PIP and CA?

Kookee

Hi,

I am currently on standard living PIP as I have fibromyalgia. I work as a support worker (known to PIP) however this is becoming increasingly harder to do. I care for my ex, he’s 61 and has a myriad of health conditions and is often very poorly where he’s bed bound for a week or two. He receives higher rate daily living and standard mobility. His mental health has severely deteriorated due to his physical health and its implications, (this is not reflected in his PIP award). My question is can I claim carers allowance for him even though I’m on PIP? Our son helps if absolutely necessary (ie I’m in a bad flare up) and he has no other family and has lost his friends due to his health issues. I feel it’d stop UC getting on my back about work (I’m not meeting the AET), allow me to dedicate my time to looking after him (and help my aging parents more) plus better take care of my own health and it would save us having to get social services involved with possible paid carers assigned which he is not keen on (thus saving the council money!). Why care for ex some might say? Well I am a caring, compassionate person who believes we should look after the people in our lives and I would feel guilty not doing so.

If I did claim, some of the time it is just me sitting in the house in case he needs something or to just monitor him in case he falls. Would that count towards 35 hours care? I speak on his behalf all the time on the phone, appointments etc but PIP didn’t score him points in this area, same with money management, I have to help here too. So would that mean I can’t count these things in the 35 hours of care? Also is emotional support counted as care?

I would like to continue to work one day a week (health permitting) for my sanity and well because caring won’t be forever. I’m lucky as I’m on a casual contract so can pick and choose my hours.

Sorry if I rambled and thank in advance for any advice/thoughts on the above.

Koo

OverlyAnxious

Hi,

There wouldn't be any financial gain to claiming Carers Allowance. That would just be deducted from your UC payment in full.

You could claim the Carers Element of UC though. That is approximately £200 extra a month and removes your work requirements as well.

The exact list of PIP points is not considered for either benefit. So you can include all of your caring responsibilities in the 35 hours.

However, if you qualify for PIP yourself, I am wondering whether you would also qualify for LCWRA in UC. That is over £400 extra per month and also removes your work requirements. That is not reliant on another person either. If you had to stop caring for your ex for any reason, you would be expected to look for work again if you were not covered by a health element.

It's not possible to claim both LCWRA and Carers Element at the same time, you will only get the higher of the two, which would be LCWRA if you qualify for that. You could even claim Carers Element immediately, while waiting for the LCWRA assessment.

Kookee

That’s really helpful - thank you.