How Carer Support Payment can affect other benefits

Carer Support Payment may affect some of:

• your other benefits
• the benefits the person you care for gets

If you have a partner and live with them, Carer Support Payment may affect some of their benefits as well. But their benefits or income do not affect your eligibility for Carer Support Payment. Or how much Carer Support Payment you can get.

Benefits the person you care for gets

If the person you care for gets a severe disability premium for the following benefits, the premium will stop:

• income-related Employment and Support Allowance

• income-based Jobseeker's Allowance 
• Income Support
• Pension Credit

Learn more about disability premiums at GOV.UK.

What you need to do

Tell the person you care for their severe disability premium will stop automatically.

You also need to tell them to tell their local council about your Carer Support Payment award if they get:

• Housing Benefit
• Council Tax Reduction

Find the local council.

Your benefits

Social Security Scotland will let some other benefit providers know if you start getting Carer Support Payment.

You’ll need to let your local council know if you get:

• Housing Benefit
• Council Tax Reduction

Find the local council.

If you get Universal Credit

Your Universal Credit may reduce by the same amount as you get from Carer Support Payment. This is because Carer Support Payment is counted as income for Universal Credit.

You should get more money overall because DWP may pay you a Universal Credit carer element. This is an extra amount of top of Universal Credit. Also, because you’re a carer you will not have to meet any of the work requirements for Universal Credit.

If you’re awarded Carer Support Payment, you should tell DWP. If you do not, they could overpay you for Universal Credit. You may need to pay them back.

If Social Security Scotland backdate your Carer Support Payment, DWP may overpay you for Universal Credit. 

Learn more about backdating in how to apply for Carer Support Payment.

You can tell DWP about your Carer Support Payment award by:

• calling 0800 328 5644
• logging on to your Universal Credit account at GOV.UK

If you or your partner get income-related benefits

If you or your partner get Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit, you need to tell HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC):

• tell HMRC online at GOV.UK
• to find other ways to contact HMRC go to Tax credits: general enquires at GOV.UK

If you start getting Carer Support Payment, it could reduce the amount you get from:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Pension Credit

If you live with a partner and you start getting Carer Support Payment, it could also reduce the amount they get from those 4 benefits.

This is because Carer Support Payment is counted as income for those benefits. And you can only get those 4 benefits if your household income is below a certain amount. But you can get extra amounts from those benefits if you’re a carer.

If you’re awarded Carer Support Payment, Social Security Scotland will work with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) who’ll adjust the amount you or your partner get from those 4 benefits.

Social Security Scotland can reduce your first payment of Carer Support Payment. This would mean DWP does not overpay you. And you do not need to pay any money back.

Before you start getting Carer Support Payment, Social Security Scotland would ask for your consent to reduce your first payment. If you do not consent to this, they can pay your first payment of Carer Support Payment in full. You or your partner may then have to pay money back to DWP for any overpayment of those 4 benefits.