Attendance Allowance 2026: how much you get and how to claim

Quick summary

Attendance Allowance is £76.70 or £114.60 a week from April 2026. It is not means-tested, it is not taxed, and it does not matter what savings or pension someone has. You claim on form AA1, which you download from GOV.UK or request by phone on 0800 731 0122. There is no way to submit it online.

How much is Attendance Allowance in 2026?

These are the 2026/27 rates, confirmed in the DWP’s Benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027, and they apply from April 2026 until April 2027. They rose from £73.90 and £110.40 the previous year. Rates are uprated each April.

It is paid straight into a bank account, usually every four weeks.

Who qualifies?

Four things need to be true at the same time.

• State Pension age or over. Under that age, the equivalent is Personal Independence Payment.
• A physical or mental health condition that means help with personal care or supervision is needed. There is no list of qualifying conditions.
• The need has lasted at least six months. The exception is people nearing the end of life, who are fast-tracked under special rules.
• Residence. Normally living in Great Britain, and having been here for at least two of the last three years.

In Scotland, new claims are made for Pension Age Disability Payment instead. This page covers England and Wales.

The two reasons people wrongly rule themselves out

These come up constantly, and both are wrong.

“We have savings, so she will not get it.” Attendance Allowance is not means-tested. Savings, investments, a private pension, a paid-off house, income of any size: none of it makes any difference to eligibility or to the amount. There is no upper savings limit and no income cut-off.

“Nobody helps her, so she cannot claim.” The test is the help someone reasonably needs, not the help they currently receive. Somebody living alone with nobody helping them, managing slowly and dangerously, is precisely the situation the benefit exists for. You do not need to have a carer, and you do not need to be paying for care.

What counts as needing help?

More than people think, and the form asks about it in a way that catches people out.

It covers help with washing, bathing, dressing, using the toilet, eating, moving about indoors, and taking medication. It also covers supervision, meaning someone needing to keep an eye out to prevent danger, which is how many dementia claims succeed even when the person physically manages.

It does not include help with getting around outdoors. There is no mobility component.

How do I claim?

Form AA1: 

• Download it from GOV.UK, or call the helpline on 0800 731 0122 and ask for a paper copy.
• You cannot submit it online. It is a PDF you fill in and post.
• You cannot complete it on a phone or tablet. GOV.UK is explicit: use a desktop or laptop, or print it and write by hand.
• It posts back freepost, to Freepost DWP Attendance Allowance. No stamp and no postcode needed.
• Send it back within six weeks of the date on the form.

Source: GOV.UK, Attendance Allowance claim form. If a paper form is requested by phone, the claim can be backdated to the date of that call, so ring rather than downloading if there is likely to be a delay filling it in.

How to fill the form in without underselling it

This is where most claims are won or lost, and the challenge is that older people consistently understate their difficulties.

• Describe the bad days as well as the good ones. The form asks how often, and an average across a fortnight is more accurate than the best day this week.
• Include help that is needed but not given. “She should not be getting in the bath alone but she does” belongs on the form.
• Say how long things take. Getting dressed in forty minutes with three rests is different from getting dressed.
• Describe the risk. What could happen, not only what has happened.
• Cover the nights. The higher rate depends on night-time needs, and this is the section most often left thin.
• Keep a diary for a week first. It is the single most useful preparation, because it turns vague impressions into specifics.

Free help completing the form is available from Age UK and Citizens Advice, and it is worth taking. 

What else does it unlock?

An Attendance Allowance award is one of the qualifying benefits for the Council Tax severe mental impairment disregard. Where someone is medically certified as severely mentally impaired, through dementia, Parkinson’s, stroke or a similar condition, and is entitled to a qualifying benefit, they are disregarded for Council Tax. Living alone, that means no Council Tax at all. Living with one other adult, a 25 per cent discount (GOV.UK).

It can also increase Pension Credit, because it is treated favourably in that means test, and it may open the door to Carer’s Allowance for someone providing substantial care. Tell the Pension Service and the local council when an award comes through, so other entitlements can be reviewed.

Does it affect anything else?

It is tax-free, it does not reduce the State Pension, and it does not count as income for most other benefits.

One thing to be aware of: it is counted as income in a local authority financial assessment for care charges. So it will not stop council-funded care, but it may increase an assessed contribution. That is still better than not having it, and it has no effect at all for anyone paying privately.

Frequently asked questions

How much is Attendance Allowance a week?

£76.70 at the lower rate and £114.60 at the higher rate for 2026/27, from April 2026 to April 2027.

Do I have to spend it on care?

No. There is no requirement to spend it on anything in particular. Plenty of people put it towards heating, taxis, a cleaner or a few hours of help a week.

How long does a decision take?

It varies, and several weeks is normal. If awarded, payment is generally backdated to the date of the claim, or to the date a paper form was requested by phone.

What if the claim is refused?

You can ask for a mandatory reconsideration, and then appeal. Refusals often turn on a form that understated the difficulty rather than on genuine ineligibility, so it is worth getting help from Age UK or Citizens Advice before giving up.

Can I claim on my mum’s behalf?

You can complete the form with her and she signs it. If she cannot manage her own affairs, someone with power of attorney or appointee status can act for her.

Does it stop if she goes into hospital?

Payments are usually suspended after a period as an inpatient and restart on discharge. Tell the DWP about hospital stays, because overpayments have to be repaid.

About Visiting Angels Cheshire East

Visiting Angels Cheshire East provides care at home across Macclesfield, Wilmslow, Knutsford, Congleton, Alsager and the villages of East Cheshire, along with Buxton, Whaley Bridge and the Staffordshire Moorlands towns.

• You choose your caregiver. You meet them before care starts, and if it is not right you say so and we send someone else.
• No visit is ever shorter than an hour. There is no such thing as a fifteen minute call here.
• You see the same faces. Our carer turnover is 12 per cent, against a sector figure of 23.7 per cent (Skills for Care, 2025).
• Carers trained in dementia, Parkinson’s, stroke recovery and complex care.
• Live-in care available, up to full time.

Sharon’s mother had been having visits for a fortnight when she wrote this:

“It is not something we ever thought we would need but Visiting Angels have been wonderful. They came to see us to find out exactly what we needed, even though we weren’t completely sure ourselves, but through our conversation we were able to put a package of support in place. They offered advice on other things that were available to us as well particularly financially. They put our minds at ease during what was quite a stressful time in our lives.”

Sharon Thornton, Google review

Not sure what you need yet? Start with a free assessment

Our free home care assessment is a visit at a time that suits you, with no obligation afterwards. 

In it we will:

• Work out what is actually difficult, and which times of day, which is usually what a visit should be built around.
• Talk through a realistic package, and what it would cost.
• Look at the money with you, and point you towards the funding, benefits and grants you may be entitled to, including the ones most families are never told about.
• Tell you honestly if you do not need us yet, or if someone else is a better fit.

If you are working out what a few hours of help a week would cost against what Attendance Allowance would cover, call us on 01625 720157. You can also WhatsApp us or send an enquiry, and you can see what our services cover.

Authored by Dr Haroon Ahmad, Managing Director, Visiting Angels Cheshire East.

Published 6 September 2026. Last updated 6 September 2026.

This article is general information about benefits, not financial or legal advice, and it is no substitute for advice about an individual’s circumstances. We are not regulated financial advisers and we are not connected to the DWP. Benefit rates and rules change each April and the figures here were correct at the date of publication; check the current position on GOV.UK before relying on them. Free help with claims is available from Age UK and Citizens Advice. To the fullest extent permitted by law, GB Care at Home Ltd accepts no liability for any loss arising from reliance on this article.