Hello, could I have some advice please on claiming carers allowance? — Scope | Disability forum
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Hello, could I have some advice please on claiming carers allowance?

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F1Fan
F1Fan Community member Posts: 1 Listener
edited October 2021 in Benefits and financial support
Hi everyone,

Would someone be able to answer me a couple of questions, the more I search the more confused I am getting!  To cut a long story short, my sister and I used to share caring for my mum on an unpaid basis and have done for many years but due to my sister moving out of the area due to her job, I am now doing it on my own.  So I am having to look at claiming the carers allowance.  

I am self employed but fit the financial criteria for claiming carers allowance.  My question is, would my mum lose part of her money?  She is a pensioner who is now on PIP (from DLA) and receives the enhanced rate for both daily living rate and mobility.  She's been on this for many years.  Some things I am reading say you don't lose it on PIP and other things say you do so I am really confused.  

Another question I have is if she did lose part of her money, if I stopped claiming it in the future (I am also thinking about possibly moving near my sister so we could share the caring again but this will take some time) would the payment be automatically be reinstated to her?  I don't want to do anything that will be a nightmare for her as she found the whole process very traumatic back in the day and she is a lot older and has deteriorated since then.   

Thanks for your help! 
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  • calcotti
    calcotti Community member Posts: 10,010 Disability Gamechanger
    edited October 2021
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    Her PIP is not affected if you claim Carer’s Allowance.

    However if she is claiming Pension Credit (or other benefits) which includes a Severe Disability Premium she would lose the SDP. You need to check what benefits (if any) she receives other than PIP and State Pension.
    Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Rules may be different in other parts of UK.
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  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 54,200 Disability Gamechanger
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    HI,

    First you need to check exactly what benefits your mum is claiming. If she lives alone, or all the adults that live with her are either all claiming a qualifying disability benefit such as PIP daily living, DLA mid/high rate care or Attendance Allowance or registered blind then she could be claiming the Severe disability premium in with another benefit such as pension credit.
    If you claim carers allowance for looking after her then the SDP will stop which will mean she will be at least £67.30 per week. If the SDP stops then her pension credit may also end, which could affect other benefits such as housing benefit. It's a lot of money for her to lose out on.
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
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  • chiarieds
    chiarieds Community member Posts: 16,103 Disability Gamechanger
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    Hi @F1Fan - & welcome to the community. If both you & your Mum are eligible, which seems to be the case, then you claiming Carer's Allowance would not impact on your Mum's PIP nor State Pension unless perhaps she also receives a means tested benefit which includes the Severe Disability Premium, or gets the severe disability addition in Pension Credit.
    This is a good resource. See pages 15-16 in particular, 'The benefits of the person you are looking after.' Please see: https://www.carersuk.org/images/Factsheets/2021-22_factsheets/Carers_Allowance_2021-22_April.pdf
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