Debt management and disability benefits

[AlternativelyWired]

Can anyone advise as to whether or not attendance allowance is classed as income for the purpose of debt management? My mum is on a debt management plan and has recently been awarded attendance allowance as she is severely disabled. It's time for the plan annual review and we are trying to calculate the costs due to her disability. Thank you.

Income is income, but presumably she has increased costs that the attendance allowance will be there to meet?

Yes she uses it to pay for physio, gardener, window cleaner, shopping delivery and transport to appointments and the rare family social occasion. She only gets a state pension and was barely managing especially with having to now pay for things that she did herself like gardening and cleaning the inside windows the oven and everything. She uses a local mobility car scheme for appointments and she has had to purchase a few mobility aids.

If she only has a state pension and no private pensions or savings then she needs to check whether she is eligible for pension credit. If she lives alone and no-one claims carers allowance for caring for her then it's highly likely she will qualify due to being entitled to the severe disability premium on pension credit. She could ring Age Uk or CAB for a benefit check.

She had a letter today saying she gets that too. The pension credit guarantee. She's in her 80s and cognitively fine but struggles with finances especially since being on heavy duty opiates.

Hello - just dropping in here quickly to say that we’ve got a Q&A live in Money Matters about debt with debt charity Stepchange. No question is too stupid - so don’t hesitate to ask the experts about any aspect of debt or managing money worries.

First right of appropriation- Google it.