How to qualify for carer's allowance in the UK
Carer's allowance (CA) is a state benefit which one can get if he is caring for a disabled individual. It is not necessary that the person you are caring for is related to you. Aside from providing consistent care for a disabled person, you would also have to meet several other requirements for you to qualify for CA.
Age, 35 hour rule, salary cap, and qualifying benefits
Age
You can apply for and claim carer’s allowance if you are 16 years old or more. CA does not have any upper age limit. Anyone who is 65 years old or older and getting Carer’s Allowance since October 2002 can still continue to receive it, even if he has stopped caring for an individual or has started to earn wages which is more than the earnings limit.
35-hour rule
To qualify for CA, you must also have rendered or provided at least 35 hours of care for the same individual. If you are providing care for two or more individuals, you cannot add up the total number of hours of all to meet the
35-hour rule. Besides, you can only claim for one lot of Carer’s Allowance even if you are looking after more than one person. The 35 hours during which you have provided care should be within a week’s time, from Sunday to Saturday. You also cannot average out the number of weeks to meet the rule. For you to qualify for allowance, you should render at least 35 hours of care in each week.
Salary cap
To qualify for Carer’s Allowance, you must also abide by the cap of salaries for other jobs. There is a limit as to how much you can earn from other work when you are receiving CA. However, your savings account is immaterial when applying for CA and would not affect the outcome of your application.
Qualifying benefits
For you to also qualify for CA, the person who you are providing care for should receive any one of the following benefits:
1) Disability living allowance
2) Attendance allowance
3) Constant attendance allowance of at least £60.20 a week (price seen on Nhs.uk)
Education restrictions and where you can claim CA
Education restrictions
You would not be able to qualify for carer’s allowance if you're studying
on a full-time basis or on a holiday from full-time education. The education provider is the one who decides whether a particular course is full-time or not. However, if your school considers your course of study to be part-time but you're required to attend classes for 21 hours or more every week, it will be considered as full-time.
Where you can claim your CA
You must claim direct your CA in the UK and not anywhere else.