Carers Allowance Question

[llamakate]

I hope this is the right place to ask this question. I applied for carers allowance on 06/08 and i am still waiting for my letter with my decision, does anyone know if it is normal to wait this long? Also, I lost my job due to a closing of the business and have been struggling to find another one. The only issue is i’m not sure how i’d go about applying for universal credit- I know you can get a carers element of universal credit where they give you a little extra money, but as i’ve not been approved for carers allowance yet i’m not sure what to do. Could i claim regular universal credit until i get my letter? I don’t think i can get the carers element without being approved for carers allowance yet?

The Carer's Allowance takes as long as it takes. However, to get Carer's Allowance, you have to have a relative in receipt of disability benefits, and it's the same conditions for the carer's element of UC.

So you can apply for UC immediately, and declare that you're a carer. Carer's Allowance is deducted £ for £ from UC anyway.

As @Lougle says the conditions for the Carer Element in Universal Credit are the same as Carers Allowance however there is no max earnings condition in UC.

While UC is reduced £/£ for Carers some people find having cash fortnightly makes budgeting/cashflow easier. Carers also credits Class 1 NI whereas UC only adds Class 3. The latter only matter for pension but Class 1 can sometimes help access other NI related stuff like ESA.

If you want help with Universal Credit the best people to speak to are Help to Claim.

From what I have read on other forums, carers allowance claims can take 6-12 weeks so you may still have longer to wait. It will be backdated.

i’ve been getting dla and carers allowance since 2022 for my child. i was told the other day by citizens advice that i should be getting carers element . i have now received my first payment of ce . is it possible to get this backdated as my work coach at the time said i can only have one or the other ? i have the screen shot of the conversation on my journal from may 22

You can ask for it to be backdated but it will go to a decision maker. I once got 2 years worth of carers element and LCWRA backdated for a work client just by requesting it on their journal.

Applied on 31st July and still waiting.......:(

Just applied for carers allowance as my daughter gets MRC DLA. Does anyone know how long claims take? Thank you.

Mr first claim was 12 weeks! Shocking I know, though some people are quicker. My second claim was just two weeks though. They do say if you phone them it’s taking up to 9 weeks. Good luck 😉

Thank you so much. The email says 6 weeks but I don't believe it as DLA was supposed to be 15 weeks wait and it's now 25!

Hi I’ve just applied for carers my daughter receives dla. I need to send my latest bank statement rather than wait for a call or later to say they need it I’m just going to get on and send it. Does anyone know what address I send this to please?