Could you be entitled to Attendance Allowance?

Often, we focus so intensely on benefits such as Personal Independence Payments (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) that others may get forgotten about. In this series, starting with Attendance Allowance, I’ll be aiming to highlight some of the lesser-known benefits that are potentially available to you and your family.

Attendance Allowance is extra money if you have a long-term physical or

Shaun

Clayton, Operations and Finance Director at the PHA UK, lifts the lid on this lesser-known support payment…

mental condition or disability.

As with with all benefits, it’s based on what you can do as an individual, so just because you have PH it doesn’t necessarily guarantee you’ll be applicable – but I would certainly advise you to try.

Crucially, it is a benefit aimed at those who are of state pension age (66+) and who need help with their personal care, or for someone to come in to help in other ways.

One of the great things about this benefit is that it isn’t means tested, so it doesn’t take your current savings or income into account, just your physical or mental ability. This also means that if you are a carer for someone with PH and you have a disability yourself, you can claim Attendance Allowance and it will not impact any carer benefits you may be receiving.

How much is it worth?

There are two payments based on your needs. At the time of writing this (May 2023) they are:

Higher - £92.40 per week

Lower - £61.85 per week

You will receive the higher rate if you need help or supervision from someone during the day and night, or if you are terminally ill (PH rarely comes under the bracket of terminally ill in this instance though).

You will receive the lower rate if you need frequent help or constant supervision during the day or night; not necessarily both.

Criteria to claim

You can claim Attendance Allowance if all the following apply:

• You have a long-term physical or mental illness or disability

• You have needed help with your personal care (for example, washing and dressing), or supervision to keep you safe, for at least six months before claiming

• You’re over State Pension age (66) You may qualify for Attendance Allowance if you need help with personal care or supervision to keep you safe. What matters is that you need help, not whether you’re currently getting any. Attendance Allowance is paid at a lower or higher rate, depending on the level of help you need.

What is meant by ‘personal care’?

Personal care includes help with things like:

• getting in and out of a chair

• bathing and washing

• dressing and undressing