Applying for attendance allowance

[Natalie J]

Hi folks,

Have any of you had to apply for attendance allowance on behalf of the person you are caring for?

I haven't got power of attorney (in process of applying for it though) and my relative's short term memory is atrocious but she doesn't yet have a diagnosis, and is in denial and quite proud so may not be too keen on the idea of me trying to get her this extra money, but her care is jolly expensive and I'm trying to conserve her savings for what I anticipate to be increased care costs. She does rely heavily on privately funded carers at the moment visiting her 9 times a week though to support her with many day to day activities.

I'm working on the assumption that she isn't already in receipt of attendance allowance, because I can't think who would have applied for it on her behalf and I can't imagine she could have done so herself. However, I'd like to make sure before I start tackling the forms as I've heard they are monstrous. I can access her bank statements showing her pensions etc. but I've been told the attendance allowance is bundled in with the pension so will not show as a separate entry, therefore I would need to track down a pension statement in order to be able to tell or contact the DWP.

As I don't have LPA I don't think the DWP will speak to me, so just looking for suggestions if anyone knows anything about this and might be able to offer some guidance?

Many thanks,

Natalie

 

[Louise7]

Hi @Natalie J my mum receives Attendance Allowance and State Pension but the payments are not combined, they show up separately on her bank statements as 'DWP SP' and 'DWP AA'. The State Pension is paid weekly and the Attendance Allowance is paid monthly. Hope that helps.

 

[Newplodder]

@Natalie J Hello! It sounds as though your relative is definitely entitled to AA. It may not be the case for everyone, but I think, usually Attendance Allowance and Retirement Pension are listed separately when paid into a bank account by DWP. So check her statement again...the payments should have AA and RP after them. If you are still unsure, it may be worth calling the AA helpline to ask whether she is already receiving it? As you will need her National Insurance number and address to do this, they may tell you? Worth a try? Good luck!

 

[Clarrisa]

Hi @Natalie J the AA is separate to a pension and isn’t bundled together so you should see it in a statement. You can apply for it on your relative’s behalf even if you haven’t got POA yet. It’s not an onerous form to complete either and shouldn’t take long to complete. DWP respond really quickly as well, once they have received it. Your relative will have needed to have had their ‘condition’ for 6 or more months which can be verified by their GP/care company.

Best of luck.

C

 

[Natalie J]

Hi @Natalie J my mum receives Attendance Allowance and State Pension but the payments are not combined, they show up separately on her bank statements as 'DWP SP' and 'DWP AA'. The State Pension is paid weekly and the Attendance Allowance is paid monthly. Hope that helps.

Thank you Louise7, I've just scanned through a statement and I can see her state pension but no attendance allowance so that clarifies that. There is an outside chance it could be being paid into another account that I am unaware off but I think that is incredibly unlikely and it would be more difficult to track down all her accounts than apply for this benefit I expect.

 

[SeaSwallow]

Hello @Natalie J I would agree with the above posters, Attendance Allowance is not means tested and is not linked to any other pension or benefit. I have attached a link that you might find useful.

Attendance Allowance

Attendance Allowance helps pay for your personal care if you've reached State Pension age and are disabled - rates, eligibility, apply, claim form AA1.

www.gov.uk

 

[Natalie J]

@Natalie J Hello! It sounds as though your relative is definitely entitled to AA. It may not be the case for everyone, but I think, usually Attendance Allowance and Retirement Pension are listed separately when paid into a bank account by DWP. So check her statement again...the payments should have AA and RP after them. If you are still unsure, it may be worth calling the AA helpline to ask whether she is already receiving it? As you will need her National Insurance number and address to do this, they may tell you? Worth a try? Good luck!

Thanks New Plodder, I've had a look at her statement and I can only see what I assume to be her state retirement pension and private pensions going in, so safe to assume she's not receiving AA. Thanks for the assurance you also think she would be entitled. It didn't cross my mind that she might be eligible for any financial help until recently - it was only a conversation I had last week with a lady that delivers meals on wheels that made me think of it, as she asked me whether my relative was receiving it and then told me I should look into it when I said no.

 

[Natalie J]

Hello @Natalie J I would agree with the above posters, Attendance Allowance is not means tested and is not linked to any other pension or benefit. I have attached a link that you might find useful.

Thank you SeaSwallow.

 

[StressedDaughter]

I applied without a POA as waiting a long time for LPA. I had to have a visiting officer from DWP attend a meeting with Mum and me to agree I could represent. That took a while too but they have backdated the payment. It was a painless meeting - I had to provide my ID, they reviewed Mum’s care plan and it all progressed smoothly.

 

[StressedDaughter]

I applied without a POA as waiting a long time for LPA. I had to have a visiting officer from DWP attend a meeting with Mum and me to agree I could represent. That took a while too but they have backdated the payment. It was a painless meeting - I had to provide my ID, they reviewed Mum’s care plan and it all progressed smoothly.

Just to add my Mum still doesn’t have a formal diagnosis either

 

[canary]

Just to add my Mum still doesn’t have a formal diagnosis either

You don't have to have a diagnosis to get AA as it goes on difficulties you have in your day to day living.

When I applied for mum I didn't have POA or deputyship so someone from DWP came out to assess mum. He told me to fill in the form assuming that it was the worst day and to fill in the boxes with examples

 

[nitram]

Get help from CAB or AGE UK with completing the form, they will know the optimum words and phrases to use.

 

[TobyandMonica]

Hi @Natalie J my mum receives Attendance Allowance and State Pension but the payments are not combined, they show up separately on her bank statements as 'DWP SP' and 'DWP AA'. The State Pension is paid weekly and the Attendance Allowance is paid monthly. Hope that helps.

When our GP referred us to the Alzheimer’s Society we were allocated a Dementia Adviser. You say your mother does not yet have a diagnosis so I’m wondering if you’ve been referred to the Alzheimer’s Society and also have a Dementia Adviser. I mention this as ours offered to help put in the application for Attendance Allowance as the forms are lengthy and a little challenging. As it happened, I’d already applied myself but I thought that if you have a Dementia Advisor they might be able to help you with the forms.

 

[Natalie J]

I applied without a POA as waiting a long time for LPA. I had to have a visiting officer from DWP attend a meeting with Mum and me to agree I could represent. That took a while too but they have backdated the payment. It was a painless meeting - I had to provide my ID, they reviewed Mum’s care plan and it all progressed smoothly.

Thank you, it is kind of you to share that experience with me. I guess I may have to do the same.

 

[Natalie J]

You don't have to have a diagnosis to get AA as it goes on difficulties you have in your day to day living.

When I applied for mum I didn't have POA or deputyship so someone from DWP came out to assess mum. He told me to fill in the form assuming that it was the worst day and to fill in the boxes with examples

Thank you. The difficulty i am anticipating is that she tells everyone with such confidence that she is able to do practically everything independently, and is so convincing, going into such detail with near perfect recall of her alleged routines, that unless there is clear evidence showing the contrary, she masks her difficulties exceptionally well and comes across more sensible and capable than I am!

 

[Natalie J]

Hi @Natalie J the AA is separate to a pension and isn’t bundled together so you should see it in a statement. You can apply for it on your relative’s behalf even if you haven’t got POA yet. It’s not an onerous form to complete either and shouldn’t take long to complete. DWP respond really quickly as well, once they have received it. Your relative will have needed to have had their ‘condition’ for 6 or more months which can be verified by their GP/care company.

Best of luck.

C

Thanks, she won't go to the GP but hopefully the care company will be able to assist. Unfortunately she is extremely convincing when she tells everyone she is able to manage her life independently, which isn't true.

 

[Natalie J]

When our GP referred us to the Alzheimer’s Society we were allocated a Dementia Adviser. You say your mother does not yet have a diagnosis so I’m wondering if you’ve been referred to the Alzheimer’s Society and also have a Dementia Adviser. I mention this as ours offered to help put in the application for Attendance Allowance as the forms are lengthy and a little challenging. As it happened, I’d already applied myself but I thought that if you have a Dementia Advisor they might be able to help you with the forms.

Thanks Toby and Monica. I don't have a dementia advisor as no diagnosis yet. My relative refuses to talk to a doctor about her difficulties although i think she is also both in denial and does not have the necessary insight to realise how bad her memory is (she can't remember how little she is able to remember and constantly thinks she's just having a bad day and other people are making her life difficult). This could make it hard as she'll probably tell the DWP that she's managing perfectly well.