Attendance Allowance can be fast tracked for terminally ill people

Attendance Allowance: Age UK helps man claim benefit

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

People in this situation can get the higher rate of the benefit and get the money paid straight away, rather than the usual requirement of having needed the support for six months. The DWP also deals with the individual’s claim more quickly than they usually would, to ensure they can get the benefit as soon as possible.

Attendance Allowance provides support to people of state pension age who need help from another person with their daily living needs.

Payments include a lower rate of £61.85 a week and a higher rate of £92.40 a week, with the payments to increase by 10.1 percent next year.

A person can claim the support if they need help with either a physical or mental disability.

In England, Wales and Scotland, a person can apply under the special rules if they have a disease that is expected to get worse over time, and their healthcare professional thinks they may have less than six months left to live.

In Northern Ireland, a claimant can apply under the special rules if they have a disease that will get worse, and their healthcare professional thinks they have less than 12 months to live.

If a person is claiming under the special rules, they should tick the box at Question 12 of the claim form, to say they are applying in this way.

It’s important to tick this box as Government guidance states: “If you do not tick this box, we cannot normally pay you under the special rules.”

To help the department deal with the claim of a terminally ill person as quickly as possible, applicants should also send a DS1500 report with their claim.

This is a free report that outlines the person’s medical condition and can be provided by a doctor or specialist.

Most GP practices provide the report very quickly and it can be handed over in a sealed envelope to protect the person’s privacy.

A person can also put in a claim under the special rules on behalf of another person. There is no need to inform the person who the claim is for.

In this case, the DWP will usually write to the claimant and tell them if they can get Attendance Allowance, but they will not say that this is under the special rules.

If a person is filling in the form for someone else as part of their job, they do not need to include their own National Insurance number or date of birth in the form.

Illnesses or conditions that may be considered terminal include cancer, organ failure, dementia, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis. However, these conditions may not be terminal, so it’s important to check with a healthcare professional.

People who go into an NHS hospital will usually see their payments stop after 28 days.

Those who are terminally ill and who go into a hospice will usually continue to receive the benefit.

Attendance Allowance is set to increase by 10.1 percent, after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed in the Autumn Statement that benefits would increase in line with inflation.

This means the lower rate will go up from £61.85 to £68.10 while the higher rate will increase from £92.40 to £101.73.

Other benefits also increasing by 10.1 percent from next April include Carer’s Allowance, PIP and Universal Credit.

A full list of the benefits set to be uprated and how much they will be after the increase is available here.

Source: Read Full Article