Carer's Allowance is £86.45 a week (2026/27) for anyone who provides 35 or more hours of care per week to someone receiving a qualifying disability benefit.
It is one of the most underclaimed benefits in the UK.
The rules around earnings limits, the overlapping-benefits rule with State Pension, and the qualifying conditions for the person being cared for frequently trip people up.
This walkthrough covers who qualifies, the earnings calculation, what happens if you are already receiving State Pension, and what the 'underlying entitlement' means in practice.
✓ Official source checked 2 September 2026 · GOV.UK last revised this form 6 April 2026DS700 on GOV.UK ↗
United Kingdom·Informational, not legal or financial advice·Official source: GOV.UK
✓Official form · always current
This is the same official DS700 file Department for Work and Pensions publishes on GOV.UK — the link below fetches the current version live from GOV.UK the moment you click it, so it can never go out of date.
The button gives you Carer's Allowance claim form. If that is not your situation, the other official versions are listed underneath.
Current version: April 2026 · confirmed on GOV.UK 2 September 2026
This walkthrough takes DS700 field by field, in plain English. Most of the form is straightforward; the part that trips carers up is the earnings test and the overlapping-benefits rule — why you can be entitled to Carer's Allowance and yet receive no extra money, and why it is still worth claiming.
Why State Pensioners should still claim
Assuming you can get Carer's Allowance on top of your State Pension.
The overlapping benefits rule means that if you receive State Pension at or above the CA rate (£86.45/week in 2026/27), you will not receive CA as a payment — it is simply set against the pension.
However, your 'underlying entitlement' to CA is preserved, which means you may still qualify for the means-tested Carer's Premium within Pension Credit or other means-tested benefits.
Always claim CA even if you are a State Pensioner — the underlying entitlement has value.
Carer's Allowance (CA) is a weekly benefit for people who spend at least 35 hours per week caring for a severely disabled person.
It is not means-tested on savings or capital.
However, it cannot be paid at the same rate as certain other benefits the carer receives — the 'overlapping benefits' rule means that if the carer receives a State Pension at or above the CA rate, CA is not paid on top (though the underlying entitlement is preserved as a 'underlying entitlement' which may still give access to other means-tested support).
The person being cared for must receive Attendance Allowance, PIP daily living component (standard or enhanced), or DLA care component at the middle or highest rate.
·Who Files — The carer (the person providing care); not the person being cared for
·28 pages · 65 fields guided
·Draws from your Estate File — People, Authority & Contacts, Personal Record, Income & Outgoings
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Section 1
Do you qualify? — the four conditions
You must meet all four conditions to receive Carer's Allowance. The most commonly misunderstood are the earnings test and the qualifying benefit requirement for the person you care for.
01
Condition 1 — you care for at least 35 hours per week
The 35-hour threshold covers all care you provide: personal care (washing, dressing, medication), supervision (monitoring safety, being present in case of need), and practical help (cooking, shopping, accompanying to appointments).
The 35 hours do not need to be continuous — they can be spread across the week.
You do not need to live with the person you care for.
You do not need to be the only carer — you just need to be providing the 35 hours yourself.
02
Condition 2 — the person you care for receives a qualifying benefit
The person being cared for must receive: Attendance Allowance (at either rate); Personal Independence Payment (PIP) daily living component at either the standard or enhanced rate; Disability Living Allowance (DLA) care component at the middle or highest rate; or, in some cases, Armed Forces Independence Payment.
CA is not available for caring for someone who is not receiving one of these benefits — even if the person is severely disabled.
If the person is not yet claiming their entitlement, they should do so first.
03
Condition 3 — the earnings test
Your net weekly earnings from employment or self-employment must not exceed £151 per week (2024/25).
'Net earnings' means earnings after deducting income tax, National Insurance, 50% of any pension contributions, and any childcare or adult dependant carer costs that allow you to work.
Pension income, investment income, and benefits are not counted as 'earnings'.
Part-time work at or below £151/week net is allowed.
04
Condition 4 — other eligibility
You must be aged 16 or over; you must not be in full-time education (21 hours per week or more of guided learning); you must be habitually resident in England, Scotland, or Wales; and you must not be subject to immigration control (subject to certain exceptions for EU citizens with settled status).
You must meet all four conditions to receive Carer's Allowance. The most commonly misunderstood are the earnings test and the qualifying benefit requirement for the person you care for.
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) · DS700❦
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Section 2
The overlapping benefits rule — Carer's Allowance and State Pension
Many carers who are of State Pension age assume they cannot get Carer's Allowance because they receive a pension. This is a half-truth. The full explanation matters — and claiming CA is always worth doing.
01
The overlapping rule
Carer's Allowance and State Pension are both 'contributory benefits' — you cannot receive both in full at the same time under the overlapping benefits rule (Social Security (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations 1979).
If your State Pension is £86.45/week or more, the CA amount is reduced to nil (offset against the pension).
You do not receive an extra payment on top of your pension.
02
Underlying entitlement — why you should still claim
Even though no payment is made, claiming CA and being awarded an 'underlying entitlement' (UE) has real financial value.
UE to CA means you may qualify for the Carer's Premium (£45.60/week in 2026/27) within Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, or Council Tax Reduction — means-tested benefits that use CA entitlement as a trigger.
If you are already receiving Pension Credit, Carer's Premium could be added to your award.
03
If your State Pension is below the CA rate
If your weekly State Pension is below £86.45 (for example, £70/week because of gaps in your NI record), DWP will pay the difference as a Carer's Allowance top-up, bringing your combined income to £86.45/week.
The top-up is small but real.
Many carers who are of State Pension age assume they cannot get Carer's Allowance because they receive a pension. This is a half-truth. The full explanation matters — and claiming CA is always worth doing.
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) · DS700❦
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Section 3
Completing DS700 — what the form asks
DS700 is one of the longer DWP forms (28 pages), but most sections are self-explanatory. The sections that require most care are the earnings calculation and the details of the qualifying benefit.
01
Sections 1–5 — personal details and care arrangements
Your name, date of birth, National Insurance number, and contact details.
The name and address of the person you care for, their date of birth, and their NI number.
How many hours per week you provide care — be specific and, if challenged, you may need to keep a care diary for a few weeks to demonstrate the hours.
02
Section 6 — the qualifying benefit
Enter the benefit the person you care for receives, the rate, and (if available) the reference number on their award letter.
DWP will verify this directly with the relevant benefit office.
If the person's benefit is under review or has lapsed, note this — CA cannot start until the qualifying benefit is confirmed.
03
Section 7 — employment and earnings
Enter your gross weekly or monthly earnings.
DWP will calculate your net earnings from this — but if your situation is complex (variable hours, self-employment, pension contributions), you should do the calculation yourself using the permitted deductions (income tax + NI + 50% pension contributions + allowable care costs) and show your working.
04
Backdating
You can ask to backdate your claim up to 3 months from the date you submit the form.
Write 'I want to backdate my claim to [date]' in the Any Other Information section.
You must meet all the conditions for the backdate period — DWP will ask you to confirm the hours you provided and that the qualifying benefit was in payment throughout.
DS700 is one of the longer DWP forms (28 pages), but most sections are self-explanatory. The sections that require most care are the earnings calculation and the details of the qualifying benefit.
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) · DS700❦
Many people file DS700 themselves — that is what this walkthrough is for. If the situation behind it has stopped being simple — an objection raised, a donor whose capacity is questioned, a Court of Protection application in view — Signum, Valoren’s own specialist desk, can take it on, and we say so plainly: it starts with a free intake, and if you do not need us, we will tell you. Prefer an independent adviser? STEP and the Chartered Institute of Taxation both keep public member directories, and neither pays Valoren a referral fee.
FAQ
DS700 questions, answered.
DS700 is the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) claim form for Carer's Allowance — a weekly benefit for someone who spends at least 35 hours a week caring for a person who receives a qualifying disability benefit.
It is one of the most underclaimed benefits in the UK.
The carer — the person providing the care — completes it, not the person being cared for.
You do not have to live with the person, and you do not have to be their only carer; you just have to be providing the 35 hours yourself.
There is no fixed deadline — you can claim from the date you meet all the conditions.
A claim can be backdated up to 3 months, so it is worth claiming as soon as you qualify.
You must have met all the conditions throughout any backdated period.
No. There is no fee to claim Carer's Allowance.
If you qualify it is paid weekly — £86.45 a week in 2026/27 (£4,495.40 a year) — but rates change each April, so check the current figure on gov.uk for your own situation.
Often no extra money is paid, because of the overlapping-benefits rule: if your State Pension is at or above the Carer's Allowance rate, the allowance is set against it rather than paid on top.
But you should still claim, because an 'underlying entitlement' to Carer's Allowance can unlock the extra carer amount within Pension Credit and other means-tested support.
Check your own position on gov.uk, or with a benefits adviser such as Carers UK or Citizens Advice.
Your own date of birth and National Insurance number, your earnings figures for the net-earnings test (the limit is £151 a week net in 2024/25 — check the current figure on gov.uk, as it changes each April), and the cared-for person's details and qualifying-benefit award, including its reference number where you have it.
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Where this fits
DS700 is one form. The file behind it is the rest.
Forms are easier when the records are ready.
For DS700, that means the carer's own details — date of birth and National Insurance number — together with the figures behind the net-earnings test, the cared-for person's details, and the qualifying benefit they receive (Attendance Allowance, PIP daily living, or DLA care component) with its award reference where you have it.
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