Attendance Allowance is a benefit that helps with the extra costs of long-term illness or disability, which can be either physical and/or mental.
It is for people over retirement age who need help looking after themselves because they have a long-term illness or disability. You may be eligible for the benefit if you need support with personal care or need supervision to maintain your own safety.
It can be paid regardless of a person’s income, savings or National Insurance record and is a tax free benefit. If you are a carer who has care needs, you can also claim this benefit for yourself and this will not affect your Carer’s Allowance.
Getting Attendance Allowance does not reduce other benefits, it may even increase them. Claiming it may help a carer claim certain benefits such as Carers Allowance. It may also entitle you and/or the person you care for to further help with council tax.
There are no rules on how it is spent and it does not have to be spent on paying for care. However, it can be taken into account when working out how much you might need to pay for any care services. To apply call 0800 731 0122 or apply online here www.gov.uk
CarersUK have made a fact sheet available to carers available to download here.