Can you claim State Pension and Carer's Allowance together? Not in full: your pension counts first, and Carer's Allowance only makes up any shortfall.
A claim that pays nothing can still matter, and whether it does for you turns on household figures. Fitting a carer's claim around your retirement income is ground an FCA-authorised adviser covers free; pensioner carers book that chat via the form on this page.
Can I claim State Pension and Carer's Allowance at the same time?
You can claim both, but you will not be paid the full amount of both. GOV.UK says You cannot get the full amount of both Carer’s Allowance and your State Pension at the same time.
The Carer's Allowance rate is £86.45 a week, and the sum works like this:
- If your pension is £86.45 a week or more, you will not get a Carer's Allowance payment.
- If your pension is less than £86.45 a week, you get a payment that makes up the difference.
Put simply, you end up with whichever is higher rather than both added together. For 2026/27, DWP lists £241.30 a week as the full new State Pension, so someone on a full pension gets no Carer's Allowance payment. The older basic pension has a full rate of £184.90 a week in 2026/27, also according to DWP. A smaller pension, perhaps because of gaps in a National Insurance record, can leave room for a top-up. To see how an amount is built, read how your State Pension is worked out, and for the two types of pension, the new State Pension compared with the old one.
What is underlying entitlement to Carer's Allowance?
It is the position where you have claimed Carer's Allowance and would be getting it, except that another benefit already pays you a higher amount. For someone getting the State Pension, that other benefit is typically the pension itself. DWP's Pension Credit guidance describes it as someone who has claimed Carer’s Allowance or Carer Support Payment and would be getting it if they did not already have another contributory benefit paying a higher amount
and says we call this ‘underlying entitlement’
.
The word matters because some other help looks at whether you are entitled, not whether a payment lands in your account. GOV.UK states it for Pension Credit: if your State Pension is more than £86.45 a week, you will not get a Carer’s Allowance payment but your Pension Credit payments will increase instead.
The claim itself is the catch. GOV.UK's Pension Credit page covers the case where you’ve claimed Carer’s Allowance but are not being paid because you already get another benefit paying a higher amount
, so the claim has to be made, even if the first answer is a payment of nothing.
What does underlying entitlement still unlock?
Pension Credit. DWP's guidance says an extra amount for carers, £48.15 a week, can be paid if you or your partner are getting Carer's Allowance, or have underlying entitlement to it. If each partner satisfies one of those conditions, the extra amount is doubled. When either ends, it carries on for a further eight weeks. Pension Credit itself, including who qualifies, is explained in who gets Pension Credit and how much Pension Credit you could get; the carer addition is one of several extra amounts in Pension Credit.
Housing Benefit. The Housing Benefit rules for people over State Pension age include a carer premium where the claimant or his partner is, or both of them are, entitled to a carer's allowance
. The same rules count a benefit you would get but for the overlapping benefit rules, while the person you care for keeps their qualifying disability benefit, so underlying entitlement can qualify.
Council Tax Reduction. GOV.UK lists it among the things a Carer's Allowance recipient may be able to claim, and notes that each council runs its own scheme
, so the details vary by council. GOV.UK adds that getting Pension Credit could also make you eligible for Council Tax Reduction and Housing Benefit.
What else changes when you claim Carer's Allowance?
Two things catch people out. First, the person you care for may lose out. GOV.UK says that when you get Carer's Allowance, they will usually stop getting
a severe disability premium paid with their benefits and an extra amount for severe disability paid with Pension Credit, and may stop getting reduced Council Tax. The test is payment: DWP's Pension Credit guide sets the condition as no-one is paid Carer’s Allowance
for looking after them, and the pension-age Housing Benefit rules say entitled to, and in receipt of
. Underlying entitlement, which pays you nothing, should not on its own remove their extra amount; a part payment topping up a small pension would. Whoever pays their benefit, such as the Pension Service on 0800 99 1234, can confirm it.
Second, deferring. GOV.UK says that if you delay claiming your State Pension, it could increase what you get later, but You cannot build up extra State Pension during any period you get Carer’s Allowance.
The wider trade-offs of delay are in whether deferring your State Pension is worth it.
Credits towards a pension record are a separate matter, explained in which National Insurance credits count.
Should I still claim Carer's Allowance if I get the State Pension?
It may suit someone whose pension is below the allowance, or who gets, or might get, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction. For someone who has no means-tested benefits and a full State Pension, a claim may change nothing in cash terms. Where a small pension leaves room for a part payment, that payment can cost the person cared for their severe disability extra amount, which DWP puts at £86.05 a week for a single person in 2026/27. That is the trade-off to weigh, and it is worth setting the figures side by side before you send in a claim.
The conditions are set by GOV.UK: you must spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone, the person you care for must already get one of a list of disability benefits (Attendance Allowance is one example), and your earnings must be £204 or less a week after tax, National Insurance and expenses
. Torn either way? Send the form on this page today, and the FCA-authorised adviser on the call weighs the claim against your pension income.
You can backdate a claim by up to three months, and you do not need bank details if you get your State Pension. Claim online, by post or by phoning the Carer's Allowance Unit on 0800 731 0297.
Smaller points on Carer's Allowance and your pension
Can I defer my State Pension and claim Carer's Allowance?
Yes, but the weeks you get Carer's Allowance do not add to your deferred pension. GOV.UK's deferral guide says you must tell the Pension Service if you are on benefits and want to defer, and that time on these benefits does not count towards the minimum deferral period of 9 or 5 weeks, depending on when you reach State Pension age.
Do my private or workplace pension payments count against Carer's Allowance?
Not as earnings. GOV.UK lists money received from an occupational or private pension
as a payment that does not count. A large lump sum could still change a means-tested benefit you receive, which is a point an adviser on the free call-back can talk through.
What if two of us care for the same person?
Only one carer can be paid. If someone else already claims for the same person, you cannot, and DWP decides who receives it if you cannot agree.
I live in Scotland. Does any of this change?
You claim Carer Support Payment from Social Security Scotland instead of Carer's Allowance. DWP's Pension Credit guidance treats the two alike for the carer extra amount.
Can my partner and I both get the Pension Credit carer extra?
Yes. DWP says that if you and your partner have both claimed or are getting Carer's Allowance, you can both get this extra amount.
Where to get help with the claim
Carers UK, Carers Trust and Citizens Advice all give independent help and advice, according to GOV.UK, and the Pension Service can say how a claim fits with Pension Credit. The form on this page also arranges a no-cost call about your pension income. Claiming the pension itself is covered in how to claim your State Pension, and the full picture in the UK State Pension guide.