Carer's Allowance and Carer Support Payment
You may be able to claim Carer's Allowance, or Carer Support Payment in Scotland, if you regularly spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone.
What is Carer's Allowance?
Carer's Allowance is a benefit for people who regularly spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone with substantial care needs.
Carer Support Payment is the equivalent new benefit being introduced over 2024 and 2025 in Scotland.
You don't have to be related to the person you're caring for or be living with them to qualify for these benefits. The person you're caring for must be getting a qualifying benefit (see the 'Do I qualify?' section below for a list).
You can qualify for Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment even if you've never been employed or paid National Insurance contributions.
Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment isn't affected by how much you have in savings. However, if you (the carer) receive weekly earnings of £151 net or more, you won't qualify. These benefits are also taxable.
You can get Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment even if you, the carer, are disabled and getting Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment or the Scottish Adult Disability Payment.
Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment is not intended to be a wage for caring, or a payment for the services of caring.
If you claim Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment, it can sometimes reduce the amount of means-tested benefits that the person you care for can claim. To find out more, contact Citizens Advice or another organisation that gives benefits advice, such as your local welfare rights group.
You can contact the Parkinson's UK helpline for more information about organisations that can help.
Carer Support Payment roll-out in Scotland
The Scottish government is now accepting claims for the new Scottish Carer Support Payment if you live in Dundee, the Western Isles, Perth and Kinross, North and South Lanarkshire or Angus.
It will be available from August 2024 in Fife, Aberdeen, Moray, and North, East and South Ayrshire, then nationwide by November 2024.
Social Security Scotland has started to move existing Carer's Allowance claimants to Carer Support Payment. It expects to finish in spring 2025. You don't need to do anything if you currently claim Carer's Allowance.
The rules and eligibility criteria for Carer Support Payment are very similar to Carer's Allowance.
Do I qualify for Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment?
You must be 16 or over and spending 35 hours or more a week caring for someone who receives a 'qualifying benefit'. The qualifying benefits are:
- Attendance Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance care component at the middle or highest rate
- Personal Independence Payment daily living component (either rate)
- Adult Disability Payment (only in Scotland)
- Child Disability Payment (only in Scotland) – the middle or highest care rate
- Constant Attendance Allowance from either maximum Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or full day rate of War Pension Disablement Benefit
- Armed Forces Independence Payment.
You must also:
- be aged 16 or over at the time of your claim
- have been living in England, Scotland or Wales for 2 of the last 3 years (and your immigration status doesn't prevent you claiming)
- be 'habitually resident' in the UK (unless you are exempt. If you're unsure, you can contact our helpline for advice)
- not be in full-time education (which means you're not on an educational course of 21 hours or more supervised study a week)
- not earn more than £151 a week (after tax), if you're in paid employment.
There are different criteria in Northern Ireland. Find out more about the rules around Carer's Allowance in Northern Ireland on the NI Direct website.
In Scotland, young carers can claim the yearly Young Carer's Grant of £383.75
This is for carers who are aged 16-18, provide care for 16 hours a week or more, and don't receive Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment. You can receive it if you're still in education, in work or unemployed.
How much is Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment?
The weekly rate is £81.90.
Yes. You can't be paid Carer’s Allowance/Carer Support Payment if you're getting the same amount or more from any of the following benefits:
- Contributory/new-style Employment and Support Allowance
- Severe Disablement Allowance
- Incapacity Benefit
- Maternity Allowance
- State Pension
- Bereavement Allowance, Widow's Benefits or Widowed Parent's Allowance
- Contribution-based/new-style Jobseeker's Allowance
These benefits 'overlap', so you can only get the higher of the 2 benefits. If you can't be paid Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment due to the overlapping benefits rule, you should still make a claim if you're eligible. This is because it will help with other benefits (see 'Why should I claim Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment?' below).
Claiming Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment may allow you to get extra on other benefits you receive.
For example, if you qualify for Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment, you can get a £45.60-a-week 'carer premium' included in any income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Pension Credit or Housing Benefit you receive and £198.31 per month included for Universal Credit. The Universal Credit amount is paid if the care is provided even if you don't claim Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment.
You may also qualify for a carer premium if you're entitled to Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment, but cannot be paid it because of another 'overlapping' benefit (see 'Do other benefits affect Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment?' above).
For each week that you're entitled to Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment, you get a Class 1 National Insurance credit. This will help towards your entitlement to a State Pension.
In Scotland, if you're entitled to Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment, you get a 'Carer's Allowance Supplement' of £288.60 every 6 months (in June and December) from the Scottish government.
Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment can be paid in advance on a weekly basis or in arrears every 4 weeks.
Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment can be paid from the date of the award of the qualifying benefit, such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Attendance Allowance, as long as you apply within 3 months of the date of the awarding letter.
Your money will be paid into your bank or building society account.
In England and Wales, you can claim Carer's Allowance on the gov.uk website. To apply by post, use form DS700 (or form DS700(SP) if you claim a State Pension). Contact the Carer's Allowance Unit on 0800 731 0297 (textphone 0800 731 0317) to ask for a paper claim form.
In Scotland, you can make a claim for Carer Support Payment on the Scottish government's myaccount website. Or you can contact Social Security Scotland on 0800 182 2222.
In Northern Ireland, you can claim Carer's Allowance on the NI Direct website. Or you can call 0800 587 0912 (textphone 0800 012 1574).
If the person you're caring for dies, you'll get Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment for up to 8 weeks afterwards.
This is to give carers who have recently been bereaved time to adjust and make plans for their own future.
The carer premium will also be paid during this 8 weeks. So if, as a carer, you're on an income-related benefit, you'll still be able to get this extra payment for those 8 weeks.
Carer's Credit is intended to protect the State Pension rights of carers who are not able to pay National Insurance contributions and are not entitled to Carer's Allowance or Carer Support Payment.
You will not directly receive any money for Carer's Credit. But by filling any gaps in your National Insurance record (for example, because you're unable to work while caring for someone) it will help to protect your State Pension entitlement and other benefits that depend on National Insurance contributions.
You could get Carer's Credit if you're caring for someone for at least 20 hours a week and are not entitled to Carer's Allowance or Carer Support Payment.
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Carer's Allowance (PDF, 319KB)
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Last updated July 2024. If you'd like to find out more about how we put our information together, including references and the sources of evidence we use, please contact us at [email protected]