OVER 1.5million pensions are due up to £5,644 a year on top of their state pension starting in days.
It comes as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) boosts attendance allowance payments by 6.7%.
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An award of attendance allowance is now worth up to £5,644 per year.
The benefit, which is paid on top of the state pension, helps with extra costs if you have a disability severe enough that you need someone to help look after you.
It’s paid at two different rates and how much you get depends on the level of care that you need because of your disability.
You can get attendance allowance as long as you’ve reached state pension age (66) and the following applies:
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- You have a physical or mental disability or both
- Your disability is severe enough for you to need help caring for yourself
- You have needed that help for at least six months (unless you’re terminally ill)
There are 56 categories of medical conditions you can claim with, including heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and diabetes.
You are also entitled if a medical professional has said you might have 12 months or less to live.
From April 8, the lower rate is worth £72.65 (up from £68.10) a week or £3,777.80 a year, while the higher rate comes in at £108.55 (up from £101.75) a week or £5,644.60 as year.
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If you receive the lower rate, you are entitled to frequent help or constant supervision during the day, or supervision at night.
At a higher rate, you will get help or supervision throughout the day and night.
To apply, you must download the attendance allowance form and send it by post by visiting https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance/how-to-claim.
It should be sent to the following address: Attendance Allowance Unit, Mail Handling Site A, Wolverhampton WV98 2AD.
If you cannot print the form yourself, you can call the attendance allowance helpline on 0800 731 0122 and ask for a copy to be sent to you.
State pension payments are also rising
The full state pension will also increase by £901 on April 8 due to the triple lock remaining in place.
The triple lock system sees the state pension rise in line with whatever is highest out of: wages for May to July, 2.5% or September’s inflation figures.
Growth in employees’ average total pay was 8.5% in the three months to July last year, while the UK’s rate of inflation remained at 6.7% in September.
This means pensioners on the new state pension will receive a boost of as much as £901 a year from that date.
This is up from just over £10,600 to £11,501 a year.
And a weekly rise from £203.85 to £221.20 – a £17.35 increase.
But the exact amount of new state pension you receive depends on your national insurance (NI) record throughout your adult life.
If you have made at least 35 years of qualifying NI contributions, you may qualify for the maximum amount, outlined above.
Older pensioners who retired before April 2016 and on the basic state pension will get a weekly rise from £156.20 to £169.48, and an annual rise from £8,122.40 to £8,812.96.
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To get the full basic state pension you will need 30 years of NI contributions or credits.
To get any state pension at all, you will need at least 10 years on your NI record.
How does the state pension work?
AT the moment the current state pension is paid to both men and women from age 66 – but it’s due to rise to 67 by 2028 and 68 by 2046.
The state pension is a recurring payment from the government most Brits start getting when they reach State Pension age.
But not everyone gets the same amount, and you are awarded depending on your National Insurance record.
For most pensioners, it forms only part of their retirement income, as they could have other pots from a workplace pension, earning and savings.
The new state pension is based on people’s National Insurance records.
Workers must have 35 qualifying years of National Insurance to get the maximum amount of the new state pension.
You earn National Insurance qualifying years through work, or by getting credits, for instance when you are looking after children and claiming child benefit.
If you have gaps, you can top up your record by paying in voluntary National Insurance contributions.
To get the old, full basic state pension, you will need 30 years of contributions or credits.
You will need at least 10 years on your NI record to get any state pension.
