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Hi, my name is kittycat1976! Would I be better off not claiming Carer's Allowance on UC?

kittycat1976

Hi, can anyone help? I have a little job from home which I declare. It's only around £500 p/m. If, with my Universal Credit (which I've just started as I've migrated over from Income Support) if I am entitled to LWCRA (and so allowed a work allowance of up to £673 before UC is affected) will Carers Allowance be counted as income? If so, would I be better not claiming Carers Allowance for my. mother - i.e. would I be better off?

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Comments

Rosie_Scope

Hi @kittycat1976, welcome to the community!

Carers Allowance would usually be counted as income on Universal Credit.

How many hours do you spend caring for your mum per week? You might be eligible for an extra top-up if it's over 35 hours and she's on any disability benefits. There's a bit of information about that if you scroll down on this page from the Universal Credit website:

Universal Credit: What you'll get - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If you're not sure what to do, you could always try talking to a benefits adviser to see if they can help you work out what's best. Advicelocal have a directory to search for people in your area 😊

kittycat1976

Thank you so much Rosie. I think I will be awarded LWCRA in the next few weeks when they look at my medical form. Is Carers Allowance counted as earnings even though it is deducted off Universal Credit?

tomwalker

Hello...don't forget that Carers Allowance is directly deducted from your UC.the whole amount but that UC then gives you a seperate payment of I think 190 onto your UC but you have to ask for it...there should be a benefits adviser at your Council or Citizens Advise...its annoying g to do but best to so you don't miss out

poppy123456

When you claim UC you will need to report being a carer and the carers element will be included with your claim. Though there's no financial gain to claiming carers allowance at the same time as UC it doesn't have some advantages such as class 1 NI credits and receiving payments weekly, where as UC is monthly so can help to budget a little better.

Your overall benefits entitlement will remain the same whether you continue with carers allowance or not. Carers element of UC can be claimed without claiming carers allowance.