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Wednesday, 3 October 2023

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Carer's Allowance - changes in circumstances for you or the person you are caring for

You need to report any changes in circumstances for yourself, the person you are caring for or a dependent adult. A change can affect whether you can receive Carer's Allowance or the amount you get.

Examples of changes in circumstances

For example, you need to report:

changes to income or employment for you or a dependent adult
changes to or new benefits for you, the person you are caring for or a dependent adult
if you or a dependent adult go into full-time education (21 hours or more a week of supervised study)
change of address for you, the person you're caring for or a dependent adult
breaks in caring - such as holidays or a stay in hospital

You also need to report a temporary or permanent move abroad.

If you're leaving the UK to live in another EEA country or Switzerland, you may continue to receive Carer's Allowance if you meet certain conditions.

Under certain conditions you may also be able to make a claim for Carer's Allowance if you already live in another EEA country or Switzerland.

Taking disability benefits to another European country (disabled people section)

Claiming disability benefits if you live in another European country (disabled people section)

Temporary breaks in caring

You can still receive Carer's Allowance if you take a temporary break from caring, as follows:

if you go on holiday, or the person you care for has a holiday or a stay in a care home, your Carer's Allowance may be paid for up to four weeks in any 26 week period
if you receive treatment as an inpatient in a hospital or similar institution, your Carer's Allowance can be paid for up to 12 weeks in any 26 week period, depending on whether you have also had breaks from caring for other reasons
if the person you care for receives treatment as an inpatient in a hospital or similar institution, your Carer's Allowance can be paid for up to 12 weeks in any 26 week period

Your Carer's Allowance will stop if the person's Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance stops. For adults, this is normally after they have been in hospital for four weeks.

The maximum break you can take without your Carer's Allowance being affected is 12 weeks in any 26 week period. You can get further advice about the rules from the Carer's Allowance Unit.

Carer's Allowance Unit

Reporting changes in circumstances

You can report changes online using the Carer's Allowance e-service. The online form lists the sorts of changes you need to report.

You can also report changes directly to the Carer's Allowance Unit.

To report online, go to the Carer's Allowance e-service and choose 'Tell us about a change of circumstance'. Before using the service you will be asked to check that you have the right software and shown what to do if you haven't. You can then complete a simple electronic form to report a change of circumstance.