Carer's Allowance Explained: Could You Be Missing Out?

If you spend a big part of your week looking after a parent, partner, or another family member, it is worth checking whether you are entitled to Carer's Allowance. It is one of the more overlooked benefits, partly because many people do not think of themselves as a "carer" at all, they are just helping out family. 💚

This guide explains who qualifies for Carer's Allowance, how it affects your other benefits, and what to do if you do not meet the criteria.

1. Could this apply to you? The basic eligibility check

Carer's Allowance is worth £86.45 a week. To qualify, you need to be 16 or over, spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone, and not be in full-time education or studying for 21 hours a week or more.

The 35 hours can cover a wide range of support: helping with washing and dressing, preparing meals, managing medication, taking the person to appointments, or handling their bills and shopping. It does not need to be round-the-clock care, but it does need to add up to 35 hours across the week, even if the care happens in short bursts each day.

Simple action: Add up a typical week of the help you give, including time spent on practical tasks like paperwork and shopping trips alongside any hands-on care. Many people are surprised how quickly it reaches 35 hours.

2. What the person you care for needs to already be getting

To claim Carer's Allowance, the person you care for must already be receiving a qualifying disability benefit. The most common ones are Attendance Allowance, the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), or the middle or highest care rate of Disability Living Allowance.

If the person you care for has not applied for any of these benefits yet, that is usually the first step. Attendance Allowance in particular is aimed at people over State Pension age and goes unclaimed in many cases because people do not realise it exists.

Example: If you care for a parent who receives Attendance Allowance but you have never looked into Carer's Allowance for yourself, it is worth checking now. The two benefits are separate, and one does not automatically lead to the other.

3. The earnings limit, and what counts as an expense

If you work alongside caring, your earnings need to be £204 or less a week after tax, National Insurance, and allowable expenses. This catches some people out, because the limit applies to take-home pay after deductions, not your gross wage.

Allowable expenses include 50% of your pension contributions, equipment you need for work, and travel costs between different workplaces that your employer does not reimburse. If you pay someone else to provide care while you work, and that person is not your spouse, partner, parent, or child, you can deduct care costs of up to 50% of your earnings as well.

💡 Tip: If your earnings are close to the £204 threshold, it is worth working through the calculation properly rather than assuming you do not qualify. Pension contributions and work-related costs can bring your countable earnings down more than expected.

4. How it affects other benefits

Carer's Allowance does not exist in isolation, and claiming it can change what you and the person you care for receive elsewhere.

If you receive Universal Credit, your UC payment will be reduced by an amount equal to your Carer's Allowance. However, there is a separate carer element within Universal Credit for people caring for someone with a disability-related benefit, and you may be entitled to this whether or not you claim Carer's Allowance itself.

If you have reached State Pension age, the rules work differently. If your State Pension is £86.45 a week or more, you will not receive a separate Carer's Allowance payment, but if you also get Pension Credit, that payment will increase instead. If your State Pension is less than £86.45 a week, Carer's Allowance can top it up to that amount.

For the person you care for, claiming Carer's Allowance can mean they stop receiving a severe disability premium or an extra amount for severe disability paid with Pension Credit, and they may lose a reduction on their Council Tax. It is worth checking this with whoever pays their benefits before you claim, so there are no surprises.

5. If you do not qualify: Carer's Credit

If you care for someone for at least 20 hours a week but do not meet the 35-hour threshold for Carer's Allowance, you may still be able to get Carer's Credit. This does not pay you anything directly, but it adds National Insurance credits to your record, which can help protect your State Pension.

This is particularly useful if caring responsibilities mean you have reduced your working hours or stopped working altogether, since gaps in your National Insurance record can otherwise affect your pension later.

Simple action: If 35 hours a week feels like a stretch but you are still providing regular care, Carer's Credit is worth applying for in its own right, even if Carer's Allowance is not an option right now.

6. How to apply, and what happens if you share the caring role

You can apply for Carer's Allowance online through GOV.UK, or by post using form DS700, or DS700SP if you are claiming alongside your State Pension. You will need details of the person you care for, including their National Insurance number and information about the benefit they receive.

If you share the care of someone with another family member or friend, only one of you can claim Carer's Allowance for that person. If the other person is already claiming it, or claiming the equivalent Universal Credit carer element for that person, you will not be able to claim until that is sorted out between you. The Department for Work and Pensions will decide who receives it if you cannot agree.

💡 Tip: If you are not sure how a Carer's Allowance claim would affect your overall household income, use a benefits calculator before applying. Because it can change Universal Credit, Pension Credit, and the other person's benefits all at once, it is easier to see the full picture before you submit the claim.

Caring for a family member is rarely something people plan for, and the financial side often gets pushed to the bottom of the list. Carer's Allowance will not cover everything, but for many families it makes a real difference, and the Class 1 National Insurance credits that come with it can protect your own State Pension down the line. 💛

If you are also looking into Pension Credit for yourself or the person you care for, our guide on Pension Credit: Are You Missing Out on Extra Money? covers how the two interact. For more support, visit our Assistance page or explore the Una guides.