Am I eligible for 'massively underclaimed' £5,700 health benefit?
Lewis highlighted the underutilised attendance allowance earlier this week, which provides money to pensioners with disabilities.
Writing in the Money Saving Expert newsletter, Lewis said: "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.
'That's why 18 months ago we launched our attendance allowance guide and awareness campaign, and successes have flooded in since. Yet it remains massively underclaimed.'
A recent study by Policy in Practice found more than a million pensioners could be missing out on the benefit, meaning over £5bn of unclaimed benefits.
What is attendance allowance?
Attendance allowance – also known as pension age disability payment in Scotland – is a non-means-tested weekly payment to help cover the costs of pensioners who need support with some form of disability.
It is designed for pensioners over the age of 66 with a wide range of disabilities to cover the costs of someone assisting them with their day-to-day life.
There are two rates available depending on the severity of the disability. They are:
The lower rate of £73.90 a week, equivalent to £3,842 a year. This is for people who need help either during the day or the night.
The higher rate of £110.40 a week, equivalent to £5,740 a year. This is for people who need help during the day and the night.
Crucially, you do not need to actually be receiving care to get the benefit, you only need to have one of the listed disabilities.
How do I know which benefits I'm entitled to?
There are numerous different services that can tell you if you are possibly missing out on a benefit.
You will need to fill in an extensive form that will ask you questions about your income, assets, age, disabilities and dependents.
The government has its own calculator you can view here.
Citizens Advice also runs its own system that you can fill out online, or you can contact them over the phone.
Lewis's MoneySavingExpert website also has a '10 minutes benefit calculator' that you can fill out here.
How do I claim the allowance?
One of the biggest myths around attendance allowance is who qualifies for it.
To qualify, you only need to meet the following criteria:
Be over the age of 66
Have a qualifying disability
That is it, you don't need to be claiming state pension and as long as you are not earning more than £100,000 a year, you can claim the benefit.
There is no defined list of what conditions can qualify you for claiming attendance allowance.
Illnesses like Parkinson's, dementia and blindness are almost guaranteed to get you on the benefit, but if you can argue your condition means you need someone else to help you with your day-to-day life you may qualify for it.
To claim it, you will need to prove that a doctor or some other medical professional has said you could benefit from outside help.
This help could come in the form of assistance with food preparation, getting dressed, or communicating with others.
You can also qualify if you need supervision when carrying out tasks. This is usually for people with mental disabilities who may, for example, need to be supervised when taking their medicines.
You will automatically get the higher rate if you are terminally ill and not expected to live more than a year.
To claim the allowance, you will need to fill out a long form, but someone else, like a family member or carer, can help you with it. You can find it here on the government's website.
Once sent, you may have to attend an assessment, but not everyone is required to do this.
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