Carer’s Allowance in Northern Ireland
If you’re aged 16 or over and spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone who is ill or has a disability, you may be eligible to claim Carer’s Allowance.
Eligibility
Both you and the person you are caring for must meet certain criteria to qualify for Carer’s Allowance, noted briefly below
The person you care for must get one of the following benefits:
- Personal Independence Payment – daily living component
- Disability Living Allowance – the middle or highest rate for personal care
- Attendance Allowance
- Constant Attendance Allowance – at no less than the full day rate
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- Child Disability Payment – the middle or highest care rate (this benefit is only available in Scotland)
You must
- earn no more than £151 a week, (2024-25 figure) after some expenses have been deducted
- be aged over 16
- spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone who is ill or has a disability
- have lived in Northern Ireland for at least two of the last three years before your claim
- live permanently in Northern Ireland, or live abroad as a member of the armed forces or with someone in the armed forces
- be living (or treated as living) in Northern Ireland when you claim
- not be under immigration control
- not be in full time education (21 hours or more a week)
If another person also cares for the same person, only one of you can get Carer’s Allowance. If you care for more than one person, you cannot add together the hours you do to make 35 hours. It is worth noting that more than one person in the same household can claim Carer’s Allowance, eg: a couple caring for each other can make separate claims.
Carer’s Allowance is not a means tested benefit, but it may affect other benefits that you, or the person you are caring for, receive so you should check before making a claim.
Full details on Carer’s Allowance, eligibility criteria and the claiming process are available at NI Direct.
Cross Border issues
Carer’s Allowance is covered by the principles of the main benefit co-ordination rules and the UK-Ireland Convention on Social Security, meaning that it may be possible to continue to claim it if you travel or move abroad.
See also:
For Advisors:
The Kavanagh Case reinforces that the genuine and sufficient link in disability benefits is to the UK as a whole, not simply the UK’s social security system, and both objective evidence but also motives, intentions and expectations of the claimant are relevant in establishing the link.
This is a helpful case to refer to when looking at the past presence tests for the following disability benefits: Carer’s Allowance(CA), Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independence Payment(PIP), Attendance Allowance(AA). Source: CPAG – DLA and the genuine and sufficient link requirement
Page last checked: October 2024
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