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Carer Support Payment

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This advice applies in Scotland only.

Carer Support Payment is a new benefit that is replacing Carer’s Allowance in Scotland. Once rolled-out nationally, it will become the main benefit for carers in Scotland.

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What is Carer Support Payment?

Carer Support Payment is a new benefit the Scottish government is introducing to replace Carer’s Allowance in Scotland. Once rolled-out nationally, it will become the main benefit for carers in Scotland.

You might get Carer Support Payment if you provide at least 35 hours a week care to someone who is receiving particular disability benefits. See below.

When is Carer Support Payment being introduced?

New claimants

Social Security Scotland is introducing Carer Support Payment gradually.

Currently, you can only apply for Carer Support Payment if you are a new claimant and you live in one of the following areas:

  • Fife, Moray, Aberdeen, East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and North Ayrshire (from 19 August 2024).
  • Angus, North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire (from 24 June 2024).
  • Dundee City, Perth and Kinross and Western Isles (from 19 November 2023).

Carers in these areas who want to make a new claim for support as a carer need to claim Carer Support Payment, rather than make a claim for Carer’s Allowance.

Carer Support Payment will replace new claims for Carer’s Allowance:

  • From 4 November in the rest of Scotland.

To find out if applications are open in your area, go to the Carer Support Payment postcode checker.

Existing Carer’s Allowance claimants

Existing Carer’s Allowance claimants in Scotland will gradually be transferred onto the new Carer Support Payment. These transfers will happen automatically, without any need for the carer to make a claim for Carer Support Payment.

This process of transferring existing Carer’s Allowance claimants onto the new benefit started in February 2024. It is expected to be complete by Spring 2025.

Who qualifies for Carer Support Payment?

You qualify if you provide at least 35 hours of care per week to someone who gets one of the following “qualifying disability benefits”:

Carer Support Payment is not means-tested. It does not matter what savings you have. Most forms of income are ignored (for example, any occupational or personal pension you receive). However, if you work, you can only get Carer Support Payment if your earnings, after deductions, are no more than £151 per week.

You must also meet certain tests linked to your immigration status and the length of time you have spent in the UK.

If you share the care of a disabled child with someone else, and you each provide at least 35 hours a week care, only one of you can get Carer Support Payment/Carer’s Allowance/ the Universal Credit carer element for that child. 

There are additional tests if you work or study. The Carer Support Payment rules are very similar to the rules that apply in Carer’s Allowance. However, there are more generous rules allowing students in some forms of education to qualify for Carer Support Payment even though they may have been refused Carer’s Allowance.

Can I work and still get Carer Support Payment?

If you work, you must not earn more than the ‘earnings limit’ of £151 per week. 

In calculating your earnings for Carer’s Support Payment purposes, you can make certain deductions from your gross wages. This not only includes any tax and national insurance you pay, but also: 

  • 50% of any contributions you make into a works or personal pension scheme. For example, if you pay £20 per week into a pension scheme, £10 will be deducted from your weekly earnings calculation.
  • Any alternative care costs you have that enables you to work. This covers not only any costs you have for your disabled child (regardless of their age), but also any childcare costs for other children you have aged under 16. Care costs count so long as you are not paying a close relative – there is no requirement that you pay a registered childcare provider. The maximum you can deduct for alternative care costs is half of your earnings.
  • Any expenses you have that are wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred in carrying out your work, for example if you have to buy tools or specialist clothing or you have to travel between work sites (travel between work and home does not count).

If your earnings after these deductions are £151 per week or less, you can keep all of your Carer Support Payment. If your earnings after these deductions are even 1p more, you will lose all of your Carer Support Payment.

Can I study and still get Carer Support Payment? 

Unlike Carer’s Allowance, many carers in full-time education will be able to claim Carer Support Payment. This includes:

  • Anyone studying less than 21 hours a week regardless of their age or the type of education.
  • Anyone aged 20 or above in more than 21 hours a week study.
  • Anyone 16-19 studying 21 hours or more a week and who is in advanced education.

However, if a carer is age 16-19 and in non-advanced education that involves more than 21 hours a week study, they will not normally be able to get Carer Support Payment. They may get a young carer grant instead.

From 23 June some 16-19 year olds in non advanced education involving more than 21 hours a week study are able to claim Universal Credit. This will apply if you are someone who would be able to get Universal Credit while in education (except if the reason they would qualify is because they are waiting to return to their course after taking time out due to illness or caring responsibilities). 16-19 year old students in non-advanced education include students without parental support, students who are responsible for a child of their own and some disabled students – for example a disabled student who has went through a work capability assessment and established a limited capability for work before they started their course. Contact our free Helpline for more information.

How much Carer Support Payment will I get?

Carer Support Payment is £81.90 a week. You should also receive an additional lump sum payment – known as the Carer’s Allowance Supplement – twice a year.

You can only get one award of Carer Support Payment, even if you are looking after more than one person. The Scottish Government has future plans to introduce extra payments for those looking after more than one disabled person, but has not given any timescale for this happening.

Carer Support Payment can also help protect your right to a retirement State Pension. This is because you will receive Class 1 National Insurance credits for every week it is in payment. 

Backdating Carer Support Payment

Your payment can be backdated for (i.e. paid from) up to 13 weeks before your date of claim. You must have met all the qualifying rules during this time. You will need to ask Social Security Scotland for backdating.

Your claim can be backdated for more than 13 weeks if:

  • The person you care for has only recently been awarded a qualifying disability benefit.
  • You claim Carer Support Payment within 13 weeks of the decision awarding them that disability benefit.

In this situation, your award can be backdated to the date that their disability benefit was backdated to. Again, you must have met all the other Carer Support Payment rules during that period.

You may also be able to backdate your payments for more than 13 weeks if you qualify for Carer Support Payment, but would not have been eligible for Carer’s Allowance. (I.e. because you are in certain types of education or you have been in the UK for fewer than 104 of the previous 156 weeks.) Under special rules that apply in such cases, your award can be backdated to the most recent of:

  • 19 November 2023.
  • The date you first met Carer Support Payment qualifiying rules.

This special rule only applies if you would have been eligible for Carer Support Payment sooner, but could not apply because it had not yet been introduced in your area. To get this extended backdating, you need to have claimed Carer Support Payment within 13 weeks of it being introduced in your local area.

Example: A carer in Angus has been in full-time advanced education and unable to get Carer’s Allowance. They may be able to get their Carer Support Payment backdated to 19 November 2023, so long as they make their claim for Carer Support Payment by 22 September 2024. This date (22 September 2024) is 13 weeks after 24 June 2024, when Carer Support Allowance was first introduced in Angus.

Phone Social Security Scotland to ask about backdating if you think these rules should apply to you.

How do I claim Carer Support Payment?

New claimants will be able to apply online via mygov.scot or by phoning Social Security Scotland on 0800 182 2222. Alternatively you can download a paper form via mygov.scot or phone Social Security Scotland and ask for a paper form with a prepaid envelope.

Existing Carer’s Allowance claimants will transfer automatically without any need to make a claim.

How does Carer Support Payment affect other benefits?

Means-tested benefits

Carer Support Payment counts as income when calculating means-tested benefits such as Income Support, Housing Benefit or Universal Credit. But you’ll get a “carer premium” of £45.60 per week (or the carer element of £198.31 per month in Universal Credit) as part of that means-tested benefit. This is to ensure you end up better off.

Non-means-tested benefits

You cannot get Carer Support Payment at the same time as certain other non-means-tested benefits. This includes contributory Employment and Support Allowance and State Pension.

It is still worthwhile making a claim for Carer Support Payment in these circumstances. By making a claim, you’ll establish an “underlying entitlement” to Carer’s Support Payment. This means you’ll count as a carer for any means-tested benefits you get and will get the carer premium (see above).

Tax credits

Carer Support Payment is treated as income for tax credits purposes. Despite this, you are usually better off after making a claim. This is because the amount of Carer Support Payment paid is greater than any drop in tax credits.

In order to avoid an overpayment, it’s important to let the Tax Credit Office know you are getting Carer Support Payment.

Will a claim for Carer Support Payment affect the benefits of the person I’m looking after?

So long as you are claiming as the carer of a dependent child, a claim for Carer Support Payment will not have any impact on the benefits that they receive. 

Claiming Carer Support Payment for a disabled adult is also not normally a problem. However, if they are a disabled adult who receives a payment known as the “severe disability premium” as part of a means-tested benefit claim, they will end up worse off if you get Carer Support Payment for them.

Benefits you might be entitled to

Disability Living Allowance

Universal Credit

Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

Carer’s Allowance

Tax credits

Help with Council Tax and rates

“Bedroom tax”

Other benefits

Welfare benefits in Scotland

< Benefits & tax credits