3. Carer’s allowance
There is no upper age limit for claiming carer’s allowance but you must meet the usual qualifying conditions (see
Chapter 8(2) ).
If you are entitled to carer’s allowance after pension
age, you may not appear to be better off due to the overlapping benefits rule. Carer’s allowance overlaps with state pension, so once you reach pension age and draw your pension, carer’s allowance can only continue to be paid if your state pension is less than the rate of carer’s allowance. However, even if your carer’s allowance is overlapped, it is often still worth claiming because it can increase your income from pension credit through the ‘additional amount for carers’ (see
Chapter 45(3) ) or from housing benefit through the ‘carer premium’ (see
Chapter 23(6) ).