Quote:
Originally Posted by Taf
It is also bizarre that a Carer's private pensions do not count as income, so Carers Allowance continues, but as soon as they get the State Pension, it is stopped due to a DWP rule about "overlapping benefits".
Since when is the State Pension a "Benefit"? 
I missed out on the £500 "thankyou" payment for Carers in Wales due to this. By 2 weeks! |
Carers Allowance used to stop completely once a carer reached pension age. The Blair Government changed this to help carers not entitled to a state pension or only entitled to a very small pension equal to less than the amount of Carers Allowance- for these people the change was beneficial.
However, as you say, due to the overlapping benefits rule (this is where a person is entitled to more than one benefit, so only receives the higher of those available) anyone with a state pension over £69.70 will lose their Carers Allowance. It's still important that they make a claim though as underlying benefit entitlement still attracts extra payments for means tested benefits such as Univetsal Credit, Income Support, Pension Credit etc.
I find it interesting that the Government thinks that caring for someone for 35 hours or more per week is only worth £69.70, yet a completely unemployed person (over 25) is entitled to £77 a week!
Carers save this country an absolute fortune and if they were to ever relinquish their caring commitments we would be in a complete mess. However, the Government know full well that carers aren't likely to abandon their loved ones and take full advantage of this.