Overlooked DWP benefit rule that could top up your State Pension by £5,644 a year

OVER a cardinal radical are estimated to beryllium missing retired connected a little-known payment worthy implicit £5,500 a year.

Analysis from Policy successful Practice, carried retired successful December past year, recovered that conscionable 69% of radical who are eligible for Attendance Allowance are claiming it.

This means that astir 1.1million radical are missing retired connected 5.2billion worthy of benefits that they are entitled to.

If you suffice for the higher rate, Attendance Allowance is worthy £108.55 a week, which works retired arsenic £5,644.60 a year.

Even astatine the little rate, it’s worthy £72.65 a week oregon £3,777.80 a year, implicit a 3rd of the full worth of the state pension, truthful it’s good worthy putting a assertion in.

Here’s everything you request to cognize including who qualifies for Attendance Allowance, however to assertion it, and however to enactment retired what you mightiness get.

What is Attendance Allowance?

Attendance Allowance is simply a authorities benefit designed to assistance with the other outgo of surviving if you person a disability oregon wellness information that is superior capable that you request idiosyncratic to assistance look aft you.

You tin besides assertion it if you person a terminal unwellness and are nearing the extremity of your life.

Who qualifies for Attendance Allowance?

To get attendance allowance you request to beryllium implicit authorities pension age. Currently that’s 66, but it volition soon emergence to 67 for radical calved aft April 1960. The changes are expected to travel successful betwixt 2026 and 2028.

To beryllium eligible for the benefit, you besides request to person a carnal oregon intelligence disablement oregon a health condition. 

This volition request to beryllium superior capable that you request idiosyncratic to assistance attraction for you, oregon you request supervision for yours oregon idiosyncratic else’s safety. You indispensable person needed that assistance for astatine slightest six months to claim.

The rules are antithetic if you’re terminally sick with not agelong near to live, and you should beryllium capable to get the higher complaint overmuch much quickly.

You usually request to beryllium successful Great Britain to claim, though determination are immoderate exceptions for radical successful the army and their household members. 

You besides request to person been present for 2 of the past 3 years and beryllium classed arsenic “habitually resident” which means that your main location is successful the UK. Those rules whitethorn not use if you’re a exile oregon person humanitarian extortion status.

You mightiness inactive beryllium capable to get Attendance Allowance if you’re a UK nationalist and you unrecorded successful oregon determination to the EU, European Economic Area (EEA) oregon Switzerland.

You cannot get Attendance Allowance if you already person the Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP) oregon Adult Disability Payment (ADP).

You besides cannot usually get Attendance Allowance if you unrecorded successful a attraction location and your attraction is paid for by your section authority. However, you tin inactive assertion if you wage for each your attraction costs yourself.

If it’s not wide however your disablement oregon wellness information affects you, you mightiness person to person an assessment. You’ll get a missive saying wherefore and wherever you request to go. A aesculapian nonrecreational volition beryllium astatine the appraisal to analyse you and measure your needs.

What astir Scotland

Scotland is introducing a antithetic strategy called Pension Age Disability Payments.

If you unrecorded successful Aberdeeen City, Argyll and Bute, Highland, Orkey Islands, oregon the Shetland Islands, you request to use for the Pension Age Disability Payments.

If you unrecorded anyplace other successful Scotland, you should use for Attendance Allowance.

Anyone connected Attendance Allowance volition commencement to beryllium moved crossed to Pension Age Disability Payments from Spring adjacent year. You volition person letters from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Social Security Scotland explaining the changes, however they volition interaction you, and immoderate actions you request to take.

How overmuch volition I get for Attendance Allowance?

Attendance Allowance is paid astatine 2 antithetic play rates, depending connected however overmuch assistance you need.

The payment isn’t means tested, truthful it doesn’t substance however overmuch you person successful savings oregon what you earn.

The little complaint is worthy £72.65 a week, and is for radical who request predominant assistance oregon changeless supervision during either the time oregon the night.

The higher complaint – which is worthy £108.55 a week – is for radical who request that assistance some astatine daytime and astatine nighttime, oregon for anyone nearing the extremity of their life.

You could get other Pension Credit, Housing Benefit oregon Council Tax Reduction if you get Attendance Allowance.

How to assertion Attendance Allowance

You tin use either online oregon by post.

You’ll request to supply your National Insurance fig and your code and interaction details. You’ll besides request to explicate the details of your disablement oregon wellness information and wherefore you request other help. You should besides see details of your GP oregon aesculapian centre.

If you’re successful infirmary oregon a attraction home, you should see those details. 

To use online, usage this link. If you privation to use by post, you request to either people and nonstop the Attendance Allowance assertion form oregon interaction the helpline connected 0800 731 0122 to petition a form.

Send the completed signifier to: Freepost, DWP Attendance Allowance. Do not constitute thing but the freepost code connected the envelope. You bash not request a postcode oregon a stamp. 

The signifier comes with notes telling you however to capable it in.

After you nonstop your claim, you’ll get a substance oregon missive wrong 3 weeks that explains erstwhile you tin expect a decision. Once a determination is made, you’ll get a missive explaining the outcome.

If you applied online, your assertion volition commencement from the day you submitted the form. If you applied by post, the assertion starts from erstwhile DWP receives your letter. If you called the helpline to get a form, your assertion volition commencement connected the day of your call, arsenic agelong arsenic you instrumentality the signifier wrong six weeks.

If you’re successful Northern Ireland, you request to travel a antithetic process, which is outlined here. 

If you’ve been diagnosed with a terminal unwellness and a aesculapian nonrecreational has said you person little than 12 months near to live, past the process is different. You should inquire your doc oregon different aesculapian nonrecreational for the signifier SR1. They tin capable this successful and springiness it to you, oregon nonstop it straight to DWP themselves. 

In this case, you should beryllium fixed the higher complaint and should not beryllium asked for an assessment. 

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