Carer Premium and Carer Element | Additional money for carers

Carer Premium, Carer Addition and Carer Element provide extra money for unpaid carers who receive certain benefits.

There are three:

• Carer Premium – for carers on income-related benefits who are under State Pension age.
• Carer Addition – for carers on income-related benefits who are of State Pension age.
• Carer Element – for carers on Universal Credit.

They are all worth the same amount of money but which one you get depends on which benefits you claim.

Carer Premium

Eligibility:

• You get one or more of these benefits:
  • Income Support
  • Income-related ESA
  • Income-based JSA
  • Housing Benefit
  • Tax Credits
  • Council Tax Support
• You claim Carer’s Allowance or have an underlying entitlement to it

How much is it?

£46.40 a week (for tax year 2025/26) added to one of your qualifying benefits.

Carer Addition

Eligibility:

• You get Pension Credit
• You have an underlying entitlement to Carer’s Allowance

How much is it?

£46.40 a week (for tax year 2025/26) added to your Pension Credit.

Carer Element

Eligibility:

• You get Universal Credit
• You provide care for somebody for at least 35 hours a week. Unlike Carer Premium and Carer Addition, you do not need to qualify for Carer’s Allowance.

How much is it?

£201.68 a month (for tax year 2025/26) added to your Universal Credit.  This is the maximum amount; you may get less dependent on your earnings.

This works out the same as the amount for Carer Premium and Carer Addition (((46.4 / 7) x 365) / 12)= 201.68

What are the criteria to qualify for Carer’s Allowance?

To be eligible for Carer Premium or Carer Addition, you must qualify for Carer’s Allowance. You can either be claiming it or have an underlying entitlement to it, meaning you meet the criteria but don’t actually claim it.

If you are of State Pension age or on certain ‘overlapping benefits’ you will no longer be able to claim Carer’s Allowance but may still have an underlying entitlement.

Eligibility criteria for Carer’s Allowance include:

• You spend at least 35 hours a week providing care for someone. This could be support with personal hygiene and getting dressed, meal preparation and/support with eating and drinking, attending medical appointments, managing finances or mental health support.
• The person you care for must receive certain benefits.
• You must not earn more than £196 a week after tax, National Insurance contributions and half of what you pay towards your pension.
• Be aged over 16 but not be in full-time education or study for more than 21 hours a week.

Find out more about Carer’s Allowance, eligibility and overlapping benefits.

How to apply for Carer Premium, Carer Addition or Carer Element

You don’t need to apply for Carer Premium, Carer Addition or Carer Element as these should be added automatically to your qualifying benefits.

If you have recently become a carer and wish to start claiming, you can report this change of circumstances to the Department of Work and Pensions.

You can do this online or by phone, depending on which benefit the money will be added to – Benefits, report a change in circumstances.