Attendance Allowance: £76.70 or £114.60 a week, and who can claim

Attendance Allowance is one of those payments the people entitled to it most often do not know about. It is money for people who have reached State Pension age and who, because of illness or disability, need help looking after themselves or supervision to stay safe. It does not depend on income or savings, and you do not need to have a carer to claim it.

Who can claim Attendance Allowance

The conditions are short and checkable. You must have reached State Pension age. You must have a physical, sensory or mental disability, or a health condition. And it must be severe enough that you need help caring for yourself, or someone to supervise you for your own safety.

There is also a time condition: you must have needed that help for at least 6 months.

What the residence conditions are

You must be in Great Britain when you claim, with exceptions for members of the armed forces and their families. You must have been in Great Britain for at least 2 of the last 3 years — a rule that does not apply to refugees or people with humanitarian protection. You must be habitually resident in the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, and not subject to immigration control unless you are a sponsored immigrant.

You cannot receive Attendance Allowance at the same time as DLA, PIP, ADP, SADLA or AFIP.

How much it pays

There are two weekly rates. The lower rate, £76.70, applies if you need frequent help or constant supervision during the day, OR supervision at night. The higher rate, £114.60, applies if you need help or supervision throughout both day and night, or if a medical professional has said you are nearing the end of life.

It is paid weekly into a bank, building society or credit union account.

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Do income and savings matter

No. GOV.UK states plainly that Attendance Allowance is not means-tested, so your earnings and savings do not affect what you get.

What else it can unlock

This is the part most often missed. Receiving Attendance Allowance may make you eligible for extra Pension Credit, for Housing Benefit and for Council Tax Reduction. If someone close to you has substantial caring responsibilities, they may be able to claim Carer's Allowance.

There is one reduction to know about: if you also receive Constant Attendance Allowance, your Attendance Allowance is reduced by that amount.

How to claim

There are two routes, online or by post. Have ready your National Insurance number, your address and contact details, details of the condition and what help you need, your GP surgery details, and details of your care home, hospital or hospice if you are staying in one.

The online claim goes through the DWP service. A paper form can be printed or requested on 0800 731 0122 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm) and is returned to the Freepost address "DWP Attendance Allowance". Write nothing on the envelope except that address — no postcode and no stamp are needed.

What date your claim counts from

This decides how much you are paid. Claiming online, it is the date you make the claim. By post, it is the date DWP receives the form. If you requested a form by phone, it is the date of your call, provided you return the form within 6 weeks.

What happens next

Within three weeks of sending the claim you will get a text or letter saying when to expect a decision. A letter with the outcome follows, and if you are awarded it will say when your first payment is due. If you disagree with the decision, you can ask for a mandatory reconsideration.

You only attend an assessment if it is unclear from the paperwork how your condition affects you.

Care homes and Scotland

If your local authority pays for your care home, you usually cannot claim. If you pay all your care home costs yourself, you can.

In Scotland the equivalent is Pension Age Disability Payment. If you move from England or Wales to Scotland, tell DWP and make a new claim — Attendance Allowance stops 13 weeks after the move, so apply straight away. Moving the other way, report it to Social Security Scotland and claim Attendance Allowance.

ONLYWAY NEWS notes that if you are unsure whether you qualify, claiming costs nothing and a refusal carries no consequences.