Claiming Carers Allowance is this week’s vlog. Furthermore, you may ask why. It’s a sad fact that nearly £1.3 billion worth of unclaimed carer’s allowance in the United Kingdom. That’s almost 400,000 people who care for friends or relatives who are are missing out on their Carer’s Allowance entitlements.
What will be covered in this video
- Firstly, what carer’s allowance is
- Secondly the eligibility criteria are
- Thirdly, share some stats about carers
What is Carer’s Allowance
Carer’s Allowance is a taxable benefit for people who provide to disabled adults or children. Claiming Carer’s Allowance is easier than other benefits since it is not not means tested, If you count as a carer for Carer’s Allowance, you may also be able to claim Universal Credit but this will depend on other circumstances including savings, partner’s work, and joint income. Some carers may be on Income Support, one of the benefits which Universal Credit has replaced.
What are the criteria for Claiming Carers Allowance
Your eligibility
You must earn no more than £128 a week after tax and expenses. Expenses can include:
- 50% of your pension contributions
- some of the costs of caring for your children or the disabled person while you’re at work
All of the following must also apply:
- Firstly, you’re 16 or over
- Secondly, you spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone
- Thirdly you normally live in England, Scotland, or Wales
- Fourthly, you’re not in full-time education
- Fifthly, you’re not studying for 21 hours a week or more
- Lastly, you’re not subject to immigration control
For more details check out HMRC
The person you care for
The person you care for must already get one of these benefits:
- Personal Independence Payment – daily living component
- Disability Living Allowance – the middle or highest care rate
- Attendance Allowance
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- Constant Attendance Allowance at the basic (full day) rate with a War Disablement Pension
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
Make a claim
Before you apply make sure you have your:
- National Insurance number
- bank or building society details
- employment details and latest payslip if you’re working
- P45 if you’ve recently finished work
- course details if you’re studying
- details of any expenses, for example pension contributions or the cost of caring for your children or the disabled person while you’re at work
You also need details of the person you care for. You need their:
- date of birth and address
- National Insurance number if they’re 16 or over
- Disability Living Allowance reference if they’re under 16
You can backdate your claim by up to 3 months.
Facts & figures
Carers UK is a leading campaigning and support group for carers. Some illuminating facts and figures they share
One in adults 1 in 8 adults (around 6.5 million people) are carers
- Every day another 6,000 people take on a caring responsibility – that equals over 2 million people each year.
- 58% of carers are women and 42% are men.
- 1.4 million people provide over 50 hours of care per week.
- Over 1 million people care for more than one person
- As of 2020, Carers UK estimates there are around 13.6 million people caring through the pandemic.
Carers save the economy £132 billion per year, an average of £19,336 per carer
- 5 million people in the UK are juggling caring responsibilities with work – that’s 1 in 7 of the workforce.
- However, the significant demands of caring mean that 600 people give up work every day to care for an older or disabled relative.
People providing high levels of care are twice as likely to be permanently sick or disabled
- 72% of carers responding to Carers UK’s State of Caring 2018 Survey said they had suffered mental ill health as a result of caring.
- 61% said they had suffered physical ill health as a result of caring.
- 8 in 10 people caring for loved ones say they have felt lonely or socially isolated.
Conclusion
This vlog on Claiming Carers Allowance is essential stuff to know for those millions of people . Moreover, there is £1 billion of unclaimed allowances.
Furthermore, you can improve your financial understanding and well-being. Plus make more profit, save tax and time, and your money mindset. How wonderful is that?
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