Attendance allowance

Attendance allowance

Attendance allowance (AA) is a benefit for clients who are pension age or over when they first claim and who have a mental or physical health condition or disability. To get the lower rate of AA, they must usually need:

•frequent help with personal care throughout the day; or
•continual supervision throughout the day to avoid danger to themselves or others; or
•repeated or prolonged attention at night to help with personal care; or
•for another person to be awake for a prolonged period or at frequent intervals at night to avoid danger to the client or others.

If a client meets one of the daytime conditions and one of the night-time conditions they will be paid the higher rate of AA.

Clients must satisfy these conditions for at least six months before they can get AA. However, people who are terminally ill (ie, who have a progressive disease from which they could reasonably be expected to die within 12 months) should be awarded the higher rate of AA immediately.

An award of AA always makes a client better off. It is not means tested and does not count as income when calculating means-tested benefits and tax credits. Entitlement to AA may actually increase a client’s entitlement to a means-tested benefit, or mean that they are entitled to a means-tested benefit that they could not get before. An award of AA could also mean that a client’s carer could claim CA or CSP (see here) and/or get the carer element of UC (see here) for looking after them.

AA cannot be backdated. It is not taxable.

AA is going to be replaced by pension age disability payment in Scotland. It is expected to be piloted in some areas from October 2024, followed by a gradual roll out across the country starting in early 2025. Pension age disability payment will be paid by SSS.