Benefits for carers

If you are under 60 you could be entitled to a combination of the following benefits and tax credits.

Benefits if you are in paid work

• Working Tax Credit

Benefits if you are not in paid employment

These benefits are known as “earnings replacement benefits”. You cannot usually receive more than one of these at the same time because of the overlapping benefits rule.

• Carer’s Allowance,
• Incapacity Benefit (existing claimants),
• Contributory Employment and Support Allowance (new claimants),
• Contribution based Jobseeker’s Allowance,
• Maternity Allowance,
• Bereavement benefits, or
• Severe Disablement Allowance (you cannot make a fresh claim for this benefit).

Benefits if you are disabled

If you are a carer under 65 and also severely disabled, you may be able to make your own claim for:

• Disability Living Allowance

Benefits if you care for children

• Child Benefit
• Child Tax Credit
• Guardian’s Allowance

Benefits to “top up” your income if it is low

These are called “means-tested” benefits because whether you get them or not will depend on your income and savings.

• Income Support (this could include a payment to help with mortgage interest),
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance (this could include a payment to help with mortgage interest),
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (this could include a payment to help with mortgage interest),
• Housing Benefit or Local Housing Allowance (to help pay rent), and
• Council Tax Benefit (to help pay council tax).

If you receive means-tested benefits you may be able to access certain other types of help such as free prescriptions and Social Fund loans or grants.

Example

Olu is a carer for his mother and has recently given up work because of his own ill-health. His mother lives in sheltered accommodation with her husband and gets Attendance Allowance for herself. Olu owns his own home and lives alone. Olu might be entitled to the following benefits:

• Contributory Employment and Support Allowance (he will claim this rather than Carer’s Allowance because it is worth more),
• Income–related Employment and Support Allowance (this will include a payment to help with mortgage interest),
• Council Tax Benefit,
• If Olu also has care needs himself or difficulties with mobility, because of his ill health, he may also be entitled to Disability Living Allowance.