Unpaid carers may be eligible to claim an extra £168 a month outside of Carer’s Allowance if they get a certain benefit. The top-up would be on outside of their Carer’s Allowance payments available through the Carer’s Element of Universal Credit.
Universal Credit claimants are able to receive this element if they look after someone for at least 35 hours per week.
Applicants do not need to be claiming Carer’s Allowance to apply for this element of Universal Credit.
This is separate benefit support from Carer’s Allowance, which is more commonly associated with carers.
If someone qualifies for Universal Credit, they may be able to get an extra amount because of their caring role. This is known as the “carer element”.
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To apply for this element, claimants must have “regular and substantial caring responsibilities” for a “severely disabled person”, according to the DWP.
The carer element of Universal Credit is worth £168.81 a month for the 2022-23 financial year, it’s worth £38.85 a week.
With inflation sitting at 10.5 percent and the cost of living crisis worsening, any extra cash could be vital for those families feeling the financial squeeze.
This element will be added to the maximum amount of Universal Credit where the claimant has regular and substantial caring responsibilities.
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For those who are making a joint claim, couples are able to get Carer’s Element each if they both qualify for it.
It should be noted that couples who make a joint claim are not allowed to be looking after the same disabled person or individual in need.
While Carer’s Allowance claimants are stopped from getting the full amount if they earn above a specific threshold of £132 a week, the Carer’s Element does not have a similar cut off.
For the Carer’s Element, the level of earnings does not prevent the person from claiming.
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However, Universal Credit is means-tested which means someone’s earnings and other income will impact how much payment they will get.
Applicants must inform the Universal Credit office that they are an unpaid carer, using their online journal or calling if they are a telephone claimant.
On its website, Carers UK shared how applying for the Universal Credit element often works and warned how the person being looked after by the carer could be affected.
The charity stated: “You must tell the Universal Credit office that you are a carer using your online journal or calling if you are a telephone claimant.
“This is because they will not automatically know this and apply the element, even if you are getting Carer’s Allowance.
“You can inform them of your caring role even if you are yet to claim, or not going to claim Carer’s Allowance.
“One important thing to note is that if the person you are looking after receives a severe disability premium (or addition) within their means-tested legacy benefits, they will lose this if your Universal Credit includes a carer element (regardless of whether or not you are also claiming Carer’s Allowance).”
Claiming the Carer’s Element of Universal Credit could affect the benefits the carer is looking after.
