Benefit entitlement rates for older people from April 2009
03.04.2009
We have a welfare rights team who will be able to advise you on the following benefits, click here for details.
Attendance allowance
This is for people aged 65 and over who are physically or mentally ill or disabled and need help with personal care. For example:
- help with dressing
- washing or moving around at home;
- people who need supervision or watching over in case they hurt themselves or others.
There are two weekly rates:
- £47.10 a week (from April 2009) if you need help in the day or the night.
- £70.35 if you need help both day and night.
Disability living allowance
This is for people who become disabled and make a claim before age 65. It has a care part and a mobility part.
The care part has three rates:
- £70.35
- £47.10
- £18.65
The top two rates are paid for the same reasons as Attendance Allowance. You will get the lower rate if you only need help for some of the day. The mobility part is for people who cannot walk, have great difficulty walking or who need someone with them when walking outdoors. It is paid at two rates:
- £49.10
- £18.65
If you are a carer
Carer’s Allowance is a benefit for people who are providing at least 35 hours a week of care for someone who receives Attendance Allowance or the top or middle rate care part of Disability Living Allowance.
The weekly rate of Carer’s Allowance from April 2009 is £53.10 but it cannot be paid if you are already receiving a full state pension or certain other benefits. However even if you cannot be paid Carer’s Allowance, because you have a state pension, it may still be worth claiming because you could get extra money through Pension Credit, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit.
We recommend that you speak with Age Concern Norwich before claiming carers allowance because it could effect the benefits received by the person you're caring for.
How to pay less council tax or rent
Over recent years many older people have been facing large increases in their Council Tax bills yet you could be one of over a million pensioners who could reduce their bills by claiming Council Tax Benefit.
There are also other ways to reduce the amount you have to pay which don’t depend on your income and savings. And if you are a tenant make sure you are not missing out on benefit that would reduce the amount of rent you pay.
- If you live alone, make sure that you are getting the 25% discount.
- There are also other discounts – for example these may apply to people who are severely mentally impaired or to some carers.
- The disability reduction scheme can reduce your bill if your home has features that are important for a disabled person living there such as space for a wheelchair or an extra room for their use.
- You may qualify for help from more than one scheme – for example a person living alone getting the 25% discount may also be entitled to Council Tax Benefit.
Fuel bills and other costs
Winter Fuel Payments
The Winter Fuel Payment is an annual payment. The qualifying week for 2009/2010 is 21 to 27 September 2009.
Winter fuel payments are paid to most people aged 60 and over. Payments are £200 for each eligible household; £300 when someone in the household is 80 or over.
- If 2 or more people in a household qualify, they will normally receive a half payment each. Payments should be made automatically to most people but some (eg: men of 60-64 not receiving Pension Credit) will need to make a claim.
- Cold weather payments of £8.50 are automatically paid in weeks when the weather is especially cold, to people over 60 getting Pension Credit.
- There is a system of grants towards energy efficiency measures and improvements to heating systems which could help reduce the level of your bills.
- You might be able to save money by changing suppliers.
Help with health costs
Prescriptions and sight tests are free to people aged 60 and over, but other health costs such as dental treatment and glasses can be expensive.
If you get the guarantee part of Pension Credit, you should get free dental treatment, travel costs to hospital, and help towards glasses.
Even if you don’t get the guarantee credit, you may still get some help towards these costs if you have a low income and no more than £16,000 savings (£8,000 if you are under 60).
You need to fill in form HC1. Ask your dentist, optician etc, before paying for treatment.
Illness and disability benefits
Many older people are missing out on benefits that help with sickness and disability, such as Attendance Allowance (if you are over 65) or Disability Living Allowance if you are younger.
These allowances are not based on income and savings and it does not matter whether you have help from another person or not.
Help if you have a low income
Pension Credit
Nearly half of all pensioners are entitled to Pension Credit which was introduced in October 2003. Many people who could be getting this extra money have not yet made a claim.
If you are not sure whether you could get extra help from Pension Credit it can do no harm to claim anyway.
Pension Credit has two parts:
- The guarantee credit for people aged 60 and over which should ensure that all single people have an income of at least £130.00 a week and couples at least £198.45 a week (from April 2009). These levels may be higher if you are severely disabled, a carer or have certain housing costs.
- The savings credit of up to £20.40 for a single person or £27.03 for a couple provides extra cash to people of 65 and over with modest incomes who have made savings for retirement, for example through an occupational pension.
- You may get guarantee credit, savings credit or both.
- There is no upper savings limit for Pension Credit but if you have savings over £6,000 this will reduce the amount of benefit you get.
Concessions and help with occasional expenses
The Social Fund may be able to provide lump sum cash payments to cover extra expenses that you find difficult to meet from your weekly income. To apply for these you usually need to be receiving certain other benefits. Payments include:
- Funeral payments (but don’t make any arrangements until you have checked to see whether you can get any help).
- Community care grants for those getting Pension Credit to help you live independently at home - they can be for things such as beds, cookers, removal costs or certain travel costs.
- Budgeting or crisis loans, but these have to be repaid.
Other concessions are available to all people over a certain age – for example
- All local authorities offer free off-peak local bus travel to people aged 60 or over, and those with disabilities. There may also be other travel concessions and reductions available.
- TV licences are free for households with a person aged 75 or over. People who are registered blind can receive a 50% reduction.
State pension
The State Pension is based on National Insurance contributions and is paid to people who have reached pension age (currently 60 for women, 65 for men).
The full Basic Pension is £95.25 and the pension for a married woman on her husband’s contributions is £57.05.
If you do not have enough contributions for a full pension, you may get a reduced pension or may not get one at all. On the other hand on top of the basic pension many people get other amounts such as:
- graduated pension
- the state additional pension
- extra for putting off drawing the pension
- an extra 25 pence for reaching 80.
Divorced or widowed people may be able to use their former spouse’s record to get a pension or increase their pension.
Although most people are entitled to a pension, you have to make a claim to receive it.
If you have not been contacted about claiming your state pension by 3 months before you are due to reach pension age, ring the Pension Service on 0845 300 1084.