NEARLY half a million people are missing out on cash that could boost their income during the cost of living crisis.
Pensioners are missing out on attendance allowance payments and could claim hundreds a month if they qualify.
Thousands of eligible people are missing out on extra supportAlamy
Some 400,000 people are missing out on £1.3bn of support in attendance allowance payments, according to figures from Policy in Practice.
That equates to £2 out of every £10 of support available that people are missing out on.
It also means that currently, attendance allowance is the benefit with the highest rate of underpayment.
The figures are just estimates as there are no official figures from the government on how many people are missing out.
The attendance allowance is designed to help with extra costs if you have a disability severe enough that you need someone to help look after you.
It’s paid at two different rates and how much you get depends on the level of care that you need because of your disability.
You could get £61.85 or £92.40 a week to help with personal support.
On top of that, if you quality for pension credit then you could get an extra £69.40 a week in attendance allowance payments.
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There are 57 categories of medical conditions you can claim with, but the most commonly used ones are arthritis (30%) and dementia (8%).
There are ways to check how much cash you are entitled to, and organisations that can help you check your application.
Here’s everything you need to know including the qualifying criteria and how to apply:
What medical conditions qualify for attendance allowance?
To get attendance allowance you need to be:
physically or mentally disabledState Pension age or older
You cannot get attendance allowance if you already get Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
To qualify for the lower amount, you need to require frequent help or constant supervision during the day, or supervision at night.
You get the higher amount if you need help or supervision throughout both day and night, or if you’re terminally ill.
Usually, you need to have needed help with your condition for more than six months to get the benefit, but this is waived if you’re terminally ill.
You don’t need to have a carer in order to claim, but if you do, they could get Carer’s Allowance if you have substantial caring needs.
You can’t get Attendance Allowance if you live in a care home and your care is paid for by your local authority.
However, you can still claim if you pay for all your care home costs yourself.
To qualify, you also need to be in Great Britain when you claim, unless you’re in the armed forces.
You need to have been in Great Britain for at least two of the last three years and be habitually resident in the UK.
However, you might still be able to get Attendance Allowance if you’re a UK national and you live in or move to the EU, European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland.
The full list of categories you can claim for are:
ArthritisSpondylosisBack Pain – Other / Precise Diagnosis not SpecifiedDisease of The Muscles, Bones or JointsTrauma to LimbsBlindnessDeafnessHeart diseaseChest diseaseAsthmaCystic FibrosisCerebrovascular DiseasePeripheral vascular DiseaseEpilepsyNeurological DiseasesMultiple SclerosisParkinsons DiseaseMotor Neurone DiseaseChronic Pain SyndromesDiabetes MellitusMetabolic DiseaseTraumatic Paraplegia/TetraplegiaMajor Trauma Other than Traumatic Paraplegia/TetraplegiaLearning DifficultiesPsychosisPsychoneurosisPersonality DisorderDementiaBehavioural DisorderAlcohol and Drug AbuseHyperkinetic SyndromeRenal DisordersInflammatory Bowel DiseaseBowel and Stomach DiseaseBlood DisordersHaemophiliaMulti System DisordersMultiple Allergy SyndromeSkin DiseaseMalignant DiseaseSeverely Mentally impairedDouble AmputeeDeaf/BlindHaemodialysisFrailtyTotal Parenteral NutritionAIDSInfectious diseases: Viral disease – Coronavirus covid-19Infectious diseases: Viral disease – precise diagnosis not specifiedInfectious diseases: Bacterial disease – TuberculosisInfectious diseases: Bacterial disease – precise diagnosis not specifiedInfectious diseases: Protozoal disease – MalariaInfectious diseases: Protozoal disease – other / precise diagnosis not specifiedInfectious diseases – other / precise diagnosis not specifiedCognitive disorder – other / precise diagnosis not specifiedTerminally Ill
If your circumstances change, you could get a different rate, so it’s very important to report any changes to the government.
To apply, you’ll need to fill in an attendance allowance claims form which you can find on the government website.
You need to send the completed form to:
Freepost DWP Attendance Allowance
You don’t need a postcode or a stamp.
What other benefits can I claim with attendance allowance?
Signing up for attendance allowance may also boost any other benefits you get.
For instance, you could get extra Pension Credit, Housing Benefit or a council tax reduction.
The money is paid into your bank, building society or credit union account.
You also won’t be affected by the Benefit Cap if you or your partner get Attendance Allowance.
The benefit cap limits what households can claim per year.
If you want to know whether your specific benefits will be affected by receiving Attendance Allowance, you should contact the office dealing with that benefit.
They will then assess you to see what other help you might be entitled to.
One thing to note is that you might need to send them a copy of your Attendance Allowance decision letter.
How to check what benefits you could get
Anyone can check if they are eligible for benefits using a simple calculator tool.
Benefits are not just for those out of work and millions of people in work get Universal Credit to top up their income.
Entitledto’s free calculator works out whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credits and Universal Credit.
If you run out of time to complete the form in one go you can save your results and come back later but you will need to sign in or register.
You can do this using Facebook, Google or by setting up an Entitledto account.
If you don’t want to register, consumer group MoneySavingExpert.com and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto’s data that let you save your results without logging in.
Instead, you’re provided with a unique code to note down and use when you want to revisit the questionnaire.
You will also find benefit calculators from Turn2Us and Policy in Practice.
Any calculator you use will give you an idea of what you could get, but you’ll then have to make a claim for the benefit itself.