denotes premium content | Jan 10 2009 Feature
posted 1 Mar 1997 in Volume 2 Issue 3
FORUM
Countdown for Carers
It is starting to look as if April 1 is going to be an important watershed for those who care for an elderly friend or relative. The Government is tightening up the rules that currently allow a carer to back-date claims for state help. At present, a carer can back-date a claim for state help for up to 12 months. From April 1, however, the maximum any claim can be back-dated becomes 3 months. While the Government envisages that this will save £55m a year, the prospects for carers themselves appear to be less rosy.
There are already many complications for the carer who wishes to claim benefit: those who look after someone for at least 35 hours per week can claim Invalid Care Allowance (ICA). But there are prerequisites: the carer must be under 65 with average earnings of less the £50 per week after tax, National Insurance Contributions and 50% of pension contributions. From April, the ICA is worth £37.35 a week; however, it is taxable for anyone whose income exceeds their personal allowance.
To make matters just a little more complex, the sick or elderly patient must be receiving a specific state benefit (the Disability Allowance or the Attendance Allowance) for the carer to be eligible for the ICA. If they are attempting to submit a back-dated claim, it is clearly important for the carer to make sure their patient has been claiming the relevant benefit. In addition, those who already claim other benefits could find that they are jeopardised by any new claim: for instance, the Severe Disability Premium claimed by a disabled person living alone will be lost if someone looks after them and claims the ICA.
If the payment of an allowance has been held up for any reason, this delays the carer's ability to apply for their own ICA allowance. Technically they will suffer under the new rules; however, the Benefits Agency concedes that there may be cases in which it might consider back-dating a claim beyond 3 months.
Or course, people are often unaware of their entitlements - they may be so engrossed in what they are doing as carers, their last thought is to fill in forms and claim what is their by right.
The Department of Social Security has set up a help-line for this very purpose on: 0800 882200.
There is also a form filling help-line on: 0800 441144.
All of this means that those carers seeking to back-date claims for state help must do so NOW - or else they risk losing out. According to Jill Harrison, of the Carers National Association, carers should act to get what is rightfully due to them:
"Carers represent the country's largest unpaid workforce. They should not ignore their rightful benefits".
Whatever the ethics of the Government's standpoint, there is no time to lose.
James Roberts, Assistant Editor
