How to apply for Attendance Allowance
Attendance Allowance is an important benefit for elderly people who need help caring for themselves. It’s worth either £68.10 or £101.75 a week, and you don’t need to be disadvantaged to qualify. It is for people over state pension who need help at home because of an illness or disability.
Millions of pounds go unclaimed each year, as many people fail to claim Attendance Allowance, as they might be unaware of the payments or believe they are means-tested.
Anyone who applies has to fill in a detailed 30-page form about how well they can cope with basic activities, like moving around the house and going to the toilet.
Our experienced Entitlements Adviser, Aleks Clayton has helped many McCarthy Stone residents with claims. Here, Aleks shares her expert knowledge with some top tips on making a successful application.
Tips on making a successful Attendance Allowance claim
- Before you start, take the time to read through all the questions fully – not just the bold print – and also the notes that come with the Attendance Allowance form.
- Ask for help. You can ask family or friends or a charity to help you fill in the form if needed, and you should check it over and make a copy before sending it. Here are her tips.
- Be open about your health problems. Set out your health situation and difficulties with daily living clearly, giving detail about any specific conditions – physical or mental.
There may be daily living activities that you struggle with in particular, such as getting out of bed or using the bathroom. Memory problems can mean you need help to remember to take medication, or to look after yourself. Be sure to include all these details in your application form.
- Use the blank boxes to give fuller information
It’s vital that you explain the issues you have and the help or supervision you receive. Use the blank boxes at the end of each question to give this detail. It is extremely important that you explain in these boxes the difficulties you are having with these individual tasks due to your health problems.
If you run out of space, there are a couple of blank pages towards the end of the form where you can continue explaining the difficulties you have due to your health problems.
- Start a diary to keep track of your needs
You might not realise how many tasks you find particularly hard, painful or that take you longer. Keeping a diary is a good way to keep a note of what you find difficult and what you need help with most.
- Be honest about what you find challenging
Attendance Allowance looks at difficulties and the help needed with personal care tasks – not difficulties with housework, shopping nor gardening.
However, if you are struggling with activities like these, you might also be struggling with personal care tasks.
- You might need to repeat information in several questions
Make the same points again in more than one of your answers if they’re relevant. It will help underpin the difficulties you have.
- Include what care equipment you need
Give details of any aids and adaptations you use – like stair lifts, grab rails and raised toilet seats – in your answers to all the relevant questions.
For further information on Entitlements Advice please contact our team on 0345 556 4113.
What our customers say about our Entitlements Advice Service:
“Very helpful advice to help secure £103 a week attendance allowance payment.”
“Aleks has been a breath of fresh air. She guided us through the complicated applications for Attendance Allowance for my parents. The application was successful and they are both now receiving this allowance. Aleks also pointed us in the right direction to apply for Council Tax Relief and Blue Badges. Aleks was very professional and always a joy to deal with. She does McCarthy Stone proud.”
“Sincere thanks to Aleks Clayton the entitlements advisor for her invaluable help in organising and advising me with the complicated forms to obtain carers allowance for my wife.”
“I would like to give a 5 star recommendation to Aleks Clayton the entitlements advisor at McCarthy and Stone in Henley on Thames. She gave my family and I excellent advice and was really helpful with all the paperwork needed to obtain my fathers attendance allowance.”
