Your mother or father is growing older at home, and you’re wondering how to ease the burden of care costs. Good news: several government support schemes exist that families overlook almost systematically, simply through lack of clear information. Research suggests between 30 and 40 per cent of eligible older people never claim the support available to them.
This matters financially: hundreds of pounds each month remain unclaimed, when they could fund home care assistance, adaptations to the bathroom or telecare equipment. Here are five practical support schemes, often overshadowed by the well-known social care options, that deserve to be checked immediately.
Why so many support schemes remain unknown to families
Administrative complexity explains much of the problem. Between local authorities, the NHS, pension providers and housing agencies, each organisation manages its own programmes, with different eligibility criteria and financial thresholds. Result: an older parent can qualify for three different supports without any healthcare professional volunteering the information.
Support rarely triggers automatically. You must submit an application, sometimes to several organisations at once, which deters many families already stretched managing daily arrangements. The process requires persistence across multiple government agencies and can feel overwhelming.
Support scheme number 1: Attendance Allowance
Attendance Allowance is a non-means-tested disability benefit for people over State Pension age who need help with personal care or require supervision to stay safe. It is specifically designed for people living at home, including with family, and is not normally paid to those in local authority-funded care homes.
The allowance is for people with a physical or mental disability or long-term health condition requiring help with washing, dressing, eating or using the toilet. You must have needed this help for at least six months, unless terminally ill (special rules apply for people not expected to live beyond twelve months).
Rates from April 2026 are:
- Lower rate: £76.70 per week – if help is needed during the day or at night
- Higher rate: £114.60 per week – if help is needed both day and night
The allowance is paid directly to the older person, usually every four weeks in arrears. Attendance Allowance is not means-tested and not taxable. It is disregarded when calculating means-tested benefits such as Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction. Receiving Attendance Allowance can enable the carer to claim Carer’s Allowance.
Support scheme number 2: Carer’s Allowance and carer support from local authorities
If you or another family member provide care for an older person receiving Attendance Allowance, you may qualify for Carer’s Allowance – a weekly payment for people caring for someone with substantial needs. This is one of the most underused benefits in the UK system.
Carer’s Allowance is means-tested and currently paid at £81.90 per week (2025-26), though from April 2026 the rate will increase. You must care for the eligible person for at least 35 hours per week and earn below a set threshold from work.
Beyond Carer’s Allowance, some local authorities fund carer support services – respite breaks, counselling, training and practical help – often at no cost to the carer. Contact your local authority’s adult services team to ask what carer support is available in your area.
Support scheme number 3: Pension Credit and means-tested top-ups to income
Pension Credit is a benefit for people over State Pension age with a low income. It tops up weekly income to a minimum threshold – in 2025-26, £218.15 for a single person and £332.92 for a couple. From April 2026, these thresholds will increase.
Crucially, Pension Credit is means-tested, but it disregards Attendance Allowance entirely as income, and also disregards the first £10 per week of any other income. Many older people miss out on hundreds of pounds annually because they assume they earn too much or don’t realise they qualify.
Claiming Pension Credit automatically unlocks eligibility for other support: Housing Benefit (or a housing element in Universal Credit), Council Tax Reduction, and help with NHS charges including prescriptions, dental care and optical services. A single claim to Pension Credit can unlock multiple benefits.
Support scheme number 4: Local authority social care and NHS Continuing Healthcare
When an older parent needs regular care assistance at home, the local authority has a legal duty to assess their needs and provide support if they qualify. This is often paid for from a personal budget or a direct payment, giving the family choice in who provides the care.
However, the distinction between local authority-funded social care and NHS Continuing Healthcare is crucial. NHS Continuing Healthcare is fully funded health care for people with complex or intensive nursing or care needs. If your parent qualifies, the NHS – not the family – meets all costs.
Many families pay local authority social care charges unnecessarily because nobody checked whether NHS Continuing Healthcare applied. The assessment involves healthcare professionals and can take weeks, but the financial difference is substantial. If your parent has moved from hospital to home care, or has complex medical needs, ask your GP or hospital discharge team to assess eligibility immediately.
Support scheme number 5: Council Tax support and disabled person’s reduction
Older people with disabilities can claim a disabled person’s reduction on Council Tax – a band reduction that applies permanently once granted, unlike means-tested Council Tax Reduction. This reduction applies when a person with a disability needs an extra room for medical or care equipment, or when aids and adaptations require a separate space.
Council Tax Reduction is a separate means-tested scheme that can cover some or all Council Tax charges based on household income. Both schemes can apply to the same household, and neither depends on claiming any other benefit, though lower income makes both more likely to apply.
Application goes to your local authority’s Council Tax team. The disabled person’s reduction is often granted for life once approved; Council Tax Reduction is assessed annually and requires annual reconfirmation.
| Support scheme | Provided by | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance Allowance | Department for Work and Pensions | Over State Pension age, needing personal care help |
| Carer’s Allowance | Department for Work and Pensions | Unpaid carers providing 35+ hours weekly care |
| Pension Credit | Department for Work and Pensions | Over State Pension age, low income |
| Social care or NHS Continuing Healthcare | Local authority or NHS | People with assessed care or health needs |
| Council Tax support and disabled reduction | Local authority | Low income or disability-related housing needs |
How to check eligibility and make applications
Each scheme is administered by a different organisation, which explains why many applications stall. For Attendance Allowance, Carer’s Allowance and Pension Credit, apply through the Department for Work and Pensions online, by phone on 0800 731 0122, or by post.
For social care assessment, contact your local authority’s adult social care team. For NHS Continuing Healthcare, ask your GP or hospital discharge team. For Council Tax matters, contact your local authority’s revenues or benefits team.
Your local authority’s benefits advisory service, if it has one, can guide you towards the right scheme and help with application forms – a single visit can clarify which supports apply to your parent’s situation. Citizens Advice also offers free benefit checks and can help identify overlooked entitlements.
Key action point: if your parent has very limited income and no capital, they may also qualify for Guarantee Credit (the income-related part of Pension Credit), which can be claimed alongside Attendance Allowance and other benefits above. Some older people are entitled to between £200-400 additional monthly support they have never claimed. A benefits check through Citizens Advice, Age UK or your local authority costs nothing and takes an hour.
Start with a benefits check – today
Many families delay because the system feels too complicated. But a benefits check at Citizens Advice or Age UK takes one hour and can reveal hundreds of pounds in unclaimed annual support. Given that care costs continue to rise, and government funding remains flat, claiming every entitlement your parent qualifies for is not bureaucratic pedantry – it is financial necessity.
Your parent paid taxes and National Insurance contributions throughout their working life. These schemes exist to support them in older age. If you have not checked eligibility in the past two years, now is the time.
