What Medical Conditions Qualify For Attendance Allowance? Check If You’re Eligible

Attendance Allowance can be claimed by men and women who have reached the UK State Pension age, but only certain medical conditions could make you eligible, including arthritis and dementia.

However, an estimated 3.4 million pensioners in the UK aren’t claiming Attendance Allowance, despite being eligible for it - and this averages around £4,000 a year per person.

Here, we’ve listed every medical condition to check if you’re eligible for Attendance Allowance, along with other eligibility requirements and steps on how to apply.

In this article:

1. What conditions qualify?
2. Full list of these conditions
3. Check if you’re eligible
4. Other benefits you can claim
5. Attendance Allowance claim form
6. Other ways to apply

What Medical Conditions Qualify For Attendance Allowance?

Any type of disability or illness could qualify for Attendance Allowance. This includes cognitive conditions like dementia, along with sight and hearing impairments. There are 54 different categories of medical conditions. Mobility needs aren’t covered. To be eligible, you’ll have needed help with your care for at least six months.

Some of these medical conditions can be grouped. For example, there’s a range of infectious diseases that may make you eligible, as well as various movement-limiting conditions like arthritis and back pain.

Below, we’ve included a full list of every medical condition through which you may be able to claim Attendance Allowance.

Full List of Conditions You Can Claim Attendance Allowance For

Here’s the full list of medical categories through which you can claim Attendance Allowance, provided you meet all the other requirements:

• AIDS
• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Back pain
• Behavioural disorder
• Blindness
• Blood disorders
• Bowel and Stomach Disease
• Cerebrovascular Disease
• Chest disease
• Chronic Pain Syndrome
• Cognitive disorder
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Deafness
• Dementia
• Diabetes Mellitus
• Double amputation
• Epilepsy
• Frailty
• Haemodialysis
• Haemophilia
• Heart disease
• Hyperkinetic Syndrome
• Infectious diseases: Bacterial disease – Tuberculosis
• Infectious diseases: A different bacterial disease
• Infectious diseases: Protozoal disease – Malaria
• Infectious diseases: A different protozoal disease
• Infectious diseases: Viral disease - Covid-19
• Infectious diseases: A different viral disease
• A different infectious disease to the ones listed above
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Learning difficulties
• Malignant Disease
• Metabolic Syndrome
• Motor Neurone Disease
• Multiple Allergy Syndrome
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Multisystem disorders
• Muscle, bone or joint disease
• Neurological disorder
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Peripheral vascular Disease
• Personality disorder
• Psychoneurosis
• Psychosis
• Renal disorders
• Severe mental impairment
• Skin disease
• Spondylosis
• Terminal illness
• Total Parenteral Nutrition
• Traumatic Paraplegia/Tetraplegia (or another type of major trauma)
• Trauma to the limbs

Check If You’re Eligible For Attendance Allowance

The number of different medical conditions above means a large number of people are eligible in the UK. Many people don’t claim though - or they claim the lower rate when they’re actually eligible for the higher rate.

Not being specific enough about your condition and how it affects you is one of the most common Attendance Allowance pitfalls - and the reason why many applications are rejected or wrongly categorised.

It was estimated by the National Audit Office that around £230 million was unclaimed because claimants don’t know which rate they’re eligible for.

In the simplest terms, you need to have a physical or mental disability to claim Attendance Allowance. You also need to have reached the State Pension age - 66 for men and women in the UK.

To be eligible for the lower rate (£68.10 a week), you’ll require regular help or constant supervision during the day, or some supervision at night. To be eligible for the higher rate (£101.75 a week), you’ll require help or supervision throughout the day and at night (or a medical professional has said you may have six months or less to live).

Other Benefits You Can Claim With Attendance Allowance

If you already receive Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment, you can’t receive Attendance Allowance.

By signing up for Attendance Allowance, other benefits you receive may get a boost, such as Pension Credit or Housing Benefit. You could also get a council tax reduction.

Attendance Allowance Claim Form

You can apply by filling in the Attendance Allowance claim form and sending this off via post.

Send the completed form to:

Freepost DWP Attendance Allowance

Using the above link, you can download, fill in and print out the claim form. Alternatively, you can print off the form and fill it in by hand.

Other Ways To Apply

To make a claim, you have to fill out and post the above form.

For more information or advice, you can call the Attendance Allowance helpline:

• Telephone - 0800 731 0122
• Textphone - 0800 731 0317

You can also contact your nearest Citizens Advice for help with filling out the form.

Similarly, organisations such as Age UK and Macmillan Cancer Support may be able to offer help with filling out the form.

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