General Chat

Our daughter and others have said I should claim attendance allowance now for hubby as he is getting more and more frail .

I havent before as too be honest we both ave company pensions as well as OAP pensions so we dont need the top up

Well I have been told off good and proper and told to claim as getting it may open doors later on if we do need help

Blimey !! I downloaded the form to fill in and its 32!!! pages long will cost a mint to post it as you cant submit the form online

My thoughts are what is money is tight to someone claiming ?? postage will be costing pounds which cant be right surely

shirley they should have put a retun envelope in with the claim pack..hope you get it ,you have worked and are entitled to the benefit,you might get a reduction in your council tax.


wendy(lincs)

There should be a return envelope Shirley, if not request one. If you get the attendance allowance ( and you should) it does 'open doors' for other things you might need now or in the future, like any home adaptations.

Good luck :-)

It is worth the hassle of filling in the form to claim. You may be able to get help completing the form from the Benefits Advisor at local council, as you need to put the correct info in the form and lay it on really thick. There are certain words and phrases that that do help with a claim. You may also be able to claim Carers Allowance as well. These are not means tested if memory serves. We get these for our Autistic son.

Good luck.

Andy

This is worth a look at Shirley...gives tips and examples of answers.

https://www.vsa.org.uk/Download-document/27-Guide-to-completing-Attendance-Allowance-Forms.html

As said, if you do not make any claims now, it can prove even harder later when you may need it more.

I was eventually persuaded to claim Mobility Allowance (have severely damaged knees and shins). So glad I did.

I was awarded full Moblity and minimum Care. So I now have a lovely new car which is quite big as I needed the height for getting in and out. The Care/Attendance pays towards petrol, and also for a chirpodist every couple of months to visit home.

If I had left if for another 6 months or so I may have struggled. It was a fight, I was turned down originally, even though I had been awarded a Blue Badge by the council. I even had a home visit from ATOS as there was no way I could get there either by driving (no where to park there close by) and totally unable to use Public Transport. I saw a lovely young female doctor who was amazing. And I got my payments backdated to my original date of claim.

So please do claim. It is not so much for the money, but it can help later if you need other types of help.

GOOD LUCK <3

Oh and if you need any help, I kept all my letters to and from DWP.

I can offer help with filling out forms.

One thing to remember, NEVER say you can just about do something, do not lie but be totally honest, in fact you need to be brutally honest.

Go for it Shirley - it's well worth it. My OH has it and it really helps with things like petrol for taking him out etc.


I also read the following recently:

You have a right to help with the costs of caring. But the benefits system is complicated. Phone the Independent Age Advice Service on 0800 319 6789 and ask for a 'benefit check' for you an also the person you look after - sometimes their benefits can be reduced if you are awarded Carer's Allowance.

Once you are sure it's in your best interests and that of the person you care for to apply for Carer's Allowance, phone 0845 608 4321 and ask for a Carer's Allowance form or apply online to gov.uk/apply-carers-allowance. Make sure the person you look after claims Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance (middle or higher rate of the care component) or Personal Independence Payment before you apply.

Make it clear you are caring for the person at least 35 hours a week, and don't forget care at night. If your state pension is over a certain amount, a letter will come back saying you can't be paid Carer's Allowance because you get a state pension. It will then say you have underlying entitlement. This may mean you are eligible for the carer premium. Make copies of this letter and send one to the Pension Service and one to your council's housing benefit department. Tell them you're applying for the carer premium.

Our top tip
It's very important to keep the letter about underlying entitlement to Carer's Allowance. Most people throw it away. Big mistake. Even though you cannot be paid Carer's Allowance, this letter could be your passport to the carer premium, a benefit worth up to £34.20 a week.



Hope this helps.

I think that carer's allowance is only payable if the carer is under pensionable age. If your husband needs looking after then you should claim the benefit - it isn't taxable and the benefit will help with additional costs you may incur although it is up to you how you spend it - there aren't any restrictions. If you go to your local DWP office they should be able to offer help to you regarding completion of the form and it will save you having to post it. Alternatively Citizens Advice Bureau would probably help you with the form.

Don't forget that both Disability and Attendance Allowances are TAX FREE and are granted irrespective of savings and income.

Important - take copies of forms you return.

Thanks all. I know when I applied for his parking badge I was too polite and got refused at first.

I need to get some help I think in how to word my replies to get over to them the extent of his problems

As I recall, when red first came home from hospital, a woman from Social Services came here to fill in all the forms for benefits. At other times, when they were revuing his care package, the woman who was carrying out the revue was explaining to me the consequences of giving certain answers and suggesting what I should say.

I would get some help with the forms. This could be from the CAB or some relevant charity but while this is another big, new, complicated procedure you are dealing with, it is one they will have carried out many times before.

Even if you don't need to spend the money now you may find yourself having to pay for respite at some time in the future because the DSS or whoever have found a way of not doing so.

Have you registered yourself as a carer with your doctor? They will prioritize you a bit if you do and offer you flu jabs and things if you are not already offered them.

CAB are the best people tp fill the forms out for you as they know exactly what to write in answer to the question...

Went to CAB for first form - as advised by social worker friend of mine. Her words were that 'you are more than capable of filling in any form but these are a mine field'.

CAB kept saying to me - remember can you do this on your worst day do not want to know what you can do on your best day.