Benefits Available to Carers

Carer's Allowance is the main benefit for carers in the UK. To qualify:

• You must spend at least 35 hours per week caring for someone
• The person you care for must receive PIP daily living component (either rate), Attendance Allowance, DLA care component (middle or higher rate), the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment (Scotland), or certain other disability benefits
• You must earn no more than £204 per week after permitted expenses (2026/27 rate)
• You must be aged 16 or over and not in full-time education

Carer's Allowance is currently £86.45 per week. It is taxable and counts as income for means-tested benefits. Receiving Carer's Allowance can affect the UC or Pension Credit of the person you care for — check the impact on their benefits before claiming.

UC claimants who provide at least 35 hours of care per week to a severely disabled person receive an additional carer element of £201.68 per month. This can be received alongside Carer's Allowance.

You do not need to be in receipt of Carer's Allowance to claim the UC carer element — you just need to meet the caring criteria. Tell your UC work coach about your caring responsibilities and make sure the carer element is included in your award.

Claiming the UC carer element means you are treated as a carer for conditionality purposes — you will have reduced work-related requirements and may not be required to look for work at all if your caring responsibilities are substantial.

Beyond Carer's Allowance and the UC carer element, carers may be entitled to:

• Carer's Credit: Protects your National Insurance record for State Pension purposes if you provide at least 20 hours of care per week and do not qualify for Carer's Allowance. Apply through the DWP.
• Carer Premium in legacy benefits: If you receive legacy Housing Benefit, income-related ESA, or income-based JSA, an additional carer premium is added to your applicable amount.
• Council tax discount: Carers who provide substantial care and live with the person they care for may be disregarded for council tax purposes, potentially allowing the cared-for person to claim a single person discount.
• Carer's assessments from the council: As a carer, you have the right to a free carer's needs assessment from your local council under the Care Act 2014. This can result in support services, a personal budget, or respite care to help you manage your caring responsibilities.

Some groups of carers face particular challenges in accessing financial support, or have access to additional support that is not always well publicised.

Working carers: Many carers combine paid work with caring responsibilities. Carer's Allowance has an earnings limit (£196 per week net in 2025/26) but no hours restriction. Carers who earn above the earnings limit cannot receive the cash payment of Carer's Allowance, but they may still qualify for the underlying entitlement to Carer's Allowance — which means the person they care for cannot receive the severe disability premium in their benefit. This is a critical distinction: claiming or having underlying entitlement to Carer's Allowance can reduce the cared-for person's benefit in certain legacy benefit calculations. Always check the impact on the cared-for person before claiming. Citizens Advice recommends a joint benefits check for carer and cared-for person before any claim is made.

Young carers: Young people under 18 who care for a family member cannot claim Carer's Allowance (which requires the claimant to be 16 or over and not in full-time education). However, young carers should be identified and assessed by the local authority under the Children and Families Act 2014, and may receive support through the young carer's assessment route. When they turn 16 and leave full-time education, they should be reassessed for Carer's Allowance. See our guide on Young Carer Grant (Scotland) for the Scottish equivalent.

Carers approaching State Pension age: Carer's Allowance stops when the carer reaches State Pension age — though they may retain the underlying entitlement. If the carer is on Pension Credit, the Carer Addition (an additional amount in Pension Credit for carers of severely disabled people) continues beyond State Pension age. The Pension Credit Carer Addition and Carer's Allowance cannot be paid simultaneously as cash, but the Pension Credit Carer Addition is considerably more than the Carer's Allowance amount in many cases — check carefully which is more advantageous.

Scotland — Carer Support Payment: Social Security Scotland is in the process of replacing Carer's Allowance with a new devolved benefit called Carer Support Payment. Carer Support Payment has higher earnings limits, broader eligibility criteria, and an enhanced supplement (paid twice a year). The rollout began in 2023 and is being phased across Scotland. Existing Carer's Allowance claimants in Scotland are being automatically transferred. New carers in Scotland who meet the eligibility criteria should check whether they should apply for Carer Support Payment directly through Social Security Scotland rather than Carer's Allowance through the DWP.

Northern Ireland: Carer's Allowance in Northern Ireland is administered by the Department for Communities (not the DWP) and has broadly the same rules as in Great Britain. The Northern Ireland equivalent of the Carer's Allowance Supplement does not exist, but some additional support may be available through the NI Welfare Supplementary Payments scheme.