Are helpers getting help?
Carer’s allowance is there for those who need it — but stick to the rules, says Paul Lewis
Nearly six million voluntary carers look after relatives, friends or neighbours, and their hard work saves the country an estimated £162 billion a year – around the cost of the whole NHS. Yet the Government only pays them a pittance, and attaches such strict rules to getting the money that five out of six unpaid carers do not receive it. Many of them would be better off if they claimed.
Carer’s allowance is £81.90 a week. To get that you must care for another person for at least 35 hours a week. That works out at £2.34 an hour and most carers spend far more time caring than that – many get barely £1 an hour for the work they do. The person you care for must be in receipt of a benefit such as personal independence payment, attendance allowance or the Scottish equivalents.
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If a carer works to boost their income, a strict earnings rule stops carer’s allowance completely if they earn a penny more than £151 a week. That is equivalent to just over 13 hours’ work on the adult minimum wage of £11.44 an hour. People who exceed the limit, even by a few pence, will have to repay all their benefit. Many are not chased up for years, leaving them with sudden, unexpected bills of thousands of pounds. Self-employed people need to keep careful records to ensure their net weekly profits do not exceed £151. (Incidentally, the earnings limit does not apply to other income, such as a company or personal pension, dividends or interest.)
People under 66 on carer’s allowance get national insurance credits, which could boost their state pension in the future. Those over 66 cannot get carer’s allowance as well as the state pension: if they claim it, they will not get extra money, but it can mean they get more help with council tax or rent and can get means-tested pension credit on higher incomes than non-carers. In short, anyone who cares for a relative or friend should check they are getting all the financial and other help that is available. That varies depending where you live, but is well explained at carersuk.org.
QUESTIONS? Send any questions to Paul.Lewis@radiotimes.com. Paul cannot answer you personally, but will reflect them in his column