Attendance Allowance is a benefit administered by the Department for Work and Pensions and offers claimants up to £441 each month depending on the severity of their situation.
It has broad eligibility criteria, with many common health conditions qualifying a person for the support.
The sum is not means tested, so what a person earns or how much they have in savings will not impact what they receive.
The payment is worth either £68.10 or £101.75 each week and is intended for those who are both:
More than 1.4 million older people were receiving additional financial support by the end of November 2022, according to latest figures from the (DWP)
Many more people may be entitled to Attendance Allowance but simply do not know enough about it to make a claim.
The benefit is paid at two different rates, and how much someone gets depends on the level of care they need.
However, it is important to note a person does not actually have to have someone caring for them in order to claim.
The most common disabling condition – an umbrella term used by the DWP – is arthritis which provides support for 410,637 people across Great Britain according to the Daily Record.
While arthritis is the most common condition being claimed for through Attendance Allowance, there are also 62,211 pensioners claiming support for back pain. Back pain, particularly lower back pain, is very common.
The 10 conditions listed below are supporting 1,051,178 of the 1.5 million total number of people receiving Attendance Allowance.
Main conditions and number of claimants across Great Britain:
- Arthritis – 410,637
- Dementia – 144,971
- Heart Disease – 101,018
- Respiratory Conditions – 84,197
- Disease Of The Muscles, Bones or Joints – 70,926
- Cerebrovascular Disease – 67,309
- Back Pain – 60,639
- Visual Disorders and Diseases – 45,138
- Parkinson’s – 37,082
- Neurological Conditions – 29,261
Attendance Allowance helps with extra costs if you have a physical or mental disability or illness severe enough that makes it hard for you to look after yourself – it does not cover mobility needs.
People should consider applying for Attendance Allowance if they have a disability or illness and need help or supervision throughout the day or at times during the night -even if they do not currently get that help.
This might include:
-
Help with personal care – for example getting dressed, eating or drinking, getting in and out of bed, bathing or showering and going to the toilet
-
Help to stay safe
Attendance Allowance can be claimed using the dedicated claim form to apply by post. The form will come with notes telling a person how it should be filled in. This can then be sent to Freepost DWP Attendance Allowance, and a postcode or stamp is not required.
At least 56 health conditions could mean a person qualifies for support through Attendance Allowance.
These are as follows:
- Arthritis
- Spondylosis
- Back Pain – Other / Precise Diagnosis not Specified
- Disease of The Muscles, Bones or Joints
- Trauma to Limbs
- Blindness
- Deafness
- Heart disease
- Chest disease
- Asthma
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Cerebrovascular Disease
- Peripheral vascular Disease
- Epilepsy
- Neurological Diseases
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Motor Neurone Disease
- Chronic Pain Syndromes
- Diabetes Mellitus
- Metabolic Disease
- Traumatic Paraplegia/Tetraplegia
- Major Trauma Other than Traumatic Paraplegia/Tetraplegia
- Learning Difficulties
- Psychosis
- Psychoneurosis
- Personality Disorder
- Dementia
- Behavioural Disorder
- Alcohol and Drug Abuse
- Hyperkinetic syndrome
- Renal Disorders
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Bowel and Stomach Disease
- Blood Disorders
- Haemophilia
- Multi System Disorders
- Multiple Allergy Syndrome
- Skin Disease
- Malignant Disease
- Severely Mentally impaired
- Double Amputee
- Deaf/Blind
- Haemodialysis
- Frailty
- Total Parenteral Nutrition
- AIDS
- Infectious diseases: Viral disease – Coronavirus COVID-19
- Infectious diseases: Viral disease – precise diagnosis not specified
- Infectious diseases: Bacterial disease – Tuberculosis
- Infectious diseases: Bacterial disease – precise diagnosis not specified
- Infectious diseases: Protozoal disease – Malaria
- Infectious diseases: Protozoal disease – other / precise diagnosis not specified
- Infectious diseases – other / precise diagnosis not specified
- Cognitive disorder – other / precise diagnosis not specified
- Terminal Illness.
