Carer's Allowance: £83.30/week for 35 hours or more of care
Carer's Allowance is paid to people who provide at least 35 hours per week of care to someone who receives a qualifying disability benefit. In 2026/27 it pays £83.30 per week. The person you care for must be receiving PIP daily living component (either rate), Attendance Allowance, or DLA care component at the middle or highest rate. You must be 16 or over, not in full-time education, and your earnings from other work must be £151 per week or less after allowable deductions.
Carer's Credit: protecting your National Insurance record
If you cannot receive Carer's Allowance, for example because you are already receiving a benefit at a higher rate (see overlapping rules below), you may be able to claim Carer's Credit instead. Carer's Credit is not a payment. It is a National Insurance credit that protects your State Pension entitlement while you are caring. To qualify you must provide at least 20 hours per week of care to someone receiving a qualifying disability benefit. It is worth claiming even if no cash is paid, because gaps in your NI record can reduce the State Pension you eventually receive.
Universal Credit carer element: £198.31/month
If you claim Universal Credit and provide regular and substantial care to a severely disabled person, you may qualify for the UC carer element worth £198.31 per month in 2026/27. This is separate from Carer's Allowance. You can receive both, subject to the overlapping rules. The UC carer element does not require you to provide exactly 35 hours per week, but you must be providing regular and substantial care and the person you care for must receive a qualifying disability benefit.
The overlapping benefit rule: what stops what
Carer's Allowance overlaps with many other benefits. If you receive a benefit that is worth at least as much as Carer's Allowance (State Pension, contributory ESA, bereavement benefits), you may not receive Carer's Allowance in addition. You would be awarded an underlying entitlement to Carer's Allowance, which does not pay cash but can still unlock the UC carer element and Carer's Premium in Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction. This trips many pensioner carers up: they assume they have no entitlement because they do not receive a cash payment, but the underlying entitlement is still significant.