Attendance Allowance if you have a terminal illness

Attendance Allowance can help with the extra costs of your illness if you need looking after and you're State Pension age or older. We know the application process for benefits can be confusing. That's why we've put together this information about who can claim Attendance Allowance, how to claim it and where to go for further help.

This information is for people applying for Attendance Allowance under the special rules because they have a terminal illness.

Attendance Allowance is a benefit for people who need looking after because of their health or who have a terminal illness. It is for people who are State Pension age or older.

Attendance Allowance is not means-tested. This means whether you can get it and how much you get, is not affected by your income, savings, or investments.

Pension Age Disability Payment is replacing Attendance Allowance in Scotland. You do not need to do anything if you already get Attendance Allowance.

You may be able to claim Attendance Allowance if the following criteria apply to you:

You cannot claim Attendance Allowance at the same time as Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA), or Adult Disability Payment (only available in Scotland).

Yes – if you're living with a terminal illness, you may be able to apply for Attendance Allowance under the special rules for people with a terminal illness.

If you're eligible for Attendance Allowance under the special rules:

You can apply for Attendance Allowance under the special rules if you have a disease that gets worse over time, and your healthcare professional thinks you might have less than 12 months left to live.

If you're claiming Attendance Allowance under the special rules, you still have to meet the other criteria to apply for Attendance Allowance.

You can apply under the special rules if you have any illness or condition that is considered terminal, including cancer, organ failure, dementia, stroke, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis and other conditions. These illnesses are not always terminal. If you have questions about your illness, it's best to speak with your healthcare professional.

It's often very difficult to predict how long someone might live for. If your doctor has not talked to you about this, you can still ask them about supporting your claim under the special rules.

You can still apply for Attendance Allowance if you're expected to live longer than 12 months. But you will not be able to apply under the special rules. You can find out more at GOV.UK if you live in England, Wales or Scotland, or at nidirect if you live in Northern Ireland.

There are two rates of Attendance Allowance. The rate you get depends on how much help you need:

If you qualify under the special rules, you'll automatically get the higher rate of £108.55 a week.

1: Check you're eligible for Attendance Allowance (see Can I claim Attendance Allowance? above).

2: Apply – you can only apply by post for this benefit. It's best to get an application form by phone, because your payments will be backdated to the date you phoned, as long as you return the form within 6 weeks.

If you phone, let them know that you're terminally ill and applying under the special rules.

The date you need to return the form by will be stamped on the form. If you send the form after 6 weeks, your payments will only be backdated to when the government department gets the form. If you download an application form, you'll only be paid from the date that the DWP receive the form.

If you live in England, Wales or Scotland, here's how you can get a form:

If you live in England, Wales or Scotland, send the completed form to: Freepost DWP Attendance Allowance. You do not need a postcode or a stamp.

If you live in Northern Ireland, here's how you can get a form:

If you live in Northern Ireland you can send either hand in the completed form at your local Jobs and Benefits office or send it to: Attendance Allowance, Disability & Carers Service, Mail Opening Unit, PO Box 42, Limavady, BT49 4AN.

3: If you're applying under the special rules, ask your healthcare professional to send an SR1 medical report form to support your claim.

If someone needs help with their benefits claim, or they do not know or wish to know if their illness is terminal, you can claim on their behalf. You should tell the person that you're making a claim and you'll need their personal details. You do not need to tell them you're making a claim under the special rules for people with a terminal illness. The letter they receive will not include any mention of the special rules or terminal illness.

You can also apply to become someone's appointee. Being an appointee lets you deal with the person's benefits if they are mentally incapable or severely disabled.

If you go into an NHS hospital, your Attendance Allowance payments normally stop after 28 days.

If you are terminally ill and go into a hospice, your Attendance Allowance payments will normally continue. Contact the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to check what will happen with your benefits (see Queries about existing claims below for contact details).

If you have any queries about an existing claim for Attendance Allowance or need to report a change of circumstances, you will need to contact the relevant department:

Some benefits can affect the other benefits that you or the person you care for get, so it's important you have the right information and advice. Here are some organisations that can provide further support:

Here at Marie Curie we cannot provide information about your specific benefit claim. For all queries about claims, you'll need to contact the relevant government department (see Queries about existing claims above).