Late Claim for Carer's Benefit - 'good Reason'?

[Senben19]

Hi

My wife is entitled to carers benefit for our daughter.

We only recently became aware of this fact and so will now me making an application.

I understand it can be backdated for a few months if you have 'good reason' for not having applied already.

Can anyone advise on this in terms of what might consitute an acceptable good reason. I know that lack of awareness of the entitlement may not be sufficient.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dr Strangelove]

A letter from a GP attesting to some kind of medical circumstances would be helpful I imagine.

 

[misemoi]

Also when did you become aware of it, did a social worker or public health nurse guide you? Might be worth seeing if you got documents from them to support your claim. It is not always easy to know your entitlements during a very stressful time.

 

[Bronte]

Good reasons:

- Someone died
- Someone had an accident
- a child had a crisis/started school/went to university
- you're depressed
- you were moving house
- a pet got injured
- someone got hospitalised

Honestly this should not treated as a hurdle to get over, if you're entitled to it they should just back date it for you without any fuss. People in your situation have enough stress as it is.

 

[Senben19]

Thanks Bronte and all.

Yes we're entitled and have the supporting medical documentation etc. We just did not know about it or think of this.

 

[Bronte]

Thanks Bronte and all.

Yes we're entitled and have the supporting medical documentation etc. We just did not know about it or think of this.

Before you proceed I'd phone up some organisation involved in this area and ask them the 'correct' answer to put down on the form. Best of luck.

 

[Marsupial]

It's payable for a maximum of 104 weeks, so if it appears that your wife will need to care for your daughter for the next two years or more, then you may as well leave it, rather than worry about seeking to have it backdated, as overall, you'll receive the same amount.

However you should consider applying for payment of the Carer's Support Grant for 2024 - see this link for more info.