Carer’s UK Report on Carer’s Allowance Overpayments

Carer’s UK’s report on Carer’s Allowance overpayments has just recently been published.

At a glance

The earnings limit for Carer’s Allowance is £151 per week, and going over this limit by just a few pence means carers need to pay back 100% of their Carer’s Allowance for that week – £81.90 at 2024/25 rates.  

Large overpayments have a devastating impact on unpaid carers. News of the overpayment also often comes as a shock to most carers and takes many years to repay, causing financial difficulties and having a serious impact on their mental health and wellbeing. Carer’s UK also found that many carers decided to leave employment altogether or cut back on their hours as a result of the overpayment.

Carers UK’s recommendations to the DWP include:

• Sending alerts to carers when their earnings potentially breach the earnings limit
• Improving information sharing and processes within the DWP
• Improving the information available to carers and their interaction with DWP
• Raising the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit to 21 hours per week and pegging it to the National Living Wage
• Taking steps to remove the hard ‘cliff edge’ of the earnings limit and replacing this with a taper to earnings
• Writing off substantial overpayments where carers could have been notified sooner
• Conducting a full review of Carer’s Allowance level and its eligibility criteria

Carer’s UK are continuing to gather the experiences of carers who have had an overpayment of Carer’s Allowance and they can be shared with us anonymously.  If this is you, then please click here.