UNFAIR ANOMALY - CARERS ALLOWANCE

[Mary_16121]

This is a bit of a rant... but please read on and respond.......

My partner is 70 years old and gets a State Pension. He has also just been awarded Attendance Allowance.

I am 68 years old and get a State Pension. But I do NOT get Carers Allowance even though I am his full time carer.


I feel strongly that everyone who is a full time carer, SHOULD get Carers Allowance and it SHOULD NOT be means tested.

Is there not a politician anywhere in this election who would be bold enough to take this on? I suppose not, because of the cost to the country. But they would get my vote

HOW MANY OF YOU CARERS AGREE????
and
How much are we saving the country by our caring????

please let me know what you think

thanks a lot

[Henrietta]

Yes I completely agree, it is outrageous that people of pensionable age are not entitled to CA. I'm sure many people have expressed this opinion on here before-no one will listen

[Chris From The Gulag]

Yes ... a concern that predates the Internet , and , to my knowledge , was one of the first few postings on the old PRT forum ( Carers Trust ) back in 2004.

For what is worth , detailed on our Lord Kitch poster which periodically does the rounds to numerous third parties.

Not one we'll probably see changed during our lifetimes if not at all.

Bear in mind that only 1 in 12 of carers actually claim Carers Allowance ..... 5.5 million identified during the 2011 Census do not ... would be interesting to see the reasons why in detailed form ... ?

Carers as a legal entity have been on the statue books for just over 40 years. The problem in identifying them remains unsolved in 2017. Nothing traceable on the Internet as to this priority ever going to be tackled.

Meanwhile , successive Governments and our supporting organisations have used a scatter gun approach to any policy involving carers.

Latest figures ... any amount between £ 10 and £ 20 BILLION remains unclaimed in benefit / allowance entitlements.

[Mary_16121]

I think one of the problems is that the present Carers Allowance is means tested and also you have to be a carer for ( I think) 39 hours each week --- I wanted my partners son to claim, but he does not put in the necessary hours or pass the means test - yet he puts in an awful lot of effort into helping his father..........

It's all so very wrong.

Incidently, back in the early 1980's on the Isle of Man I claimed Attendance Allowance on behalf of a 3 year old I was fostering who was paralysed from the chest down and doubly incontinent. The doctor who did not even touch her let alone examine her, said she was not disabled enough... I mention this just to show how stupid the whole system is...

[bowlingbun]

Mary, when AA was new, in the early 70's, I supported a newly disabled double amputee to claim, he too was turned down initially, but I sorted it out eventually. Ever since I've used that as an example for people to appeal against a decision. The initial decision might be made by someone who is having a bad day, not concentrating etc. etc. Doesn't mean your claim isn't valid, just means that the initial decision maker isn't doing their job properly.

[susieq]

Hello Mary,

Although CA is not available to those of us of pensionable age, as CA and state pension are classified as overlapping 'benefits', it can still be worthwhile applying for it ! You won't get any money but it can open the door to other underlying benefits.

I suggest that you contact the Carers UK Adviceline team as they are the experts on all matters related to caring and benefits.

Need expert advice? You can talk to the Carers UK Adviceline five days a week, no matter where you are in the UK or how complex your query is. We do benefits checks and advise on financial and practical matters related to caring.

0808 808 7777
advice@carersuk.org
Open Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm

The Carers UK Adviceline also includes a listening service, there for you to talk through your caring situation with a trained volunteer who understands what you are going through. Available Mondays and Tuesdays, from 9am to 7pm.


If you can’t get through on the phones (lines are often oversubscribed) then send them an email, they’ll usually get back to you within 3-5 working days.

[Vicky_17051]

Sorry if this appears as a thread hijack, it's not, I just wanted to address one point in OP and there appear to be many knowledgeable people in this thread.

My husband and I are under retirement age but care for each other as my need is physical and his neurological. He claims carers allowance for looking after me, which I just recently noticed is actually deducted from my ESA!! Can I also claim carers allowance for him, as eluded to in OP and if I did, would it also be deducted from ESA?

TSM Xx

[bowlingbun]

That's another question for the helpline. Benefits rules are so complicated, you really do need to speak to/email them to get the correct information.

[Londonbound]

It's the same with incapacity benefit, or ESA as it is now, you cannot be ill and be a carer but many couples are both ill looking after each other but cannot claim Carers allowance as it is a clashing benefit.
Although they are coping with illness and caring and the additional expences of caring.
I suspect a high amount of the 6 million just cannot claim carers allowance due to the rules.

Many carers do not see themselves as carers, some look after mum and dad because that's what people do, some maybe don't know about carers allowance, I didn't know about carers allowance, no one told me, I missed out on years of carers allowance when I was working.

No one told me, work certainly didn't know or care about benefits.

If 6 million did claim, 6 million times £62.70 a week, that's a lot of money.

[Chris From The Gulag]

Very good point.

The Social Wage concept nurtured inside CarerWatch in 2008 met the problem of cares / disabled / pensioners head on. Instead , the then Government changed the benefit system by replacing one scheme full of abnormalies with another ... the real purpose ? ... to save monies !

The only way forward would be a new Carers Act setting out precisely who were are , our role , terms conditions and place in the scheme of things together with our Rights as opposed to those merely on paper.

Unfortunately , that would never happen ... the System would not dare tinker with £ 132 Billion we collectively save the economy ... the traditional blind eye and keeping us firmly in our cage is the only real thing we can expect.

An occasional distribution of scraps perhaps ... but nothing major.

The only real hope will come from the words of a Judge ... CarerWatch 2008 vintage !