Attendance Allowance

If you are aged 65 or over, you may be able to get Attendance Allowance (AA) if:

• You are severely mentally or physically disabled and require frequent attention from others with basic daily living activities, or
• You need continual supervision during the day, or another person to be awake during the night to watch over you, in order to avoid substantial danger to yourself or others, or
• You are terminally ill (i.e., you have a life expectancy of 6 months or less)

Basic qualifying conditions

To qualify for the lower rate of AA you must:

• During the day - need frequent help with daily living activities (such as getting out of bed, washing, dressing or going to the toilet), or continual supervision to prevent substantial danger to yourself or others

or

• During the night – need prolonged or repeated attention in connection with bodily functions or someone awake to watch over you at frequent intervals or prolonged periods to prevent substantial danger to yourself or others. 

You must also:

• Be ordinarily resident and present In the Island at the time you make your claim
• Have been present in the Island or in the United Kingdom for at least 104 weeks within the 156 weeks immediately before you make your claim
• Have had care or supervision needs as described above for the 6 months immediately before you make your claim and expect the care needs to continue for at least the 6 months following your claim

To qualify for the higher rate of AA you must:

Be ordinarily resident and present In the Island at the time you make your claim

• To qualify for the higher rate of AA, you must need this help during the day and night, or be terminally ill with a life expectancy of 6 months or less.
• Have been ordinarily resident in the Island or in the United Kingdom for at least 104 weeks within the 156 weeks immediately before you make your claim
• Have had care or supervision needs as described above both during the day and the night  for the 6 months immediately before you make your claim and expect the care needs to continue for at least the 6 months following your claim, or be terminally ill

Applying for Attendance Allowance

Ask us to send you a claim form. You should claim AA as soon as you need help.

Special rules apply to people who are diagnosed as terminally ill. You should make your claim immediately, and you don’t need to complete the second part of the claim form. Ask your doctor to complete a form DS1500 to support your claim.

Payment

You can be paid weekly at the Post Office using your MiCard or we can pay directly into your bank or building society account every 4 weeks.

Read more about benefits rates.