Universal Credit
The carer element of Universal Credit
An extra amount for unpaid carers, which has to be reported: it is never added on its own.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
The carer element adds £209.34 a month to Universal Credit in 2026/27, up from £201.68, if you care for a severely disabled person for at least 35 hours a week. The person you look after must receive a qualifying benefit: either rate of the PIP daily living part, Attendance Allowance, the middle or highest care rate of DLA, Adult Disability Payment, the middle or highest care award of Child Disability Payment, Armed Forces Independence Payment, or Constant Attendance Allowance at certain rates. You do not have to claim Carer’s Allowance, and unlike Carer’s Allowance there is no earnings limit. A couple caring for the same person gets one carer element; partners caring for two different people can get one each. Someone with the health element (LCWRA) gets that instead, because the two cannot be paid together. The element is added only once you report your caring in your Universal Credit account.
Does your claim include the carer element?
Carer element a month
£209.34
| Result | Conditions met |
| Over a year | £2,512 |
| Single person 25+, no other income: award | £634.24 |
The three conditions
Regulation 29 includes the carer element when a claimant has “regular and substantial caring responsibilities for a severely disabled person”. Regulation 30 defines that by pointing to the Carer’s Allowance rules, which leaves three tests:
- You care for the person for at least 35 hours a week.
- The person receives one of the qualifying benefits listed below.
- You do not get paid for that care. Wages from any other job do not matter: the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit of £204 a week is expressly ignored.
You do not have to claim Carer’s Allowance, be related to the person or live with them. In Scotland, where Carer Support Payment replaced Carer’s Allowance, being entitled to Carer Support Payment also satisfies the test.
Qualifying benefits of the person you care for
| Benefit | Rate that qualifies |
|---|---|
| Personal Independence Payment | Daily living part, either rate |
| Attendance Allowance | Either rate |
| Disability Living Allowance | Care component, middle or highest rate |
| Adult Disability Payment (Scotland) | Standard or enhanced daily living award |
| Child Disability Payment (Scotland) | Care component, middle or highest award |
| Armed Forces Independence Payment | Any award |
| Constant Attendance Allowance | Full day, intermediate or exceptional rate with Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit; full day rate with a War Disablement Pension |
PIP mobility on its own, or the lowest care rate of DLA, does not qualify. If the person is waiting for a PIP decision, report your caring as soon as the award arrives.
When the health element gets in the way
A claimant who has limited capability for work and work-related activity receives the LCWRA element and not the carer element, even if they care for 35 hours a week. The rule applies person by person. In a couple where one partner has LCWRA and the other is the one doing the caring, the award can include the health element for the first and the carer element for the second. The health element guide sets out the two LCWRA rates.
Carer’s Allowance alongside Universal Credit
Many carers get both. Carer’s Allowance of £86.45 a week, about £374.62 a month, is counted as unearned income and taken off Universal Credit pound for pound, while the carer element stays in the award. Lena, 52, looks after her mother, who receives Attendance Allowance, and rents from a housing association for £480. Without Carer’s Allowance her Universal Credit is £1,114.24. With it, Universal Credit falls to £739.62 and her total stays at £1,114.24. The money is the same. What Carer’s Allowance adds is Class 1 National Insurance credits, which help with other benefits as well as the State Pension, where Universal Credit gives Class 3 credits that count for the State Pension only. Carer’s Allowance and Universal Credit goes through the choice in detail.
A parent caring for a disabled child
Marta is 33 and brings up two children alone in a housing association home costing £650 a month. Her younger son gets the highest care rate of DLA and needs care day and night, so she cannot work at present. Her award stacks four layers for the children and her caring: two child elements of £303.94, the higher disabled child addition of £514.71, and the carer element of £209.34, on top of her standard allowance and rent. Her Universal Credit comes to £2,406.83 a month, and because her son receives DLA the household is outside the benefit cap. If she later takes a part-time job, the carer element stays as long as the care continues for 35 hours a week.
Young carers aged 16 and 17
Universal Credit is normally for people aged 18 or over, but GOV.UK lets a 16 or 17 year old claim if they care for someone who gets a health or disability-related benefit. A young carer who meets the 35-hour test can then receive the carer element in their own award, alongside the standard allowance for a single person under 25.
The carer element and the benefit cap
GOV.UK states that a household is not affected by the benefit cap if a claimant gets Universal Credit because they care for someone with a disability. Carer’s Allowance paid to you or your partner exempts it too, as does PIP, Attendance Allowance or DLA paid to you, your partner or a child under 18 living with you. For a carer with children and high rent, this exemption can be worth more each month than the £209.34 itself.
Reporting the caring
Use “Report a change of circumstances” in your account and give the details of the person you care for and the benefit they receive. GOV.UK is explicit that starting Carer’s Allowance does not add the carer element automatically: the DWP needs the report. Tell your work coach too, because caring is one of the things discussed when your claimant commitment and its work-related activities are agreed. If caring stops, because the person goes into a care home, dies or their benefit ends, report that as well.