More than £5bn of Attendance Allowance is going unclaimed every year – could any of this cash be ours?
If we’re of pension age and need help with daily living due to illness or disability – or live with someone who does – we should check if we can claim Attendance Allowance, or Pension Age Disability Benefit (PADP) in Scotland.
It’s one of the most under-claimed benefits in the UK. It could be worth more than £5,959 a year to households that qualify.
But it’s thought that people are missing out on more than £5bn of Attendance Allowance in total.
One of the reasons for this could simply be that people aren’t aware that they could be claiming it.
Attendance Allowance and Pension Age Disability Payment are paid on top of the State Pension and other benefits.
They are designed to help people aged 66 and over cope with the extra costs of disability.
It isn’t means tested, which means we don’t have to go into loads of details about our income.
There are a number of conditions that might mean we qualify.
For example, if we need support with getting dressed, eating, moving around or keeping clean we may be eligible.
Or if we need someone with us all or most of the time to keep us safe we could also qualify. This could be because of mental health problems, learning difficulties, deafness or blindness.
Other conditions that mean we, or the person we live with, needs extra support to live their life may also be considered.
For England and Wales, we can check by calling the Attendance Allowance helpline free on 0800 731 0122 or visiting the website.
For Scotland, we can check by visiting the website for Pension Age Disability Payment.
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