Attendance Allowance: the complete UK guide (2026/27)

Attendance Allowance is a tax-free benefit of £76.70 or £114.60 a week (2026/27) for people over State Pension age who need help with personal care or supervision because of a health condition or disability. It is not means-tested — savings, income and home ownership are irrelevant — and your parent does not need to have anyone actually caring for them to qualify. At the higher rate it is worth £5,959 a year, and it often unlocks further help such as Pension Credit and council tax support.

Yet Attendance Allowance is one of the most under-claimed benefits in the UK, largely because the claim form runs to around 30 pages and many families assume — wrongly — that their parent “wouldn’t qualify”. This guide covers everything: who can claim, what the money is for, how to apply, and what to do if a claim is refused.

This guide is general information, not financial or legal advice. For advice about your own situation, speak to a regulated professional, or a free service such as Citizens Advice or Age UK.

What is Attendance Allowance?

Attendance Allowance is a benefit paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to people over State Pension age who need help looking after themselves. “Help” is broad: washing, dressing, taking medication, getting to the toilet, eating, or simply needing someone to keep an eye on them so they stay safe — for example because of dementia, poor balance or seizures.

Three things surprise most families:

• It is not means-tested. Your parent can have savings, a private pension and own their home. None of it matters.
• Nobody has to be providing the care. The test is whether help is needed, not whether it is received. A parent who lives alone and struggles through the day still qualifies.
• The money is not inspected. There are no receipts to submit. Your parent can spend it on a cleaner, taxis, ready meals, heating — whatever makes life more manageable.

It is paid on top of the State Pension, it is tax-free, and it does not count as income for other benefits. In fact it often increases them — more on that below.

How much is Attendance Allowance in 2026/27?

There are two rates, and which one your parent gets depends on when they need help:

Rate	Weekly amount	Per year	Who it’s for
Lower rate	£76.70	£3,988	Help or supervision needed during the day or during the night
Higher rate	£114.60	£5,959	Help or supervision needed during the day and the night, or a terminal illness

Rates correct for the 2026/27 tax year. Benefit rates change every April — always check the current figures on gov.uk.

Payment is usually made every four weeks directly into a bank account. There is no mobility component — Attendance Allowance is purely about care and supervision needs — but problems with mobility usually create care needs (help on the stairs, support getting to the toilet at night), and those count.

Who can claim Attendance Allowance?

Your parent can claim if all of these apply:

1. They are over State Pension age (currently 66). Younger people claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP) instead.
2. They have a physical or mental health condition or disability. Common examples: arthritis, dementia, Parkinson’s, heart disease, sight or hearing loss, the after-effects of a stroke or a bad fall, severe anxiety.
3. They need help with personal care or supervision to stay safe. This is about needs, not diagnosis — two people with the same condition can have very different needs.
4. They have needed that help for at least six months. If they are terminally ill, this waiting period is waived and the claim is fast-tracked under the special rules (see below).
5. They live in Great Britain and are habitually resident. (In Scotland, new claims are for Pension Age Disability Payment instead — same rates, different name.)

They cannot get Attendance Allowance at the same time as PIP or the care component of Disability Living Allowance. There are no National Insurance conditions — it doesn’t matter what they paid in over their working life.

What counts as “needing help”?

This is where genuine claims are won or lost. The DWP is asking whether your parent reasonably needs attention (hands-on help or prompting) or supervision (someone keeping them safe) in connection with bodily functions. In practice, all of these count:

• Help washing, bathing or showering — including encouragement or prompting
• Help dressing or undressing
• Reminders or supervision to take medication safely
• Help getting to or using the toilet, including at night
• Help cutting up food or encouragement to eat
• Someone needing to be nearby in case they fall
• Supervision because they get confused, forget the gas, or might wander
• Help communicating: reading letters, using the phone, hearing the doorbell

Two rules of thumb when judging whether it’s worth claiming:

• Think about the worst days, not the best. Conditions fluctuate. The question is what help is needed over time, not on a good morning.
• “Managing” often means struggling. If your parent takes forty-five minutes to dress, avoids bathing because they fear falling, or has stopped cooking proper meals — that is a care need, even though they “cope”.

How do you claim Attendance Allowance?

There are three routes:

1. Phone the Attendance Allowance helpline on 0800 731 0122 and ask them to post a claim form. This has a hidden advantage: if the signed form is returned within six weeks, the claim is treated as starting on the day of the phone call, so no money is lost while you fill it in.
2. Download form AA1 from gov.uk and post it. The claim starts when the DWP receives the form.
3. Claim online at gov.uk, where available — the DWP has been rolling out online claims; check gov.uk/attendance-allowance for the current position.

The form itself is long — around 30 pages — and how you fill it in matters enormously. We’ve written a separate question-by-question walkthrough of the Attendance Allowance form covering what the DWP is really asking and the phrases that sink genuine claims.

You don’t need a diagnosis letter to claim, but supporting evidence helps: a GP summary, a care plan, a list of medications, or a short letter from anyone who helps regularly.

How long does a decision take?

Most families hear back within a few weeks to a couple of months, by letter. If the claim succeeds, payment is backdated to the start of the claim. Awards are sometimes made for a fixed period and sometimes indefinitely; the decision letter will say which.

If your parent’s needs increase later — say they start needing help at night as well as during the day — you can ask the DWP to look at the award again and move from the lower to the higher rate.

What if the claim is refused?

Don’t take a refusal as final. Many refusals happen because the form undersold the real situation, not because the person doesn’t qualify.

1. Ask for a mandatory reconsideration within one month of the decision letter. This is a written request for the DWP to look again. Add anything the form missed — night-time needs are the most commonly forgotten.
2. If that fails, appeal to an independent tribunal. Tribunals are less daunting than they sound, and a large share of benefit appeals succeed — the tribunal hears the full story rather than just the form.

Free help is available at every stage from Citizens Advice and Age UK, and this is exactly the kind of admin Kinsorted is being built to handle.

What other help does Attendance Allowance unlock?

An award of Attendance Allowance is a key that opens other doors, which is why it’s usually the right benefit to sort out first:

• Pension Credit. Attendance Allowance doesn’t count as income, and it can add an extra severe-disability amount to a Pension Credit award — or bring your parent into entitlement for the first time. See our free benefits check.
• Council tax support. Extra reductions can apply, and someone with a severe mental impairment (such as dementia) may be “disregarded” for council tax entirely.
• Carer’s Allowance. If you or another family member provides 35 or more hours of care a week, an Attendance Allowance award is what makes you eligible to claim Carer’s Allowance. (One caution: a carer claiming Carer’s Allowance can reduce the severe-disability amount in your parent’s Pension Credit — check both sides before claiming.)
• Other practical help, such as a Blue Badge in some areas and priority services from utility companies.

What are the special rules for terminal illness?

If your parent is terminally ill and not expected to live more than 12 months, the claim is fast-tracked: no six-month waiting period, a short claim form supported by a medical form (SR1) from their doctor or specialist nurse, the higher rate paid automatically, and a decision usually within days. Your parent does not have to be told the prognosis for a claim to be made on their behalf.

What about Scotland?

New claims in Scotland are for Pension Age Disability Payment, paid by Social Security Scotland at the same rates as Attendance Allowance. Existing Scottish Attendance Allowance awards have been transferred automatically. The eligibility tests are broadly the same; see mygov.scot for details.

Is it worth applying?

Almost always, yes — if your parent needs any regular help or supervision. The higher rate is £5,959 a year, tax-free, with no means test and no effect on other income. The only real cost is the effort of the form, and that is a solvable problem: start with our walkthrough of the form, or run the free benefits check to see what else your parent may be entitled to at the same time.