Carers allowance

[Hmovingforward]

Hi all!

I have been a carer for my mother for the past 5 years and in the past have claimed carers allowance when I wasn’t working . I went back to work this year January but since then she has gotten worse and there is a HUGE possibility that I will have to quit my job.

Sorry, if this is a stupid question, my nerves are all over the place after coming to this realisation! but has anybody had the same experience of reclaiming carers allowance ?

😀All your answers are really appreciated!

It is fine to reclaim it if not earning or earning under £139 a week. You may also be eligible to claim some Universal credit as well if your savings are under 16k. If you mum claims pension credit and lives alone and currently gets a severe disability premium then that would end if you claimed carers allowance. Assuming your mum is still in receipt of a disability benefit then there should be no problem claiming carers.

You are allowed to earn a certain amount when you are claiming Carer's Allowance. I think it is around £100 per week, but you would have to check the government website. Maybe you could cut your working hours to part time and also claim Carer's?

I’ve had a short break in my Carers Allowance for periods of work (online stuff so I was still caring full time but earning for a few weeks earlier this year). I was restarting rather than making a new claim but it took longer than it should have. On the plus side, it got sorted out very quickly after I called to chase it up and the back pay came as a welcome lump
sum.