Carer financial support: What is available?

Overview: 

Claiming for carer benefits can be a complicated process and overwhelming when you have other things to worry about. However, there are benefits that are available to help support you and you are entitled to them. This access to financial support may just take a little pressure off, or reduce your worries and allow you to focus on yourself and providing the care to the dementia patient. In this article we cover the range of benefits that are currently available (correct as at 1 May 2019). These are subject to change due to government policy and budgets. You can find out information about the benefits on the gov.uk website including a helpful benefits calculator on this page: https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators. 

What benefits might I be entitled to? 

Carers allowance https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance

This is a benefit that is paid to carers if you spend 35 hours a week or more carer for someone. The benefit is currently available at £66.15 per week (correct as at 1 May 2019). This is available to anyone who cares for someone, regardless of whether you are related to the person or live with them. 

Remember that it is your responsibility to report changes to your circumstances to make sure that you are receiving the right level of benefits. See more about this here: https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance-report-change

Carers credit https://www.gov.uk/carers-credit

If you are a carer and you work up to 20 hours a week then you should be able to claim carers credit. This is a national insurance credit which ensures that you do not have gaps in your national insurance history. This is important if you have periods when you have gaps in your income, such as when in full time education or when you are on maternity leave.

If you are a carer who is unable to work because of your own health problems, you might be eligible for some additional benefits under the employment and support allowance, see more here:https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance

How do I claim for these benefits? 

It can take time to claim benefits so make sure you have all of the information you need before applying. You may find that your care co-ordinator may be able to help with the information. (LINK TO THIS ARTICLE)

As noted above, a lot of information is available on the GOV.UK website, including a benefits calculator which can identify benefits that you may be entitled to. 

The job centre plus should also contain a range of leaflets to help you understand what is available. They would also be able to advise if you are a carer and have health problems also, which stop you from being able to work. 

You might be able to access support for understanding benefits and the process of applying through your local citizens advice bureau see more information here. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/ or from the dedicated service for carers, visit the carers trust here: https://carers.org

For more information, see our range of articles. If you are looking for information about benefits as a person with dementia, please see our article here.