One of the many potential ways to access financial support is to apply for the Carer’s Allowance, something that 1.439 million people are currently claiming, thanks to improved awareness of the benefit that has prompted an additional 62,000 families to apply within the last 12 months.
However, there are countless more who are eligible for this assistance and don’t recognise that they qualify, with the most recent data indicating that there are 5.8 million unpaid carers in England and Wales, with around 29% of those providing care that amounts to 50 or more hours a week.
How Unpaid Caregivers Can Qualify and Apply for the Carer’s Allowance
The Carer’s Allowance is available to those who care for someone for 35 hours or more a week and is worth £83.30 per week or £4,332 per year.
One of the first pieces of advice we’d share is that you may be providing far more than the threshold amount of care, but that carers often disregard the proportion of their time they spend on caring duties.
For instance, caring for a loved one’s needs every weekend and helping with morning and evening daily routines can very easily add up to 35 hours, but those who also work full-time commonly underestimate their eligibility because they aren’t providing care on a conventional 9-5 basis.
As a brief run-through of the criteria, you may be able to claim the benefit if you meet that 35-hour requirement and also:
- Care for somebody in receipt of other benefits, including the Personal Independent Payment, Attendance Allowance or the Disability Living Allowance, among others.
- You are the only person claiming Carer’s Allowance for the care of the individual.
- Support includes anything defined as care, whether washing, transport, everyday tasks, shopping, cooking or other essential needs like companionship.
- You earn below £196 per week as net take-home pay, after deducting tax and National Insurance.
While you cannot claim the full Carer’s Allowance if you are also in receipt of the full State Pension, you may be entitled to a partial allowance if your State Pension payments are below the value of the Carer’s Allowance, which ‘tops up’ the difference.
Additional Support and Benefits Available for Unpaid Caregivers
Alongside the Carer’s Allowance, you may be entitled to reduced Council Tax rates, help with training or study courses, means-tested council-funded support, National Insurance credits and other benefits, including Universal Credit if you have a low income and Pension Credit if you are above the working age.
These benefits have their own criteria and application processes. Still, it is very likely that if you are eligible for the Carer’s Allowance, there are other benefits you could be claiming.
Why Filing a Claim for the Carer’s Allowance Matters
The actual value of the benefit isn’t always perceived as substantial, but it can make a profound difference for families juggling childcare, work, and care responsibilities, not least because many can use the income to support their own well-being.
As some of the many examples of the impacts unpaid caring can have, reports indicate that:
- There are an estimated 1.2 million carers living in poverty, with 400,000 in deep poverty, for whom extra income and additional benefits they may be eligible for could be a lifeline.
- 49% of carers have needed to cut down on spending on essentials like heating, clothing, food and transport, while 32% have taken on loans, overdrafts or credit cards to cover their needs.
- A quarter of unpaid carers are themselves not in good health, and 72% have experienced physical or mental health conditions lasting a year or more, and 42% say that caring has affected their physical welfare.
While all of these statistics are troubling, one of the most marked is that 74% of unpaid carers have felt anxious or stressed, and 40% have felt depressed. This shows how tangible support and recognition of their unpaid work could be worth considerably more than the value of the Carer’s Allowance.
Carers who have claimed the allowance can, for example, outsource some aspects of care to a professional at-home care team, or organise respite care to ensure they don’t become overwhelmed with caring duties without taking a break.
Combining Respite and Visiting Care With Unpaid Care Support
Respite is a type of specialist care that can be ad hoc, such as having home carers look after the welfare of a care recipient while a caregiver is unwell, working or taking a break.
Caregivers who are struggling to fulfil their employment obligations or feel unable to look for work due to caring can utilise respite carers to give them the capacity to focus on their careers, with the peace of mind that the person they care for is never left to cope alone.
Likewise, unpaid carers who have the financial relief of income support can arrange ongoing visiting care, such as having one morning or afternoon a week when they know a trusted carer will attend or putting home-based care in place for an hour or two a day to remove the pressure of visiting during school or working hours.
In all of these scenarios, a nominal weekly or monthly benefit provides the option to make positive, sustainable changes to care arrangements, protecting the welfare of unpaid carers, and putting in place a care system that ensures the long-term needs of the care recipient are fully met.
This is why we’d always encourage anyone who believes they may be entitled to the Carer’s Allowance to review the criteria and get in touch with the team at Guardian Angel Carers to learn more about respite, visiting care support, and other home care services.