Pensioner from Seghill using savings to care for his wife after DWP's 'unfair' cut to his carer's allowance

Just one day after being told his state pension was due to start, David Kidd, 65, a retired financial adviser, was informed by the Department for Work and Pensions that his £305 carer’s allowance was to be stopped.

David has cared for his wife, Janice, for 15 years after multiple sclerosis left her unable to walk and paralysed the right side of her body.

David balanced his career and caring responsibilities, even starting his own company in 2010, until in 2018 a cardiac arrest left him “lucky to be alive” and forced him to retire.

From then on, apart from some savings, David’s sole income was his carer’s allowance.

According to the DWP’s letter to David, he cannot be paid a carer’s allowance as well as state pension if the pension is “equal to or higher” than the weekly allowance.

David said: “The big problem with carer’s allowance is that is it taxable and therefore classed as an income benefit.

“The department will only pay you one benefit even if you qualify for four, and the one they pay you is the largest one.

"My state pension, in my view, is based on my national insurance, so for them to pay my state pension in December and take off the carer’s allowance, is the equivalent of paying me £500, not £800.

“To me that is unfair. I have had to live for four years on my own savings.

"It is only £300 a month. That is the difference between me taking another £300 a month out of savings.”

Carers UK and the MS Society both called for changes to carer’s allowance restrictions.

Helen Walker, chief executive at Carers UK, said: “We know this issue brings a huge sense of frustration for unpaid carers reaching retirement age.

“Caring for more than 35 hours a week, every week, in later life is physically challenging and carers want to be recognised for their caring role and given adequate financial support.

"Caring also often brings significant additional costs with it, with the carer often paying from their own pocket for particular products, equipment, or services.”

Ceri Smith, head of policy at MS Society, said: “Together with the Carer Poverty Coalition, we are calling on the government to reform carer’s allowance by relaxing the eligibility criteria and increasing how much the benefit is worth.

"The government must also provide additional payments to older carers to ensure they are better supported to care for their loved ones in later life.”

A DWP spokesperson said: “We have protected pensioners with the biggest state pension increase in history this year and are committed to the triple lock.

“We are boosting pension credit, worth around £3,500 a year for those on the lowest incomes, and pensioners will get another £300 this winter to help with essential costs, on top of winter fuel payments.

“For carers, there is no upper age limit to claiming carer’s allowance and your state pension will be topped up if it is less than the carer’s allowance.”