Financial help is out there
UK carers are in line for some extra cash in the new financial year. It is as benefits increase and new cost of living payments start.
There's an option to claim Universal Credit and get the Carer's Element top-up. But if you already get Carer's Allowance, your Universal Credit is reduced by £1 for every £1 of Carer's Allowance you get, so it's worth bearing that in mind.Carer's Allowance HOW MUCH: Increasing from £69.70 a week to £76.75 a week for the 2023-2024 financial year. You can choose to be paid weekly or every four weeks. The increase comes into effect from April 10.
Universal Credit Carer's Element HOW MUCH: Increasing from £168.81 a month to £185.86 a month for the 2023-2024 financial year. The increase comes into effect from April 10. Carer premium HOW MUCH: Increasing from £38.85 a week to £42.75 a week for the 2023-2024 financial year. The increase comes into effect from April 10. Payments are usually made every two weeks.
The benefit cap is a limit on the state support a household can receive. Any amount over the cap is deducted and will be shown on your DWP statement. But not all benefits are taken into account when seeing if you have reached this maximum level. Pension Credit is an income top-up for people of State Pension age. It offers an additional amount for carers, similar to the carer premium on legacy benefits.