CARERS allowance is a benefit awarded to people giving regular care to someone who is disabled or unwell.
To qualify for the allowance you must spend at least 35 hours a week looking after the vulnerable person.
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You can receive up to £81.90 per week from the government and you do not need to be related or live with the person you are caring for.
But you should be aware that there is a cut off point on how much money you can earn from a second income before the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) stops your benefit.
Currently, it stands at £151 per week, if you go over this amount you could risk losing all your benefit.
The figure was previously £139 but it was increased in April 2024 to £151.
Benefits and tax thresholds tend to change every April in line with the new tax year.
This is different to other benefits, like Universal Credit, which has a tapered approach to earnings so that those who do work don’t lose all of their money at once.
It also important to note that the DWP will looks to get any overpaid benefits back.
However, in some cases, the government department doesn’t flag earnings limit breaches for several years.
This means people have overpaid massive sums which have to be repaid.
If you don’t engage with the repayment process, you can even be taken to county court.
During 2022-23, some 26,700 carers were asked to repay sums relating to earnings breaches.
More than 800 were repaying sums between £5,000 and £20,000, and 36 were repaying more than £20,000
You should also be aware that there is no time limit on how far back the DWP can go to spot erroneous carer’s allowance payments and demand money back.
What to do if you breach the earnings limit
If you breach the £151 earnings limit, you should try and proactively report it to the DWP as it is classed as a change in circumstances.
Are you missing out on benefits?
YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to
Charity Turn2Us’ benefits calculator works out what you could get.
Entitledto’s free calculator determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit.
MoneySavingExpert.com and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto’s data.
You can use Policy in Practice’s calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you’ll have left over each month after paying for housing costs.
Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for.
You can report any change in circumstances online via the Government’s website.
But you’ll need your National Insurance (NI) number to hand, details of the person you’re caring for and details of the change.
If you have been overpaid Carer’s Allowance, you will have to pay it back in full or instalments via the DWP Debt Management platform.
This is also on the Government’s website.
If you don’t do this, the DWP can take deductions from your work salary, or even pass your case on to a debt collector.
If you don’t engage with the debt collector, it may then take your case to the county courts.
You can dispute an overpayment if you don’t agree with it, but you’ll need evidence as to why you claim to not have overpaid.
You can do this via what’s known as a “mandatory reconsideration”, which you can submit to the DWP online, via phone or by letter.
The specific contact details you’ll need to send any correspondence to will be on the decision letter you receive from the DWP.
Once the DWP has received your mandatory reconsideration, you will receive a “mandatory reconsideration notice” informing you whether it has changed its decision.
If you disagree with that outcome, you can appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal.
A judge will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision.