The Attendance Allowance criteria are narrower than the form makes them look, and wider than most families assume. You must have reached State Pension age, have a disability or health condition, need help caring for yourself or supervision to stay safe, and have needed that help for at least six months.
That is the whole test. There is no means test, no savings limit, and no requirement that anyone is currently being paid to help.
Families across Hertfordshire often rule themselves out long before they reach the form. The two usual reasons are that no money is changing hands, or that the person copes perfectly well on a good day. Neither of those disqualifies anybody.
What are the Attendance Allowance criteria?
GOV.UK sets four conditions, and all four have to apply.
The first is age. You must have reached State Pension age at the point you claim.
The second is a physical disability, including a sensory disability such as blindness, a mental disability including learning difficulties, or a health condition. The diagnosis itself is not the test, and there is no list of qualifying conditions.
The third is that the condition is severe enough that you need help caring for yourself, or someone to supervise you for your own or someone else's safety. The fourth is that you have needed that help for at least six months.
There are residence conditions as well. You need to be in Great Britain when you claim, to have been here for at least two of the last three years, and to be habitually resident.
Why the six month rule catches families out
This part of the Attendance Allowance criteria looks backwards, not forwards. It asks how long you have already needed the help, not how long you will go on needing it.
That matters after a stroke, a fall or a new diagnosis. The need can be obvious to everyone in the family from the first week, and the claim still has to wait.
In our experience the practical step is simply to write down when the help started. Families rarely remember the date six months later, and it makes the form far easier to complete honestly.
What needing help actually means
This is where families underclaim rather than where the DWP refuses.
Help with caring for yourself covers ordinary things: washing, dressing, eating, getting to and from the toilet, managing medication. It counts whether or not anybody currently does it for you.
Supervision is the half families forget. If someone needs another person nearby to stay safe, because of falls, confusion, or a condition that can change quickly, that is supervision and it counts.
Two further points are worth knowing. Help you need but do not receive still counts, and help needed at night counts separately from help needed during the day.
Which rate the criteria lead to
Attendance Allowance comes at two rates, and the level of help decides which one.
The lower rate is £76.70 a week, for frequent help or constant supervision during the day, or supervision at night.
The higher rate is £114.60 a week, for help or supervision throughout both day and night, or where a medical professional has said someone is nearing the end of life.
If it is the arithmetic you want rather than the test, we have set out how much Attendance Allowance is worth and what each rate covers separately.
The end of life criteria are different
Separate rules cover someone nearing the end of life, and the difference is substantial.
The six month qualifying period does not apply. The DWP handles the claim more quickly and pays the higher rate.
Nobody should have to discover this by reading a form. Where a clinician has begun to talk about end of life care, the claim is worth making straight away.
When the criteria cannot be met
There are four situations where the Attendance Allowance criteria cannot be met, however much help someone needs.
You cannot receive it alongside Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Adult Disability Payment, Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance or Armed Forces Independence Payment.
Someone living in a care home whose care the local authority pays for usually cannot claim. A person paying all of their own care home costs still can.
People living in Scotland apply for Pension Age Disability Payment instead. And someone subject to immigration control cannot claim, unless they are a sponsored immigrant.
Will there be an assessment?
Usually not. GOV.UK is clear that the DWP only arranges an assessment where it is unclear how the disability or health condition affects you.
If you do need one, a letter explains why and where to go, and a medical professional examines you.
The DWP decides most claims on the form and the evidence you send with it. So an hour spent on the form is worth more than an hour spent worrying about an examination.
Where to get help with the criteria in Hertfordshire
Nobody has to work this out alone, and the free routes come first.
Age UK Hertfordshire runs an information and advice service on 0300 345 3446. HertsHelp, the county's independent signposting service, is on 0300 123 4044 and is open at weekends when the council line is not.
We are a CQC registered home care provider rather than benefits advisers. What we can say from the families we support is that Attendance Allowance is the money most often used to start care at home, and that savings and income do not affect it. Whether it is means tested at all is the question we are asked most.
Common Questions About Attendance Allowance Criteria
Do the Attendance Allowance criteria require a specific diagnosis?
No. There is no list of qualifying conditions. The test is the help you need because of a physical or mental disability or a health condition, not the name of the condition itself.
Does the six month rule mean you have to wait six months before applying?
The help must already have been needed for six months before an award can begin. The exception is where a medical professional has said someone is nearing the end of life, when the qualifying period does not apply at all.
Do you still meet the criteria if family help rather than a paid carer?
Yes. It makes no difference who provides the help, or whether anyone provides it at all. What matters is the help needed because of the condition, so help you need but do not currently receive still counts.
Read properly, the Attendance Allowance criteria describe an ordinary day rather than a hurdle. If someone needs help washing, dressing, eating or staying safe, and has needed it for six months, they meet the test.
If care at home is the next question, our St Albans team is on 01727 324 127 or at [email protected], and our care funding guide sets out how the different pots fit together.
Arranging Care Is Simple
Starting care can feel like a big step. We keep it calm and straightforward, and we are here to guide you from your very first call.
1. Talk to us
Get in touch by phone or request a callback. We will listen, answer your questions and help you understand the options, so you can decide what feels right in your own time.
2. A home visit and initial consultation
We arrange a visit to understand your routines, your home and what matters most to you. Together we agree an initial consultation and shape the support that feels right.
3. Your care begins
A small, familiar team starts your care, arriving at the agreed times and staying involved as your needs change. We remain your trusted adviser throughout.
Whenever you are ready, we are here to help.