Attendance Allowance: Pensioners could be missing out on DWP benefit worth £369 per month | Personal Finance | Finance
According to the Department for Work and Pension (DWP) one of the most underclaimed benefits is Attendance Allowance and around 3.4 million pensioners are estimated to be missing out on this extra cash boost each month. Attendance allowance helps with extra costs if someone has a disability severe enough that they need someone to help look after them and are over the state pension age. Medical conditions that could make someone eligible to qualify include things such as arthritis, heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, or mental health issues such as dementia.
The support is paid at two different rates, one higher and the other lower, and the amount someone gets is dependent on the severity of their condition.
The higher amount is worth £92.40 a week and the lower amount is £61.85 a week for those who qualify.
Overall, a person could get a maximum of £247.40 or £369.60 every month.
Over the year, a person could potentially receive an income boost worth £4,428.
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To be eligible for the lower rate, a person should require frequent help or supervision during the day or supervision at night.
For the higher rate, a person must require help or supervision both day and night.
The help someone needs can include help with things like getting dressed, eating or drinking, getting in and out of bed, bathing or showering and going to the toilet, or help to stay safe.
Additionally, if someone has difficulties with tasks such as taking a long time to complete, they experience pain or need physical help, like a chair to lean on.
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Attendance Allowance is not a means-tested benefit, so working people can still claim the support.
It is also tax-free and it will be exempt from the benefit cap so people won’t have money taken away from any other benefits they claim.
Care home residents whose care is paid for by the local authority won’t usually be entitled to Attendance Allowance.
However, it’s important to differentiate that they’ll still be able to claim Attendance Allowance if they pay for all their own care home costs.
When applying for Attendance Allowance, people will need to provide their National Insurance number and their GP details.
They will also have to include a list of all the medications they take, and will be required to list their conditions on their application form.
The DWP will use the application form to work out the entitlement and it will be looking to see what difficulties a person has and how much help they need.
If someone lives in England, Scotland or Wales then they can request an Attendance Allowance claim form by calling the DWP’s Attendance Allowance Helpline on 0800 731 0122, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm.
People can also download the claim forms through the GOV.UK website.
