Overview
- The benefit pays £73.90 or £110.40 a week, usually every four weeks (£295.60 or £441.60), and is tax‑free and not means‑tested.
- Official figures indicate about 1.735 million pensioners receive Attendance Allowance, with Scotland now using the devolved Pension Age Disability Payment.
- The DWP lists 48 health conditions commonly linked to claims, but entitlement is based on how a condition affects daily living rather than the diagnosis itself.
- Claimants should report changes that increase care needs, and special end‑of‑life rules can fast‑track payments at the higher rate where a clinician says 12 months or less to live.
- Policy in Practice estimates up to 1.1 million eligible people are missing out, and an award can act as a passport to extra help such as Pension Credit, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction.