Anyone know anything about Carers Allowance?

[EmmaJW1976]

My son was awarded DLA at middle rate last year.

I have just given up my job and so have applied for Carers Allowance.

Is it likely I will get it do you think?

Also, I have been offered another job just £60 or so a week. Will this affect Carers Allowance at all?

Thanks for your help.

I would suggest you range the benefits advice telephone line 080082200. They should be able to talk through with you what you are entitled to! Good Luck !!

You should get Carer's allowance for Middle rate care, I do.
You can earn up to £77 a week before it affects CA. It might have gone up to £87. I can't remember.

Thanks for your replies.

I was told you have to earn less than £87 to get it so I wasn't sure if it stops when you get £87 a week or if it just declines.

I was earning £160 a week previously so now I'm wondering if I could have earned it then but at a lower rate?

No - you either get it or you don't. If your over the income limit it stops completely - hence me juggling my hours and pay so that it stays under.

I think I had to send 3 months payslips Emma.

Message withdrawn

Thanks.

I have given up work completely at the moment so hopefully I should get it and if I accept the 5 hours a week job I've been offered, hopefully it won't affect it.

It's worth noting that there are allowable deductions from your earnings before they are assessed for carer's allowance.

They will take off half of anything you pay into any pension schemes, and then they will take off all your childcare costs as long as they are less than half what is left.

So if you earned £180 per week
paid £30pw into pension, they would deduct £15 (half of £30) leaving £165.
You can then deduct ALL of your childcare costs (or care for this disabled person) upto a maximum of £82.5 (half of the £165).

So depending on the figures, it can be worthwhile paying a little more into pension / childcare to make you eligible.

Over the last year, I have spent a lot of time on the telephone to the CA people!

Thanks for your replies.

I just checked my bank statement and I have a payment in there for DWP CA so I presume this is it? It is £98.

Does anyone know how many weeks this covers and how often it is paid?

I haven't had anything from them in writing yet and when I called they just said I would have something soon!

You get £48.65 a week, but it will usually come every four weeks, unless you asked for it to be paid every fortnight?

No I don't think I did.

Maybe this is just an initial payment?

I never understand these things!!

I think from memory they date it from when you first contacted them, so you may be getting some back-pay.

Just had a look and it says that the date you receive the allowance from is the date they got the form from you, so they are probably just 'catching up' and you will get the normal amount next time.

Is it £87 a week before tax or £87 a week after tax?

Found this:-
You cannot get Carer's Allowance if you earn more than £87.00 a week after money has been taken off to allow for your expenses.

Expenses that are allowed are for things like:

some National Insurance (NI) contributions
Income Tax
half of any money you pay towards personal or occupational pension schemes
other expenses you have to pay because they are a necessary part of your job
After allowing for these things, you are allowed up to half the rest of the money you earn to help meet the cost of paying someone else (but not a close relative) to look after a child or children, or the person you look after, while you are at work.
Also:-
You can't claim Carer's Allowance if you are in full-time education with 21 hours or more a week of supervised study or earn more than £87 a week after certain deductions have been made (such as Income Tax).

So it looks like it's after tax. HTH.

thanks pixel