Martin Lewis renews call for pensioners to claim Attendance Allowance

Financial expert Martin Lewis has renewed his call for pensioners to check whether they are missing out on Attendance Allowance, a non-means-tested benefit worth up to £5,959.20 a year. Lewis says approximately 1.1 million eligible pensioners are failing to claim the support, a figure he and his team calculated with Policy in Practice, noting it is not a government figure.

Attendance Allowance, administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), is aimed at people aged 66 and above living with disabilities or serious health conditions who need regular care. The benefit is not means-tested, meaning entitlement does not depend on income or savings. It is also tax-free, and payments are usually made every four weeks.

The benefit is paid at two rates: a lower rate of £76.70 per week (£3,988.40 a year) for those who need help during the day or night, and a higher rate of £114.60 per week (£5,959.20 a year) for those with more substantial needs, such as continuous supervision. The DWP states the benefit is intended to help with care costs, but recipients are free to spend the money as they see fit.

Who is eligible?

To qualify for Attendance Allowance, claimants must have reached state pension age, currently 66, and have a physical or mental condition, or an illness, that requires help or supervision for their own welfare or that of others. This care need must have been present for at least six months. Lewis explained on a recent episode of his podcast that “help means help with daily living; supervision means avoiding dangers to yourself.” He stressed that it is not necessary to actually be receiving care, only to need it.

Applicants must also be residing in Great Britain and have been present in the country for at least two of the previous three years. Eligibility is not affected by state pension income, savings, or whether the claimant remains in paid employment.

Lewis warned that people already receiving certain other benefits cannot claim Attendance Allowance. “If you’re entitled to PIP (Personal Independence Payment) or Disability Living Allowance, you can’t get both, and they tend to be better for you, so you wouldn’t want it,” he said.

A campaign to tackle underclaiming

Lewis’s renewed call comes 18 months after Money Saving Expert launched its Attendance Allowance guide and awareness campaign. “Successes have flooded in since,” he wrote in an MSE newsletter, but the benefit “still remains massively underclaimed, with potentially a million eligible pensioners missing out.”

In the same newsletter, he explained why the campaign matters: “For many older people who are ill or start to face mental or physical disability, life doesn't just get tougher, it gets costlier too. Add to that the fact people's conditions can make it more difficult to spend the time and energy needed to research possible help.”

A broad range of common health conditions may qualify, including arthritis, visual impairments, heart conditions, Parkinson’s disease, and respiratory problems such as asthma.

One family's experience

The impact of claiming can be substantial. One Money Saving Expert reader, Dawn, told Lewis that she had successfully claimed Attendance Allowance for both of her parents, worth £10,598 a year combined, and Pension Credit worth £1,233 a year. She said the claims opened doors to further support: Housing Benefit worth £9,207 a year, a Council Tax reduction of £1,534 a year, a free TV licence saving £169 a year, and a save of £420 a year after switching their phone to BT.

She also reported receiving backdated rebates of £3,449 for Housing Benefit and £604 for Council Tax. “All in all, they are better off by more than £20,000 a year thanks to you,” she wrote.

Lewis acknowledged that the application paperwork can be complicated, but noted that organisations such as Citizens Advice and Age UK offer support with completing the forms and online submissions. Most applications are decided by DWP staff based on the information supplied, and most applicants do not need a face-to-face assessment, though one may be required if there is uncertainty about how a disability or condition affects the applicant.

How to apply

The DWP makes decisions on Attendance Allowance based on the information provided in the application form. Applicants are advised to include all relevant details, such as their national insurance number, NHS number, and any prescription or hospital documentation. Lewis encouraged those who think they might qualify to apply: “If you think you're entitled to attendance allowance, you should push through. This is for disabled or ill state pensioner. It could be you, or it could be someone you know.”