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What is Attendance Allowance?
Attendance Allowance offers additional financial support to those with a disability who are State Pension age or over. Around 60% of applications for Attendance Allowance are rejected so it is worth being aware of the pitfalls when applying for the benefit.
Eligibility
- Be living with an illness or disability.
- Require care from another person due to this disability.
- Have needed the above care for at least six months.
- Be State Pension age or over.
Attendance Allowance isn’t means tested. This means that how much money you have in savings or income won’t affect your eligibility for the benefit.
What are the Attendance Allowance rates for 2025/26
There are two different rates of Attendance Allowance. The rate you will receive will depend on the level of support you need.
From April 2025, the weekly rates for Attendance Allowance are:
| Lower rate | Higher rate |
| £73.90 | £110.40 |
If you’re already receiving Attendance Allowance but something has changed since you originally applied, you’ll need to report this to ensure you’re receiving the rate you’re entitled to.
Avoiding common mistakes
Receiving Attendance Allowance can make a huge difference financially to those who are eligible, but there are a few issues with the benefit.
Attendance Allowance pitfalls
- High rates of rejection – it’s estimated that around 60% of applications are rejected.
- A complicated application form.
- Needing to have required support for at least 6 months before you can apply.
While every case is different, we’ve covered some key tips for overcoming the most common issues when applying for Attendance Allowance.
Keep a diary in the weeks before applying
As part of your application, you’ll be required to include details of which areas of everyday life you need help with due to your disability. This will cover everything from getting out of bed in the morning to communicating with others.
Sometimes it can be difficult to remember everything, but keeping a diary will allow you to document each part of your day. This will ensure you’ll be able to provide an accurate insight into your everyday life and include as much information as possible to support your application.
Age UK provides a helpful weekly diary template to help you keep track of your requirements, day and night.
Read the notes
When you come to apply for Attendance Allowance, you’ll be provided with notes on how to complete the application form. If you’re going to print your own application form, the notes are available online here. If you request a claim form to be sent by post, the notes should be sent along with this or you can access them online too.
These notes provide guidance for how to complete each section of the form including:
- What information you should have before beginning your application – for example, your NI number, the name and address of your GP/GP surgery and details of your current medication.
- Information about who is eligible for Attendance Allowance.
- Definition of terms included in the form.
- A breakdown of what information is required for each question.
- Any supporting evidence you need to send along with your application.
These notes are fairly extensive and it can be tempting to skim read the information or not read it at all. However, any mistakes made on your application form could result in delays or complete rejection of your application.
Taking your time and read the notes to make sure you’re 100% sure of what the form entails and the information you’re expected to provide.
Include enough information
Withholding information – whether intentionally or not – is one of the key reasons for Attendance Allowance applications being rejected. In your application form, you need to give a complete picture of the help and support you need (not what you currently receive) so that the decision maker can accurately assess your requirements.
The Attendance Allowance form will ask you a range of questions based on different aspects of your life and wellbeing.
This includes questions related to:
- Who you are and whether somebody is helping you to complete the form.
- Your illness and/or disability.
- Medical assistance you’ve received in the last year, including appointments with your GP, any specialist you’ve seen, etc.
- Any non-medical care you’re receiving.
- Any health tests you’ve recently had.
- Your living situation – including any aids or adaptations you have, any care you currently receive or would benefit from, and anything you find difficult.
When completing your form:
- Don’t worry about repetition. Don’t leave information out just because you’ve already mentioned it in a previous section. It’s important to highlight every aspect of your day-to-day life and where you would benefit from support.
- Don’t expect the decision maker to have a prior understanding of your disability or illness. Unfortunately, the person considering your application form won’t be a medical expert, so try to explain everything in as much detail as possible.
- Be honest if every day isn’t exactly the same. Having days which are ‘better’ or ‘worse’ is a normal part of living with a health condition, and being transparent about the impacts this has on good and bad days will allow the person assessing your form to see how your life is being affected.
Get help to complete the form
With such a complicated application form, it can be challenging to get your head around everything you need to include.
It is possible to get help when applying for Attendance Allowance, and this can help to ensure you don’t miss any key components.
There are a couple of different options for this:
- Using the support of an adviser who will be able to guide you through the form (this should be a free service).
- Have a family member or friend help you to complete the form.
If you’ll be completing the form on behalf of another person:
- Answer questions in first person (as though the person is filling out the form themselves) and have them sign it at the end.
- If the person isn’t able to sign the form, you’ll need to have the legal right to complete it on their behalf.
A statement from someone who knows you
At the end of the Attendance Allowance application form is a section called ‘statement from someone who knows you’. Completing the section is optional, but it can really help your application.
As the name suggests, this section provides the opportunity for somebody who knows you to provide an account of how your illness or disability affects you. If possible, ask a GP or other healthcare professional you’ve seen recently to do this for you. If this isn’t an option, you could ask a carer if you have one, or a close family member or friend.
It’s important that the person who completes this section gives a full and accurate description of your day-to-day needs that supports the information that you’ve given throughout your application.
Don’t worry about your income or savings
Many people don’t apply for Attendance Allowance at all because they think they have too much money to be eligible, but this isn’t the case.
Attendance Allowance isn’t awarded based on income, savings, or any other capital you may have. All that matters is that you are state pension age or over and need extra support due to a disability or illness.
How to apply for Attendance Allowance
The easiest way to apply for Attendance Allowance is on the government website where you can download a copy of the application form and either complete it online and then print out, or print out and complete it by hand.
If you don’t have access to a printer, you can call the helpline to request a form be sent to you in the post.
Attendance Allowance helpline:
Telephone: 0800 731 0122
Textphone: 0800 731 0317
Once complete, send the form to:
Freepost DWP Attendance Allowance
You don’t need a postcode or a stamp.
Please note that the application form must be sent by post and won’t be accepted if sent via email. For more detailed advice on completing the Attendance Allowance application form, Age UK offers a useful step-by-step guide.
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