The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has disclosed that by May 2024’s end, over 1.6 million elderly individuals were receiving additional financial support through Attendance Allowance. However, a further one million older Brits are still not claiming this benefit.
The allowance, now worth either £72.65 or £108.55 per week, is designed to help those of State Pension age with extra daily living costs. Consumer champion Martin Lewis recently warned that over a million pensioners might be missing out on this non-means-tested benefit.
He also revealed a clever tactic to ensure payments are ‘backdated’ to the claim date, not when the DWP receives a completed application form – potentially providing older Brits with an extra £650 in financial assistance. During an episode of The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, he explained that older people making a new claim online will only receive non-means-tested benefit payments from the date it was submitted.
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However, successful applicants who phone the DWP and request an application form by post will receive Attendance Allowance payments from that date. The personal finance expert clarified that application forms requested via phone need to be filled out and returned to the DWP within six weeks, or back payments may not be issued, as reported by the Daily Record.
Martin Lewis, the Money Saving Expert, shared some valuable advice with ITV viewers about Attendance Allowance. He emphasised that this benefit is not means-tested, stating: “Attendance Allowance is not means tested they (DWP) do not look at your means or how much money you’ve got – you are entitled to it or you’re not entitled to it regardless of finances. It is for those who need help with daily living who have mental or physical health conditions.”
He went on to detail the rates, saying: “If you need help during the day, or at night, but not both, it’s the lower rate of £73 a week – just under £4,000 a year. If you need help during the day and at night that’s the higher rate of £109 a week – just under £6,000 a year.”
Lewis also offered some practical advice on applying for the allowance, recommending a phone call over an online application. “The way I would apply for this is to call up and request a form, I would not do it online because if you call them that date is noted and then when your application goes in it will be back paid to the date that you called,” he advised.
He warned, “If you do it online then it’s the point that you submit, which is clearly a later point because you got quite a lot of work to do to get it. Now there is a case that if you take a long time after calling up – more than six weeks to submit your form – then they don’t have to backpay because you’ve taken too long to do your form and therefore you can’t do it as a retrospective. I generally suggest you call rather than go online.”
You can phone the DWP on 0800 731 0122 to ask for the Attendance Allowance claim form. Phone lines are open during daytime hours Monday to Friday. The form can be downloaded from GOV.UK here.