3 Attendance Allowance

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1 3 Attendance Allowance Most people continue to enjoy good health well into old age. But many older people need help with daily living. You may need help with personal care, such as dressing, washing or having a bath or moving around indoors. All of these things can lead to extra expense. Cash help may be available from the Department for Work and Pensions. Index Page no What is Attendance Allowance? 2 Who can claim Attendance Allowance? 4 How to claim Attendance Allowance 7 If you are refused Attendance Allowance 12 Attendance Allowance and means-tested benefits 13 Attendance Allowance and benefits for carers 13 Attendance Allowance in a care home 13 Attendance Allowance in hospital 14 Useful organisations 15

2 This information sheet gives details about Attendance Allowance, which is only payable to people aged 65 or over. If you are under 65 now, you should claim Disability Living Allowance rather than Attendance Allowance. It is better to claim Disability Living Allowance (rather than Attendance Allowance) because you can get help with your mobility needs, there are extra rates of payment and the qualifying period for the benefit is shorter. See our advice leaflet Claiming Disability Benefits for details of Disability Living Allowance and other benefits for sick or disabled people and their carers. The rules about disability benefits are complicated. If you are in any doubt, telephone our free advice line SeniorLine on (textphone ) for further advice. If you are in Northern Ireland call SeniorLine on What is Attendance Allowance? Attendance Allowance is the main disability benefit for people aged 65 and over. You can claim Attendance Allowance if you are aged 65 or over. There is no upper age limit for claiming. If you have been receiving a component of Disability Living Allowance since before your 65th birthday, and you now need extra help, see page 4. Entitlement to Attendance Allowance depends on how much help and the type of help you need. You are not automatically entitled to Attendance Allowance because you have a particular illness or disability. You can claim Attendance Allowance if you need help with your personal care or need someone to supervise or watch over you. You do not have to be getting help from anyone already - what is important is that you need help. You can get Attendance Allowance even if you are living on your own. If you are awarded Attendance Allowance it is up to you whether you use it to pay for somebody to care for you - you can use the extra money to pay for whatever you would find most useful. 2

3 Attendance Allowance is not affected by who you live with. If you are a member of a couple it does not matter if your partner also claims Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance. Attendance Allowance is not paid if the only help you need is with domestic chores such as cleaning, shopping or gardening. The attention you require must be connected with personal care, such as bathing and dressing. Or you must need someone there to watch over or supervise you to prevent you from hurting yourself or others. Attendance Allowance can be paid indefinitely, or for a fixed period. Towards the end of the fixed period you will be sent forms to renew your claim for Attendance Allowance; if you do not fill in this form your benefit will stop at the end of the fixed period. Attendance Allowance is tax-free and you do not need to have paid National Insurance contributions to get it. Attendance Allowance is paid directly to you and not to the person who looks after you (if there is anyone). However, arrangements can be made so that your carer can cash it, if that is more convenient. A carer can also claim Attendance Allowance on behalf of the person they are caring for. Attendance Allowance will be paid in the same way as any other benefits or State Retirement Pension that you receive. Attendance Allowance is not means-tested, so it doesn t matter how much money you have coming in each week. Getting Attendance Allowance will not mean that you get less Pension Credit, Council Tax Benefit or Housing Benefit (or rates rebate in Northern Ireland). In fact, it may mean that you get a higher level of these other benefits or that you become entitled to claim. Tell your local social security office if you receive any of these benefits and you start to receive Attendance Allowance. If you are not already on one of these benefits contact SeniorLine on ( in Northern Ireland) and they will advise you whether it is worth putting in a claim, and when it is best to put in a claim. 3

4 Continuing to claim Disability Living Allowance after you are 65 If you already receive the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance you do not need to put in a separate claim for Attendance Allowance if you now have care needs. Instead you will need to ask the Department for Work and Pensions for a supersession of your Disability Living Allowance claim. Once you are 65 you can only be considered for the middle or highest rate of DLA care component. The qualifying rules and the amounts for the middle and highest rates are the same as for the lower and higher rates of Attendance Allowance (see below). When you ask for a supersession you should ask the Department for Work and Pensions not to look at your mobility component. However, there is always a possibility that they might also consider the mobility component and decide that you are no longer entitled to this. When requesting a supersession it may be worth getting some help from an advice agency such as your local Citizens Advice Bureau. Who can claim Attendance Allowance? In order to qualify for Attendance Allowance, you must need help with your personal care or need someone to supervise or watch over you. There are two rates of Attendance Allowance: i) Higher rate per week To qualify for the higher rate, you need to fulfil certain conditions for help during the day and during the night. These conditions are explained over the next two pages. ii) Lower rate per week To qualify for the lower rate, you need to fulfil the conditions for help either during the day or during the night. These conditions are explained over the next two pages. 4

5 By day, you must need: Frequent attention throughout the day in connection with your bodily functions Bodily functions means things like eating, using the toilet, getting up, washing and dressing, or taking medication. It also means attention with physical activities which allow you to carry out a reasonable level of social, recreational or leisure activity. Over the last few years, court cases have extended the activities which can qualify. In particular blind or deaf people who need help with daily tasks because of their lack of sight or hearing may now qualify. If you have been refused before it may be worth applying again. The attention does not necessarily have to involve physical contact; for instance if somebody has to remind you to take your tablets because you have memory loss, or if you are blind and you need somebody to check your clothes in the morning this still constitutes attention. You must need attention throughout the day. This means in the middle of the day as well as in the morning and evening. But you do not have to need attention every day or continually throughout the day; the pattern of care needed over a period of time is looked at. or Continual supervision throughout the day to avoid substantial danger to yourself or others Supervision means that you need someone to oversee or watch over you. Continual does not mean non-stop; it usually means frequent or regular. The supervision does need to be continual, even if the reason for it, for example wandering or the possibility of an epileptic fit, may only occur occasionally. The substantial danger must be likely, but it need never have actually happened. By night you must need: 5

6 ( night is considered to be the period when the household has closed down for the night) Prolonged or repeated attention in connection with your bodily functions Prolonged attention usually means periods of 20 minutes or more and repeated is usually two times or more. You do not have to need attention every night; the pattern of care needed over a period of time is looked at. Bodily functions means things like using the toilet and being turned in bed. Sleeping is also a bodily function. or Another person to be awake for a prolonged period or at frequent intervals for the purpose of watching over you to avoid substantial danger to yourself or others Frequent intervals usually means at least three times. People who are terminally ill Special rules apply for people who are terminally ill. Once terminal illness has been diagnosed and a doctor has certified that the person could be expected to die within six months, then Attendance Allowance at the highest rate can be claimed at once without fulfilling any other conditions. The claim can be made by a relative or friend without the ill person knowing. The benefit will still be paid to the ill person, but they do not necessarily have to know what has been put on the form or be aware of their condition. Once awarded, Attendance Allowance will be paid indefinitely. But, as with all Attendance Allowance claims, the Department for Work and Pensions can review entitlement to the benefit at any time. When filling in the form check the notes for people claiming under the Special Rules, as not all sections of the form have to be completed. People on renal dialysis 6

7 Special rules apply if you are undergoing renal dialysis on a kidney machine. You can claim lower rate Attendance Allowance if: you are having regular treatment, two or more sessions a week and your dialysis is a type that requires the attendance or supervision of another person or you yourself require attendance or supervision while dialysing If you dialyse in hospital and have no help from a hospital staff member these rules also apply. Other conditions for Attendance Allowance You must be present in the UK and you must normally live in the UK and you must have been in the UK for six out of the past 12 months. You must have needed help for six months. However, there are special rules for people who are terminally ill. You must not be living in hospital. If you are in residential care you must be paying your own fees and not getting help from the local authority (see page 13). You can be living in sheltered housing. How to claim Attendance Allowance Attendance Allowance will only be awarded after you have satisfied the qualifying criteria for six months. If it hasn t been six months yet, but you are likely to continue needing help for some time, put in a claim now so that you will be paid as soon as you are entitled. To claim Attendance Allowance you have to get a claim pack. You can do this by phoning the Disability Benefits Enquiry Line free on (textphone ). If you are in Northern Ireland call 7

8 The claim pack will be date stamped. You should fill it in and return it within six weeks. If you are awarded AA, your benefit will be paid from the date on the form. If you don't return the completed form within six weeks of receiving it, the start date of your benefit will be the day that the Department for Work and Pensions receives your completed form. If you prefer, you can have the form filled in for you over the phone and then posted to you to check and sign. If you are going to do this it is a good idea to get some advice beforehand. Make sure you have had time to think about your condition and how it affects you and prepare what you are going to say. You can also obtain a leaflet DS702 from local social security offices, post offices and libraries. This leaflet includes a reply slip to send for a claim pack. You should complete and send off this reply slip as soon as possible, as the date that the Department for Work and Pensions receives the reply slip will normally be the start date for claiming Attendance Allowance - as long as you return the completed form within six weeks. Your GP, social worker, occupational therapist or someone who knows about your health may be asked to confirm your statements. It is useful to keep a copy of the form, in case you have a medical examination or if your claim is not successful and you request a review. Things to think about before filling in the form: You can really increase your changes of receiving Attendance Allowance if you get some help filling in your claim form. Ask for help from your local Citizens Advice Bureau or an advice centre. Call SeniorLine on ( in Northern Ireland) if you need the address or phone number of a local advice agency. Although a new, shorter, form has been introduced for AA, it is still complicated and you will need to allow yourself plenty of time to fill it in. What you say on the form is very important. You might find it useful to keep a diary for a couple of days, detailing all the instances throughout the day and night when you require attention. If you have a carer they might help you with this. Think about tasks that you manage to do but you struggle with. For 8

9 example, it is quite reasonable to say that you require attention with dressing if you manage to dress yourself in the mornings but it takes you an hour and you are exhausted at the end of it. Make a note of the length of time it takes you to carry out particular tasks. Try to think about your bad days as well as your good days, as these are the times when you need the help most. Thinking positively is not a bad thing but it does not necessarily reflect your situation if you play down the help that you need. Write down a list of the symptoms that you experience and how they affect your ability to carry out every day activities. If there is an organisation linked to your particular condition they might be able to help with this. Over the page, we have listed some organisations that it might be useful for you to contact before filling in the form. Try to give as much detail as possible, however trivial you think it might be. The Department for Work and Pensions will only consider what you write on the form, so don t assume that they will know that you need attention just because you have told them that you have a particular disability. Not everybody with the same condition experiences the same symptoms and some may be caused by sideeffects of medication or other treatment. You may have stopped doing things that you used to enjoy because of your disability. If so, it is important to mention this on the claim form. Part 7 of the claim pack gives you a chance to describe how your illness affects your day-to-day living. You can use this section to tell the Department for Work and Pensions about the attention you might require with social activities, particularly those activities which you may have stopped doing because of your disability. This might include clubs that you belonged to in the past; or maybe you used to participate in religious activities. If you have sight problems or difficulties with hearing you can get advice from specialist organisations on how best to fill out the form. Action for Blind People produce a particularly useful fact sheet on Attendance Allowance and the RNIB produce a checklist to assist when filling out the form. Recent court cases have established that seeing and hearing are bodily functions. So getting help or attention with these will count when claiming Attendance Allowance. See below for addresses. 9

10 Action for Blind People Verney Road London SE16 3DZ Tel: Website: Will give guidance to people who are visually impaired on how best to fill in the form. Alzheimer s Society Gordon House 10 Greencoat Place London SW1P 1PH Tel: (helpline open Mon-Fri, 8.30am-6.30pm) Website: Will advise how to apply the rules to somebody with dementia. British Lung Foundation Goswell Road London EC1V 7ER Tel: Website: If you have chest problems and breathing difficulties you may find it useful to get further information before filling in the form. MENCAP 123 Golden Lane London EC1Y 0RT Helpline: Website: Will advise on how claimants with learning difficulties can qualify for Attendance Allowance. MIND Granta House Broadway London E15 4BQ Helpline: Website: 10

11 Will advise claimants with mental health problems on how they can satisfy the criteria. Parkinson s Disease Society 215 Vauxhall Bridge Road London SW1V 1EJ Helpline: Website: Claimants with Parkinson s Disease can seek specialist advice on claiming. RNIB (Royal National Institute of the Blind) 105 Judd Street London WC1H 9NE Helpline: Website: RNIB has a welfare rights service giving advice to claimants on recent court cases affecting blind and partially sighted claimants. RNID Featherstone Street London EC1Y 8SL Helpline: Textphone: Website: Can advise on how deaf and hard of hearing claimants can satisfy the rules on attention. You may be asked to undergo a medical examination by a Department for Work and Pensions doctor. This is likely to be by appointment in your own home. If possible, have somebody with you such as a friend or relative. If you have any communication or language difficulties tell the Department for Work and Pensions before the visit and they should make arrangements to allow you to participate fully in the examination. 11

12 The checklist on pages 8 and 9 can also be helpful if you are having a visit from a Department for Work and Pensions doctor; it may be particularly useful to keep a list of things that you want the doctor to know. If you are asked to demonstrate how you manage a particular task don t try to do more than you would usually manage, as this will not give a true picture of the help you require. Remember the doctor is not your own GP and will not have an indepth knowledge of your condition and how it affects you. He/she will be relying on you to give them an insight into the help that you need as a result of your disability. If you are refused Attendance Allowance If your claim for Attendance Allowance is turned down, or if you get the lowest rate and you think you should have got the highest rate, you can ask for a revision of the decision. You have one month in which to ask for a revision. If you are still not satisfied, you have the right to a further appeal of the decision. You should get advice from your local Citizens Advice Bureau or advice centre, or phone SeniorLine on ( in Northern Ireland). It is worth using the revision and appeal process many people get their decision changed when they challenge it. If you are receiving Attendance Allowance at the lower rate and your circumstances change, you can ask the Department for Work and Pensions for a supersession of the original decision on your benefit. For instance, if in the past you only required attention during the day but you now need help at night time as well, you should contact the Department for Work and Pensions. Tell them that you need extra help and they will send you a form to fill in. Remember, you do not have to put in a totally fresh claim, you just ask them to re-consider your existing claim. If your supersession is successful, you will be paid the new rate after you have needed the extra help for six months. 12

13 Attendance Allowance and means-tested benefits Attendance Allowance could entitle you to higher levels of Pension Credit, Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit (and rates rebate in Northern Ireland). If you start to get Attendance Allowance remember to tell your local Pension Centre or social services department (for Pension Credit) or the local council (for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit). If you have previously not qualified for any of these benefits, check with an advice agency to see if you may now be entitled. It is important to seek advice about this as soon as you put in a claim for Attendance Allowance so that you can maximise the amount of benefit you receive. Help the Aged produces a free advice leaflet Can You Claim It? for people wondering whether they might be entitled to any means-tested benefits. Attendance Allowance and carers benefits If you receive Attendance Allowance, your carer may qualify for Carer s Allowance. See our advice leaflet, Claiming Disability Benefits and information sheet no. 5 Welfare benefits for carers. Attendance Allowance in a care home If you are self-funding, or in other words paying the full cost of your care yourself with no help from your local authority, you can claim Attendance Allowance, even if you are receiving Pension Credit or other income-related benefits. However, if you are getting financial help from the local authority you will not be able to claim Attendance Allowance. If you are already receiving Attendance Allowance when you enter the home you can continue to receive it for the first four weeks. If you are receiving financial help from the local authority while you sell your property you should still be able to get Attendance Allowance. This is because you are still technically self-funding, as you will be expected to repay any local authority funding you have received once the property has been sold. 13

14 If you stay in a care home on a temporary basis (for example for respite care ), your Attendance Allowance will not be affected, unless you are there for more than four weeks. After four weeks, if you are not self-funding, it will be withdrawn until you leave the home. Stays that are less than 28 days apart will be added together and counted as one stay, so a number of short stays close together could affect the amount of Attendance Allowance you receive. In Scotland, your Attendance Allowance will stop four weeks after you move into a care home if you get money from the local authority towards the costs of your personal care. You can get advice from your local Citizens Advice Bureau or advice centre or phone SeniorLine on ( in Northern Ireland). Attendance Allowance in hospital After four weeks in hospital your Attendance Allowance will stop. When you are discharged you should notify the Department for Work and Pensions and they will start paying it again. You do not have to put in a new claim. If you enter into hospital for short periods, with less than 28 days between stays, they will be added together. After a total of four weeks your Attendance Allowance will stop. If you are terminally ill and staying in a non-nhs hospice, you can continue to receive your Attendance Allowance. Useful Organisations Department for Work and Pensions Benefits Enquiry Line (disability benefits): (textphone ). If you are in Northern Ireland call Call the Benefits Enquiry Line or look in the phone book under S for your local social security office. 14

15 DIALs provide information and advice to disabled people. For contact details of your local DIAL look in your phone book or on the DIAL UK website ( or contact: DIAL UK St Catherine's Tickhill Road Doncaster DN4 8QN Telephone: Disability Alliance Disability Alliance produces a guide to benefits for disabled people. The Disability Rights Handbook costs ( to people on benefit) including postage. It is available from: Disability Alliance Universal House, Wentworth Street London E1 7SA Rights advice line (voice and text): , Mondays and Wednesdays 2pm to 4pm. Website: 15

16 For further information contact: Information Resources Team Help the Aged Pentonville Road London N1 9UZ Tel: People with access to the Internet can download our information sheets and advice leaflets by logging on to: SeniorLine is the free welfare rights advice and information service run by Help the Aged for older people and their carers. Trained advice workers offer free, confidential and impartial advice about: Welfare and disability benefits Community and residential care Housing options and adaptations Access to health and community services Equipment to assist independence Support for carers Agencies offering local practical help Telephone: Minicom: For SeniorLine in Northern Ireland phone am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. Your call will be free of charge. IS(NO)3 Summer 1992 (DH) Last revised: April 2004 (JC) Next update due: April 2005 Help the Aged is a registered charity No Registered in England at the above address. 16