Should My wife claim PIP or attendance allowance

happyfella

Hi, i have previously asked this before or something similar but cannot find it. I am totally confused at the moment.

My wife doctor has told her to claim PIP and also organisations that help us out but we think they are all wrong.

My wife is 66 in just over a month and the doctor and her advisors have been telling her for over a year to claim PIP. She had a recent phone call this week checking on her as she has health problems and once again they told her to claim PIP.

However, CAB are saying to claim attendance allowance.

This is the situation we have. My wife is my carer but she is not in great health herself. She has COPD, and the doctor now thinks she has long covid as she has not been the same since she got COVID earlier this year.

OUr worry is, if my wife claims PIP and we have said this to the doctor time and time again and to her advisors, then it will affect my PIP.

I receive full PIP and my health is getting worse.

If my wife puts in for PIP then they are going to be asking how can she be a carer for me if she is having problems herself.

My wife does everything for me which makes me feel so guilty and she is tired all the time. My daughter helps me out and my wife.

CAB are saying she is best applying for attandance allowance as it is much easier than PIP.

Everyday is  struggle watching my wife look after me while she is struggling so much herself. We just do not know what to do.

Looking at PIP form, she can do the things they are asking but it takes her so much longer and it knackers her out. She has been told for years to claim PIP and she has not because she is worried about how it would affect my claim.

her doctor has said she only has a matter of weeks left to claim pip because of her age and he is telling her to do it but we do not know what to do

ShirleyW

I have been in this situation myself.  PIP claims include a mobility component but AA does not.

I decided to claim AA as my mobility was not as a big a problem as personal care.

AA is much easier to claim and it is very rare for you to have to attend an assessment.  It is also much quicker to claim.  I claimed at the end of January 2022 and 6 weeks later the first money was in my bank account.

Once your wife reaches State Pension Age she will no longer receive any money for Carer's Allowance because it is classed as an overlapping benefit.  That is assuming that her State Pension will be higher than the weekly Carer's Allowance.

Do either of you claim any means tested benefits?  Are you yourself of State Pension Age?

If both of you have a disability benefit such as PIP and or/AA, and no one receives any actual money for Carer's Allowance for looking after either of you, then any means tested benefits would be higher.

Your wife claiming PIP or AA would not affect your PIP claim.  But it could affect her claiming Carer's Allowance as you say how can she care for you.

If it was me in your wife's position I would be claiming AA as soon as I hit State Pension age.

janer1967

Hi there 

She has to apply now for pip as she will be unable to apply after 66 

She would have to apply for AA after state pension age and this has no mobility element 

It will not affect your claim for pip they probably won't even make the connection  between you both 

Care doesn't always have to be physical care it also covers emotional support 

Lots of people get pip and are still carers 

If she can do the tasks when applying she needs to focus on the time it takes and the consequences of doing the tasks 

I'm not saying she will be eligible but don't think she has anything to lose in applying 

poppy123456

There's a vast difference between PIP and AA. PIP has the mobility component and AA doesn't. AA is more about day and night time care needs, PIP isn't about this.

happyfella said:

OUr worry is, if my wife claims PIP and we have said this to the doctor time and time again and to her advisors, then it will affect my PIP.

That's simply not correct at all. Your wife claiming either AA or PIP will have no bearing on your PIP claim. PIP is about the help you need, not the help you get, regardless of whether you receive that help or not.

If she's going to claim PIP then she needs to do this before she reaches state pension age.

As you're claiming UC then your UC will not be affected by her claiming either AA or PIP.

happyfella

ShirleyW said:

I have been in this situation myself.  PIP claims include a mobility component but AA does not.

I decided to claim AA as my mobility was not as a big a problem as personal care.

AA is much easier to claim and it is very rare for you to have to attend an assessment.  It is also much quicker to claim.  I claimed at the end of January 2022 and 6 weeks later the first money was in my bank account.

Once your wife reaches State Pension Age she will no longer receive any money for Carer's Allowance because it is classed as an overlapping benefit.  That is assuming that her State Pension will be higher than the weekly Carer's Allowance.

Do either of you claim any means tested benefits?  Are you yourself of State Pension Age?

If both of you have a disability benefit such as PIP and or/AA, and no one receives any actual money for Carer's Allowance for looking after either of you, then any means tested benefits would be higher.

Your wife claiming PIP or AA would not affect your PIP claim.  But it could affect her claiming Carer's Allowance as you say how can she care for you.

If it was me in your wife's position I would be claiming AA as soon as I hit State Pension age.

THank you for that. i am ten years younger than my wife so i am not pension age. We are not living we are just surving. I kills me each day to see my wife struggle to look after me when she has problems of her own. it feels like we get a lot of good talk but no help from organisations around us.

happyfella

poppy123456 said:

There's a vast difference between PIP and AA. PIP has the mobility component and AA doesn't. AA is more about day and night time care needs, PIP isn't about this.

happyfella said:

OUr worry is, if my wife claims PIP and we have said this to the doctor time and time again and to her advisors, then it will affect my PIP.

That's simply not correct at all. Your wife claiming either AA or PIP will have no bearing on your PIP claim. PIP is about the help you need, not the help you get, regardless of whether you receive that help or not.

If she's going to claim PIP then she needs to do this before she reaches state pension age.

As you're claiming UC then your UC will not be affected by her claiming either AA or PIP.

thank you. everything takes her a lot longer. there does not seem enough hours in the day. in an ideal world we would love to get rid of our house and get a mortgage to buy a flat or bungalow, but due to none of now working, that is not possible, so we have to struggle.

I have been told that we will get a downstairs toilet but we are having arguments with them at the moment. we are looking at two years but they want to build an extension which would then block out the kitchen light and lounge light which would leave us in a very dark house. i have sent them plans that would work but they are not interested.

to do it my way woul be cheaper and easier

racyguy

happyfella said:

poppy123456 said:

There's a vast difference between PIP and AA. PIP has the mobility component and AA doesn't. AA is more about day and night time care needs, PIP isn't about this.

happyfella said:

OUr worry is, if my wife claims PIP and we have said this to the doctor time and time again and to her advisors, then it will affect my PIP.

That's simply not correct at all. Your wife claiming either AA or PIP will have no bearing on your PIP claim. PIP is about the help you need, not the help you get, regardless of whether you receive that help or not.

If she's going to claim PIP then she needs to do this before she reaches state pension age.

As you're claiming UC then your UC will not be affected by her claiming either AA or PIP.

thank you. everything takes her a lot longer. there does not seem enough hours in the day. in an ideal world we would love to get rid of our house and get a mortgage to buy a flat or bungalow, but due to none of now working, that is not possible, so we have to struggle.

I have been told that we will get a downstairs toilet but we are having arguments with them at the moment. we are looking at two years but they want to build an extension which would then block out the kitchen light and lounge light which would leave us in a very dark house. i have sent them plans that would work but they are not interested.

to do it my way woul be cheaper and easier

About 6 months before my father died in 2013, he was not able to climb the stairs every time he needed the toilet. Social Services supplied a portable toilet which he put it in the kitchen.

Maybe your Social Services could help? 

happyfella

racyguy said:

happyfella said:

poppy123456 said:

There's a vast difference between PIP and AA. PIP has the mobility component and AA doesn't. AA is more about day and night time care needs, PIP isn't about this.

happyfella said:

OUr worry is, if my wife claims PIP and we have said this to the doctor time and time again and to her advisors, then it will affect my PIP.

That's simply not correct at all. Your wife claiming either AA or PIP will have no bearing on your PIP claim. PIP is about the help you need, not the help you get, regardless of whether you receive that help or not.

If she's going to claim PIP then she needs to do this before she reaches state pension age.

As you're claiming UC then your UC will not be affected by her claiming either AA or PIP.

thank you. everything takes her a lot longer. there does not seem enough hours in the day. in an ideal world we would love to get rid of our house and get a mortgage to buy a flat or bungalow, but due to none of now working, that is not possible, so we have to struggle.

I have been told that we will get a downstairs toilet but we are having arguments with them at the moment. we are looking at two years but they want to build an extension which would then block out the kitchen light and lounge light which would leave us in a very dark house. i have sent them plans that would work but they are not interested.

to do it my way woul be cheaper and easier

About 6 months before my father died in 2013, he was not able to climb the stairs every time he needed the toilet. Social Services supplied a portable toilet which he put it in the kitchen.

Maybe your Social Services could help? 

they have offered that and i have refused

ShirleyW

Having a portable toilet downstairs would not be of much use anyway @racyguy

How is it to be emptied when the only toilet is upstairs?

No wonder @happyfella refused it.

janer1967

There is a service that comes out to empty commodes and portable toilets 

ShirleyW

janer1967 said:

There is a service that comes out to empty commodes and portable toilets 

Thanks for that information @janer1967 
I had no idea.  I wish we had known about it when nursing my terminally ill Mother at home a few years ago.

L_Volunteer

Thanks for your positive feedback @ShirleyW. Glad to hear you have found @janer1967's support useful. What a shame that you hadn't heard of it sooner though! I can imagine that might have been helpful when nursing your terminally ill mother at home 

racyguy

ShirleyW said:

janer1967 said:

There is a service that comes out to empty commodes and portable toilets 

Thanks for that information @janer1967 
I had no idea.  I wish we had known about it when nursing my terminally ill Mother at home a few years ago.

In my father's case Social Services explained all of that.
It was the first question I asked when arranging the toilet.
It was a emptied regularly with no fuss.