Being a carer often means navigating a maze of information just to find the support you need—whether it’s financial assistance, social services, or finding the right paid help. It can be frustrating to search for something only to discover you're not eligible.

To make things easier, we’ve put together a financial checklist for carers—no more endless searching or dead ends.

While we don’t provide financial or benefits advice, we share useful information, suggestions from other carers, and space for you to plan your next steps. If you need expert guidance, we recommend reaching out to your local Citizens Advice.

If we provide 35 hours of unpaid care a week, and are earning less than £196 a week, we may be eligible for £83.30 a week.

If we provide 20 hours of unpaid care a week, Carer’s Credits will help fill the National Insurance gaps to ensure we have enough credits for our State Pension later on. This is because we may not be working enough hours to build this. We’ll automatically get this if we receive Carer’s Allowance.  

If we’re on a low income and receiving Universal Credit, we may be entitled to an additional £185.86 a month for looking after someone. This is known as the Carer’s Element of Universal Credit. It’s worth checking with the Universal Credit team to see how it’ll work for us. 

This is a benefit for the person we care for, if they’ve reached state pension age and have a physical or mental health disability. It's a payment to help with the extra care needs they may have.

If we're caring for someone who is under 16, they may be eligible for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Child Disability Payment in Scotland. 

If the person we care for is over 16 (or of state pension age), they may be eligible for a Personal Independence Payment (PIP). PIP can help with the extra costs of living and there are two components: A daily living part, to help with everyday tasks, and a mobility part for help with getting around. 

A Carer’s Assessment with our local council can open doors to more help, including with the costs of caring. This could be in the form of Direct Payments - a one-off payment to us to either help us take breaks, pay for driving lessons or other ways depending on our needs as carers.

Sometimes, our local council may offer grants to help with the costs of caring, such as home adaptations or equipment. It’s also helpful to know that we don’t have to pay VATs on adaptations if the person we care for has a disability - also known as a VAT relief. 

It’s worth checking with the council and our local Carers Support Organisation. Turn2Us also has a helpful tool to help us search for local grants. 

If we’re on a low income and claiming a benefit, we may be eligible for a Council Tax reduction. Depending on where we live, our councils will have a different way of offering these so it’s worth checking.  

Make sure that we’re saving where we can with a list of places offering money off for carers here. See the full Carers’ Guide to suggested outing destinations across the UK.

If we’re providing 35 hours of unpaid care a week, and earning less than £151 a week, we may be eligible for £81.90 a week. 

If we’re providing 20 hours of unpaid care a week, Carer’s Credits will help fill the National Insurance gaps to ensure we have enough credits for our State Pension later on (as we won’t be working enough hours to build this). We’ll automatically get this if we receive Carer’s Allowance.  

If we’re on a low income and receiving Universal Credit, we may  be entitled to an additional £185.86 a month for looking after someone. This is known as the Carer’s Element of Universal Credit. It’s worth checking with the Universal Credit team to see how it’ll work for us.

This is a benefit for the person we care for if they’ve reached state pension age and have a physical or mental health disability. It's a payment to help with the extra care needs they may have.

If we're caring for someone who is under 16, they may be eligible for Disability Living Allowance or Child Disability Payment in Scotland. 

If the person we care for is over 16 (or of state pension age), they may be eligible for a Personal Independence Payment (PIP). PIP can help with the extra costs of living and there are two components: A daily living part, to help with everyday tasks, and a mobility part for help with getting around. 

A Carer’s Assessment with our local council can open doors to more help, including with the costs of caring. This could be in the form of Direct Payments - a one-off payment to us to either help us take breaks, pay for driving lessons or other ways depending on our needs as carers. 

Sometimes, our local council may offer grants to help with the costs of caring, such as home adaptations or equipment. It’s also helpful to know that we don’t have to pay VATs on adaptations if the person we care for has a disability - also known as a VAT relief.

It’s worth checking with the council and our local Carers Support Organisation. Turn2Us also has a helpful tool to help us search for local grants.  

If we’re on a low income and claiming a benefit, we may be eligible for a Council Tax reduction. Depending on where we live, our councils will have a different way of offering these so it’s worth checking. 

There are three main heating benefits from the UK Government that we may be eligible for; The Warm Home Discount, the Winter Fuel Payment, and the Cold Weather Payment. We dive into all the “what, hows, and whys” in our guide here.  

Make sure that we’re saving where we can with a list of places offering money off for carers here. See the full Carers’ Guide to suggested outing destinations across the UK.

If our State Pension is less than the £81.90 a week and we are providing 35 hours or more of care per week, then we can receive Carer’s Allowance as a “top up” to make up for the difference. If our State Pension is more than £81.90, we won’t be entitled to Carer’s Allowance. 

If we have a physical or mental health disability and need more help, we may be entitled to Attendance Allowance. Attendance Allowance has two different rates depending on the extent of our own care needs.

The person we care for may also be entitled to Attendance Allowance, if they have a disability. We can receive Carer’s Allowance and Attendance Allowance.

If we're caring for someone who is under 16, they may be eligible for Disability Living Allowance or Child Disability Payment in Scotland. 

If the person we care for is over 16 (or of state pension age), they may be eligible for a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) under certain circumstances. PIP can help with the extra costs of living and there are two components: A daily living part, to help with everyday tasks, and a mobility part for help with getting around. 

If we’re on a low income, we may be entitled to Pension Credit - separate from State Pension. This is extra money to help with our living costs such as housing or rent. As it’s means tested, it’s also important to note that State Pension, any other pensions, and Carer’s Allowance count as income if we’re receiving any of these.

If we’re on a low income and claiming a benefit, we may be eligible for a Council Tax reduction. Depending on where we live, our councils will have a different way of offering these so it’s worth checking. 

There are three main heating benefits from the UK Government that we may be eligible for; The Warm Home Discount, the Winter Fuel Payment, and the Cold Weather Payment. We dive into all the “what, hows, and whys” in our guide here. 

A Carer’s Assessment with our local council can open doors to more help, including with the costs of caring. This could be in the form of Direct Payments - a one-off payment to us to either help us take breaks, pay for driving lessons or other ways depending on our needs as carers. 

Sometimes, our local council may offer grants to help with the costs of caring, such as home adaptations or equipment. It’s also helpful to know that we don’t have to pay VATs on adaptations if the person we care for has a disability - also known as a VAT relief.

It’s worth checking with the council and our local Carers Support Organisation. Turn2Us also has a helpful tool to help us search for local grants. 

Make sure that we’re saving where we can with a list of places offering money off for carers here. See the full Carers’ Guide to suggested outing destinations across the UK.

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Use our quick benefits and savings toolkit to get financial support that is tailored to your caring role. From benefits to grants, money off utility bills to support from your local council, and more.