Carers Allowance and the effect on other benefits

Hi Dragon

I'll just quote the relevant part of the web page.

The benefits of the person you care for

If you claim Carer's Allowance, it could affect the amount of benefit the person you care for receives.

The person you care for could lose the severe disability premium in their income-related benefit or the addition for severe disability in their Pension Credit. If you only have an underlying entitlement to Carer's Allowance and are not actually paid it, this will not affect the benefits of the person you care for.

Informing the person you care for that you are making a claim

Because your claim for Carer's Allowance may affect the benefits of the person you are caring for, they need to write down on your claim form that:

* they know you are claiming Carer's Allowance
* you are caring for them for at least 35 hours a week

The information above does not suggest that claiming CA will affect your son's ESA if he is not receiving SDP but I'm not knowledgeable about CA.

If you are uncertain (or as uncertain as I am), it would be safest to see a welfare rights advisor who can fully consider your circumstances.

Best wishes

Derek

if it helps, i receive carers allowance in my own right for my son who lives at home and gets incapacity benefit (which is the same as ESA). This has NO impact on his incapacity benefit, however MY income support is dropped by the equivalent amount of carers allowance i receive.
i also get housing benefit and council tax benefit at the full rates, which carers allowance does not impact on. hope this helps

Thanks to all of you for your replies, you have been most helpful!

Once again, many thanks to all that replied to my posts. I rang BEL this morning who I am pleased to say have advised me that as my son lives at home with me and does not claim anything other than MRC, LMR & ESA (IR) the work related element, a claim for Carers Allowance will not affect these benefits. Just in case any member reading this are in a similar situation,I don't want to mislead you without the full facts i.e. I as my son's carer am not in receipt of any other benefit either e.g. housing,council tax, working or child tax etc.