Applying for the Higher Rate of Attendance Allowance

Nick Pensions & Benefits benefits 2 Comments

I recently helped an elderly friend apply for the higher rate of Attendance Allowance. She was already receiving the lower rate, but sadly suffered a stroke which badly affected her balance and mobility.

As Pounds and Sense is aimed especially at older people (and those caring for them) I thought it might be of interest to describe what the process involves and my personal experiences with it. But first, let’s recap on the basics.

What is Attendance Allowance?

As I said in my original blog post about Attendance Allowance, this is a UK welfare benefit available to people who have reached state pension age who need help caring for themselves due to illness or disability. If you haven’t yet reached state pension age, the equivalent benefit is Personal Independence Payment or PIP. It is thought that millions of older people who would be eligible for Attendance Allowance are not currently receiving it.

How Much Is It?

Attendance Allowance is paid at two different rates according to how much help and care you need.

The lower rate (currently £60 a week) is paid to people who need care through the day OR night

The higher rate (currently £89.60 a week) is paid if you need care through the day AND night, or if you are terminally ill.

Payments are normally made every four weeks direct to your bank account. The money is yours to spend as you wish to make your life a bit easier.

It is worth noting that you do not need to have someone currently caring for you in order to claim. Eligibility is based on your need for care rather than whether you are actually receiving it.

Another important point is that Attendance Allowance is not means-tested – eligibility is based purely on your care needs. Also, it is not taxable and will not normally affect your entitlement to other welfare benefits. Indeed, you may also be eligible for extra Pension Credit, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction if you receive Attendance Allowance.

Attendance Allowance is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) rather than local councils. In Northern Ireland the Department for Communities (DfC) has responsibility for it.

There is a long (31 pages) and detailed application form. You can either download this from the government website or you can phone them on 0800 731 0122 and ask for a form to be sent to you. In Northern Ireland you can download the form from this site or phone the Disability and Carers Service on 0800 587 0912. You can apply yourself or someone else can apply on your behalf (with your permission, of course).

Applying for the Higher Rate

Most people first applying for Attendance Allowance are awarded the lower rate. This is because they need help and support during the day but not (normally) at night. But of course – as in the case of my friend – that can change if your condition worsens.

If you – or the person you’re caring for – regularly need help during the night as well as the day, you may become eligible for the higher rate of Attendance Allowance. This also applies if you are diagnosed terminally ill (someone is classified as terminally ill if they are not expected to live longer than six months).

Anyway, after my friend had her stroke and received her diagnosis (this was delayed by a few weeks for reasons discussed below), I realised that she should now be eligible for the higher rate. Because of her reduced mobility and balance problems she now needs help getting to the bathroom at night, which previously she could manage herself. She also needs help taking medication at night, and so forth. All this means she does now regularly require assistance during the night as well as the day. So I phoned up the DWP Attendance Allowance helpline on the number above.

I spoke to a helpful young woman who asked me a few questions about my friend and how I was connected to her. I explained that I was an old family friend and had originally helped her apply for Attendance Allowance two years earlier. She accepted this without a quibble. She then asked me a few questions about my friend and why she (and I) believed she might now be eligible for the higher rate. I explained that – as stated above – due to her stroke she now required support at night as well as during the day.

The official told me she would be sending my friend a couple of forms to fill in. She reassured me that these were not as long as the original AA claim form, which I was pleased to hear. She said once they had received these they would re-evaluate her application. She cautioned me that this could result in her allowance being reduced as well as increased, which I duly noted.

Completing the Forms

I was told the forms could take up to 10 working days to arrive, but in fact they turned up at my friend’s house the next day. The form reference numbers were DBD420 and DBD138.

Form DBD420 comprises 5 pages. The first three pages are actually a letter explaining what you need to do with this and the other form. On pages 4 and 5 you are asked to explain why you are asking them to look at your application again. You are also asked why you didn’t get in touch sooner if your circumstances changed before the date you contacted them (shown on the form). This is an important point, so I’ll say a few more words about it now.

Unless you have a terminal diagnosis, you won’t become eligible for the higher rate of AA until six months after the change in your condition occurred. This is obviously somewhat arbitrary and you could argue that it is unfair, but that’s the rule. So it is important to contact DWP as soon as possible after your condition worsens, even though this may not be your top priority if you have just suffered a stroke 😮

In my friend’s case, she didn’t get an immediate diagnosis as the initial hospital tests were inconclusive. She therefore had to go back as an outpatient for an MRI scan. There was then a wait of several weeks until she got a letter confirming she had indeed suffered a stroke. I felt it would be best to wait until she had a definite diagnosis before applying for the higher rate of AA. In retrospect that might have been a mistake, although it’s hard to say for sure. But anyway, form DBD420 let’s you explain the reason there may have been a delay in applying, so we provided details as above. We also enclosed the diagnosis letter my friend (eventually) received.

The other form is DBD138. This is 11 pages long. I won’t go into detail about it here, but essentially it asks for information about your medical condition/s and – crucially – what help you need during the night and how many times. Inevitably this caused us a bit of head-scratching, but we filled it in to the best of our ability. It is important to note that you DON’T need to require constant watching over at night to qualify for the higher rate of Attendance Allowance. There must be a regular requirement for help at night, though – it can’t just be a one-off. Night is defined on the form as ‘when the household has closed down at the end of the day’ which made us think a bit of Downton Abbey 🙂

The Outcome

We sent off the forms in the reply-paid envelope provided. After three weeks my friend received a letter from DWP which was basically just an acknowledgment of the original query. Then the next day, rather to our surprise, a longer letter arrived confirming that her application had been reviewed and she was now eligible for the higher rate of Attendance Allowance.

The start date for the higher rate was six months after the date she suffered her stroke, which is what we requested on the form. Obviously, I was pleased about this and so was my friend. Although the extra money won’t compensate her for the loss of mobility she has suffered, she will be able to use it to pay for things that will make life a little more comfortable for her going forward.

If you (or someone you know) find yourself in a similar position to my friend, I hope you will find these notes helpful. As always, if you have any comments or questions, do post them below. But please bear in mind that I am not a trained welfare worker or financial adviser. If you need in-depth help, I would try Citizens Advice or an organization like Carers UK.