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<p>It has been a long-held feature of the UK’s benefit system, under successive Governments, that where someone is entitled to two benefits in broadly the same circumstance then only one will be paid in full. Although entitlement to State Pension and Carer’s Allowance arise in different circumstances they would be paid for the same reason – as an income replacement. Carer’s Allowance replaces income where the carer has given up the opportunity of full-time employment in order to care for a severely disabled person, while State Pension replaces income in retirement. A social security rule, called the “overlapping benefit” rule, operates to prevent them being paid together. There are no plans to change this policy.</p><p> </p><p>If a carer’s State Pension is less than Carer's Allowance, State Pension is paid and topped up with Carer's Allowance to the basic weekly rate of Carer's Allowance. Where Carer’s Allowance cannot be paid, the person will keep underlying entitlement to the benefit. This gives access to the additional amount for carers in Pension Credit of £37.70 a week, and even if a pensioner’s income is above the limit for Pension Credit, he or she may still be able to receive Housing Benefit. Full details about Carer’s Allowance are available on Gov.UK which includes a specific reference to additional payments in Pension Credit and links to organisations able to provide advice, such as Carers UK and Carers Trust. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance" target="_blank">Carer's Allowance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p /><p>Where Carer’s Allowance cannot be paid, the person will keep underlying entitlement to the benefit, and thousands of pensioners are given this status each month. As of May 2021, there were 370,000 Carer’s Allowance claimants with underlying entitlement awards in Great Britain.</p><p> </p><p>As of May 2021, there were 101 carers in the Brighton Pavilion constituency that were receiving a carer premium with their Pension Credit.</p> |