Support for carers

A range of financial support may be available for carers including a Council Tax exemption and benefits. 

Council Tax 

People with severe and permanent mental health issues may be exempted from paying Council Tax. Visit Council Tax discounts and exemptions for application information.

Benefits 

Some of the benefits you or the person you care for may be entitled to include: 

• Personal Independence Payment (PIP) which helps with living costs if you have a long term physical or mental health condition, or a disability that limits you from doing everyday tasks 
• Attendance Allowance which helps with extra costs if you are over state pension age and have a disability that requires someone to look after you - Attendance Allowance is not means tested, so how much you get is not affected by how much you have in savings
• Carers Allowance which is a benefits payment for people who care for someone more than 35 hours a week - you may not qualify for payments if you earn over a certain threshold, but applying gives you access to other benefits as well as proof of your caring role
• Carers Credit which gives National Insurance (NI) credits to people who care for someone at least 20 hours a week, but are not eligible for Carer’s Allowance - this helps avoid gaps in your NI record which can affect other benefits or state pensions
• Universal Credit which helps with living costs if you are on low income, out of work or cannot work - it may include extra payments if you are unable to work due to disability or health conditions, or if you are a carer
• Pension Credit which is available to those receiving State Pension and on a low income. If you are claiming Attendance Allowance or Carers Allowance you may also be eligible for additional payments. Find out more information on how to claim on our Pension Credit webpage. 
• Carer’s Premium/Addition which is an extra allowance you could get if you are already receiving other benefits

To find out which benefits you are entitled to, contact your local Citizens Advice to arrange a benefit check:

• residents of Walton-on-Thames, Weybridge and Hersham should contact Citizens Advice Elmbridge West
• residents of all other areas of the borough should contact Esher and District Citizens Advice

Cost of living support

For general cost of living advice (including financial, health and wellbeing support) see cost of living.