To be eligible for Attendance Allowance you will need to show:
- You have reached state pension age.
- You have a physical or mental disability – this can include sensory issues, blindness or learning difficulties etc.
- Your disability is severe enough to warrant attention or supervision for your care or safety.
- Your conditions have been present for the last six months at the time of making an application – unless you are terminally ill, then ‘special rules’ will apply.
If you have reached your State Pension Age and you already have an existing claim for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Adult Disability Living Allowance (DLA), you cannot make a new claim for Attendance Allowance.
It is paid at two different rates – £73.90 and £110.40.
Unlike Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance does not have a mobility component. Attendance Allowance will only look at the level of care you need during the day, and or, night.
Attendance Allowance is awarded based on whether you meet a daytime or a night-time condition.
Daytime conditions
A claimant must show that they are so severely disabled, physically, or mentally, that they need either:
- frequent attention throughout the day in connection with their bodily functions; or
- continual supervision throughout the day to avoid danger to themselves or others.
Night-time Conditions
A claimant must show that they are so severely disabled, physically, or mentally, that they need either:
- prolonged or repeated attention throughout the night-time in connection with their bodily functions; or
- another person to be awake during the night-time for prolonged periods or at frequent intervals to watch over them to avoid substantial danger to themselves or others
Useful pages: Citizen’s advice and the Government website.