As a carer, keeping track of your finances can be a challenging task at any time, and if the person you care for is admitted to hospital or stays in a respite care facility for a while, this can sometimes have an impact on the benefits you and the person you care for receive.
Here we look at how a hospital or respite stay might affect financial benefits for you and the person you care for, so that you can feel more fully informed, be more prepared, and avoid any unexpected disruptions to your income.
Which benefits are affected by going into hospital?
If the person you care for receives Attendance Allowance (AA), Disability Living Allowance (DLA), or Personal Independence Payment (PIP), these can all be affected depending on how long they stay in hospital or respite care. If their stay totals 28 days or more, the care component (for DLA) or the daily living component (for PIP) can be suspended until the person you care for comes home because the NHS will be responsible for providing care during their hospital stay. The mobility component is usually unaffected.
As a carer, if you receive Carer’s Allowance (CA) this will continue to be paid unless the Attendance Allowance (AA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA) of the person you care for is suspended.
If you receive Universal Credit (UC), you may receive a Carer’s Element if you are supporting the person you care for for at least 35 hours a week. The Carer’s Element of UC will not be affected during a short hospital or respite stay, but if the person you care for is in hospital for more than 28 days and their PIP, AA or DLA is stopped, this could affect your claim.
Similarly, Pension Credit can also be affected if the person you care for is in hospital for over 28 days. As a carer you might receive Pension Credit as part of a couple, and it’s important to recognise that this could be affected if the partner you care for is in hospital or respite care for more than 28 days.
A state pension is not affected by a hospital or respite stay. If the person you care for is receiving a pension, it will continue to be paid in full, regardless of how long they are in hospital.
Financial support
It is common to worry about the financial implications of becoming a carer. This can be particularly true if you need to give up work or if your friend or relative requires specialist care or equipment.
You might be pleasantly surprised about the financial support that is available for you though. You just need to know where to look for it and how to ask for it.
More information
Many benefits remain unaffected until the person you care for has spent 28 days in hospital or residential respite care, and after 28 days, certain benefits will be adjusted.
The 28-day rule is worth noting up front, because it is not just 28 consecutive days in hospital that count, but any stays in hospital or respite care that are separated by fewer than 28 days; these days in hospital are added together under what is called the linking rule.
In practice, this means that if the person you care for has multiple short hospital or respite stays, or if the person you care for is transferred from a hospital to a residential setting for free short-term support or rehabilitation, and spends fewer than 28 days at home in between, all those days receiving care outside the home will count as part of the 28-day linking rule.
If those days add up to 28 days or more, their Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP), plus some other related benefits like Carers Allowance, could be affected.
Something else to be aware of is that for DLA, PIP, Adult Disability Payment (ADP), Attendance Allowance (AA) and Child Disability Payment (CDP) both the day of admission and the day of discharge are viewed as days out of hospital, so do not count towards this crucial 28 day period.
For all other benefits, the day you are admitted is not counted, but the day you are discharged is treated as a day in hospital and so it will count towards the 28 days.
Direct payments are ongoing funds provided by local councils to people with eligible care needs, allowing them to arrange their own care and support rather than relying on services arranged by the local authority or Trust. If the person you care for receives direct payments, these will not usually be affected by a short hospital stay.
If the person you care for is in hospital or respite care for over 28 days, the local authority may review their care package to assess whether their direct payments should be adjusted based on their stay in the hospital, but they will keep you updated on this so you will be aware of what to expect.
As a carer, you might also receive a direct payment (sometimes known as a ‘carer budget payment’) as a one-off amount given to support you in some way in your caring role; it might be used to pay for driving lessons, a gym membership or a break away for example. These direct payments will not be affected.
If you are caring for a child under the age of 18, you may be claiming Child Benefit. This will usually continue as normal up to your child spending 12 weeks in hospital. After 12 weeks, there may be a review of the situation, and this government website can give more specific advice.
If the person you take care of goes to a hospital or another place for respite care, it's important to inform the necessary authorities and organisations if they stay there for more than one day.
To make sure you are receiving the correct benefits, the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) will need to know when the person you care for has been admitted to hospital or respite care, and when they are discharged home again. This also ensures that you will have the right advice, can budget where necessary, and avoid being under or overpaid.
Whilst the DWP and your local authority oversee a lot of benefits, there are other people and organisations who may also need to be aware of the situation right from the start.
Our article on who needs to know when the person you care for is admitted to hospital can point you in the right direction.
Extra support and information on finances and benefits
If the person you care for has been admitted to hospital it can be a hugely challenging time for you both. Concern about finances can also add to your feelings of stress so it’s important to be aware that there is support available if you are unsure or have questions.
Some hospitals have onsite benefits advisors who can offer advice and assistance, so calling them to check or visiting the information desk usually found in the main hospital entrance area, is a good place to start if you’d like some extra help.
This government website link has more information about specific benefits and who to contact if the person you care for is admitted to hospital.
Financial support
If you are at all worried about finances at this stage, you are not alone. It’s important to know that there is financial support available from your Local Authority in the form of benefits and grants. Our article on Getting financial support as a carer is a detailed guide to receiving the support you are entitled to.
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Online Help and Advice
Visit our online support section where we have provided advice and guidance on a range of relevant topics to help you in your caring role.