Changes to Carer’s Allowance means tens of thousands of people could soon become eligible for the payment, worth £4,258 a year.
The Government is to increase the upper earnings limit for the benefit, currently set at £151 a week, meaning more carers will be eligible for the DWP benefit, which pays £81.90 a week, or £4,258.80 a year.
The upper earnings rule has caused many claimants to be overpaid with some 134,800 people owing funds to the DWP as of May 2024, mostly due to carers breaching the earnings limit.
Your income must not exceed £151 a week after tax and expenses are deducted. Carers UK previously warned that many claimants were unknowingly being overpaid as they were “not understanding the rules”.
The Government is to carry out a formal review into the overpayments scandal. Suzanne Bourne, head of Carer Support at Mobilise, said: “It is especially important to be aware of exactly how much you earn – this earnings ‘threshold’ is where the recent issues have come from.
“Currently, it’s up to the individual to check they are not exceeding this limit to avoid having to repay any overpayments. Although there are plans to automatically alert people at risk of falling into this trap, this is not yet the case.”
To be eligible for Carer’s Allowance, you have to care for someone for at least 35 hours a week and they must be on a qualifying benefit.
The person you care for needs to be on one of these benefits:
- Personal Independence Payment – daily living component
- Disability Living Allowance – the middle or highest care rate
- Attendance Allowance
- Constant Attendance Allowance at or above the normal maximum rate with an Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
- Constant Attendance Allowance at the basic (full day) rate with a War Disablement Pension
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- Child Disability Payment – the middle or highest care rate
- Adult Disability Payment – daily living component at the standard or enhanced rate.
Mobilise has a Carer’s Allowance checker tool to find out if you can claim the DWP benefit.
A report from Carers UK found reasons for carers going over the earnings limit included fluctuating earnings, receiving a pay rise, or errors on the part of an employer, such as paying them late.
One carer spoke about the pressure from the DWP to pay back the amount they owed: “It pushed me over the edge as the letters were very threatening and on top of my caring responsibilities it made me ill.
“I was scared and felt under constant threat from debt collectors and being taken to court.”
In the report, Carers UK called for Carer’s Allowance to increase by at least £11.10 a week and for the earnings threshold to be set in line with 21 hours a week at the National Living Wage.
