Benefits and Income Maximisation for Carers
If you are caring for someone with MND there are some specific welfare benefits that you may be eligible for.
Our National Support Advisers offer free and confidential advice. They can take the stress out of checking entitlement to help you improve your financial situation as promptly as possible. Please get in touch using the referral form if you would like to speak with one of our advisers.
Carer Support Payment
Carer Support Payment is a benefit paid to people who care for someone for 35 hours a week or more. It is not fully means-tested – savings and most types of income do not affect entitlement – but you cannot qualify if your earnings from employment are too high.
Social Security Scotland administers Carer Support Payment. It is typically paid either weekly or 4-weekly. Currently (2026/27 tax year), Carer Support Payment is £86.45 per week. Claimants living in Scotland are also eligible for an additional supplement of £11.70 per week. You can also get a further £10.40+ per week if you care for more than one person.
You must be aged sixteen or over to qualify for Carer Support Payment, but there is no upper age limit.
The person you are caring for needs to be in receipt of the correct rate of a relevant disability benefit for you to claim Carer Support Payment as their carer. If you are caring for a person with MND, this usually means that they must be receiving the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment, Personal Independence Payment, or Scottish Adult Disability Payment. They could also be receiving any rate of Pension Age Disability Payment or Attendance Allowance.
If you are working, your earnings would need to be under a certain amount each week to qualify for Carer Support Payment. In the 2026/27 tax year, the earnings limit is £204.
If you receive a State Pension and claim Carer Support Payment, you can usually only receive payment of whichever of the two has the highest rate. In most cases, State Pension is a higher rate, so you may find you receive no payment of Carer Support Payment.
However, even if you do not receive Carer Support Payment because your pension is paid at a higher rate, it can sometimes still be worth submitting a claim. If you meet every other criterion for Carer Support Payment, your caring role will still be acknowledged via something called ‘underlying entitlement’. If you have underlying entitlement to Carer Support Payment, you can qualify for a carer premium, or carer element, in the calculation for some means-tested benefits.
Your claim for Carer Support Payment can be fast-tracked if you are able to provide evidence that the person you are caring for has a progressive or terminal illness such as MND.
Working out whether it is worthwhile claiming Carer Support Payment can be complex, but our experienced National Support Advisers are here to answer any questions you might have regarding this.
Carer’s Credit
If you are over sixteen but under state pension age and care for a person for at least 20 hours a week but are not eligible for Carer Support Payment, you may be able to get Carer’s Credits instead. Carer’s Credits are not cash payments, rather they are credits made to your National Insurance record in recognition of the fact that you are caring. These credits can be particularly helpful if you are working fewer hours due to your caring role. The credits boost your record and may therefore help you qualify for certain future benefits, such as your State Pension.
Universal Credit
Universal Credit is a means-tested benefit paid to those under state pension age. It can top up your income if other money you have coming in falls short of a threshold set by the government.
If you have had to reduce your hours of work, or leave work, because of your caring responsibilities, it is wise to explore whether you might qualify for Universal Credit. Universal Credit is usually paid monthly and is administered by Department of Work & Pensions (DWP). Universal Credit can top up your income if it falls short of a threshold determined by the government.
The threshold set by the government varies depending on the circumstances of those in the household. The threshold is made up of different elements added together. There is a ‘standard allowance’, and to this there may be additional elements added, depending on who is in the household. For example, elements can be added for dependent children, rent costs, or people living with a disability or health condition. You should qualify for a ‘carer element’ included in your threshold, even if your earnings are too high to qualify for Carer Support Payment
Income you receive each month is compared against this total threshold. A calculation is applied by DWP to work out how much of any earnings should be considered, and your savings are taken into account, too. Your savings, or joint savings with a partner, must be under £16000 to be eligible for Universal Credit.
If the total income considered falls below the set threshold, the difference is your Universal Credit entitlement.
If you are a member of a couple, you will each need to submit an application for Universal Credit, but the DWP will join these together to form a joint claim. Only one of you will usually receive the payment for both of you.
Universal Credit is typically claimed, and managed, online. You will have an online account where you can check your details and payments, and a journal where you can communicate via messages to DWP staff. It is also possible to make and manage claims over the phone, if preferred.
Our National Support Advisers can quickly and easily determine whether you are likely to qualify for Universal Credit – please just ask if you would like us to conduct a confidential check. They can also assist you to make a claim for Universal Credit and help intervene if any issues arise after claiming.
Other Benefits
There are other benefits which you may be eligible for.
If you contact us for a benefit check, our experienced National Support Advisers can easily establish if you are likely to be eligible. We always recommend a full check – it is a quick and confidential process, requiring basic information from you – but knowing the outcome can give peace of mind – even if no entitlement is identified.
Young Carers
If you are aged 16 to 19, live in Scotland, care for someone for an average of 16 hours a week, and have been doing so for at least the past three months, you may qualify for a Young Carer Grant. You can apply for the grant annually. It is currently £405.10 each year (2026/27 tax year).
If you are over sixteen and caring for someone more than 35 hours a week, Carer Support Payment may be a better option, financially, than the annual Young Carer Grant – please see details above for Carer Support Payment.
Find out what benefits you’re entitled to
Please fill in this form to let us know you would like to speak to one of our National Support Advisers. Within ten working days, the adviser will be in touch to arrange a convenient time for an appointment.
Alternatively, you could ask your MND clinical nurse specialist to make the referral for you.
Please note: All questions marked with an asterisk (*) must be completed before submitting your application.
