prominent and we didn't even think of doing anything else but work.  It was all we knew.  My extended family,y was huge.  Everbody worked or had retired.  Benefits didn't really exist!  

We are fortunate because we had a reasonable inheritance which we invested and get income from.  But that income is not higher than the benefits some people get and we have to eat into it.

[barry1010]

"You won't be able to get Attendance Allowance if you already get Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or if you get Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to pay for your care (the ‘care component’ of DLA)."

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/attendance-allowance/before-you-claim-attendance-allowance/check-if-entitled-to-attendance-allowance/