Attendance Allowance

What is it?

Attendance Allowance (AA) is a benefit for persons aged 65 or over who are severely disabled (mentally or physically) requiring frequent care and attention from others with certain basic daily living needs or are terminally ill.

Basic qualifying conditions

To qualify for the lower rate of AA you must be aged 65 or over and have required for the last 6 months either:

by day frequent attention in connection with bodily functions or continual supervision to prevent substantial danger to yourself or others

or

by night 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.

To qualify for the higher rate of AA, you must need the help described above during the day and the night or be terminally ill with a life expectancy of 6 months or less.

You must also be ordinarily resident and present on the Island at the time of the claim and must have been ordinarily resident on the Island or in the United Kingdom for at least 2 years in the 3 year period immediately before the claim.

How much could I get and how am I paid?

Please see the link to the benefits rates page on the right for further details.

You can be paid weekly by order which can be cashed at a Post Office or you can have it paid by direct credit into your bank or building society account every 4 weeks.

How and when should I apply?

A claim form can be requested from:

You should claim AA as soon as help is needed.

Special rules apply to those who are diagnosed as terminally ill. Claims under the special rules should be made immediately and it is not necessary to complete the second part of the claim form. A form completed by a doctor should be submitted to support the claim.

See downloadable documents to find out more about Attendance Allowance.