Carers credit

I understand that if someone earns too much for carers allowance they can still get the carers credit but I have been told that the SDP will be lost but that doesn’t make sense to me.  Wouldn’t it be treated the same as underlying entitlement to Carers Allowance so SDP can still be included in the award for the cared for person.

Is it the carer’s credit - which is an NI credit or the carer’s element in UC
carer’s element in UC affects SDP

Thanks.  I am referring to the carers element.  Seems like another injustice.  Someone gets the carers element of £36 and the cared for person loses SDP of £64.30.

Sue B - 30 November 2018 09:40 AM

Thanks.  I am referring to the carers element.  Seems like another injustice.  Someone gets the carers element of £36 and the cared for person loses SDP of £64.30.

It may be an injustice but it’s no different to what happens with legacy benefits. Someone claiming Carer’s Allowance while on another means tested benefit only gains by the carer premium while cared for person lose SDP.

Ianb - 05 December 2018 06:50 AM

Sue B - 30 November 2018 09:40 AM

Thanks.  I am referring to the carers element.  Seems like another injustice.  Someone gets the carers element of £36 and the cared for person loses SDP of £64.30.

It may be an injustice but it’s no different to what happens with legacy benefits. Someone claiming Carer’s Allowance while on another means tested benefit only gains by the carer premium while cared for person lose SDP.

I think this is a different situation. The SDP is only lost if CA is paid under legacy benefits, so you can receive the premium and not affect the SDP (overlapping benefits / underlying entitlement). Under UC, you can get the carers element if you earn too much to qualify for CA, which is the situation described and in this case the SDP is lost. It seems to me that the concept of underlying entitlement has been eroded by UC, as if you receive the element, and not necessarily the CA, the cared for person loses the SDP, which was not necessarily the case under the legacy benefits. That’s the injustice.