Attendance Allowance Update

Another of those arguments about angels dancing on pins. To get Attendance Allowance you need to be over retirement age, which generally means being dependent on a pension for income.

While some pensioners are comfortably off, the majority aren't and if disabled they are grateful for the extra money. In my years as a Home Advisor I saw just what a difference that money could make to people on State pension and not much more.

If some one feels they do not need it, they do nto need to apply for it and I would suggest that this is effectively what happens. People tend to apply for AA because they are struggling financially and need the extra help that AA offers.

Personally, I always understood that the point of a regressive tax system was that as higher earners paid more tax, they were as entitled as everyone else to claaim benfits, if they can't then you are taxing them even more.

M0nica

How disabled you are is not dependent on your income. Why should disability benefits. Those with higher incomes pay or taxes and should have the same right to benefits as everyone else.

Quite simply, why should the taxpayer pay for things that the claimant can easily afford?

CrazyH I am so very sorry to hear about your friend. Yes I am able to walk with discomfort but I need help with most other things in life.
DaisyAnneReturns, Tink75, Shelflife, and Redrobin51 thank you all. I think it is sinking in properly now and I will make good and appropriate use of the award I've been given.
I can see that this discussion highlights the differing opinions and it makes interesting reading. I know I would have given up with those forms had it not been for the kind encouragement and PMs from some of the lovely people in here. If I can ever help anyone else in some small way I would be more than happy though I realise every case is very different.

Thats wonderful news I'm so pleased for you. That extra money can make such a difference. X

How disabled you are is not dependent on your income. Why should disability benefits. Those with higher incomes pay or taxes and should have the same right to benefits as everyone else.

I'm not sure about means-testing Disability benefits. This may mean you only get the things you need if you are very rich or very poor. The other extreme would be only allowing the state to provide for the needs of this disabled but I wouldn't agree with that either.

crazyH

Starof1972 - don’t get me wrong - I’m pleased for you , but am a tad curious - are you able to walk ? Never mind, forget I asked that.
Another thing, I have always felt that DLA / Attendance Allowance etc should be means tested. That’s just my opinion. My friend’s plight has made me a bit cynical.

I’m sorry about your friend CrazyH. I agree, all benefits should be means tested, distasteful though that system may be. Otherwise everyone paying tax (and many of them will be ‘just managing’) will be contributing to the cost of benefits paid to people far better off than they are.

Well spotted M0nica. I thought racingsparrow had applied for AA.

I don't know much about working age allowances but I thought DLA had been replaced by PIP?

Did you have help filling the form in racingsparrow?

i am sorry.

Monica - sadly, my friend has passed away.

By the way crazyhorse did your friend appeal her rejection? The success rate at appeal is usually over 50% for any disability benefit and the process is not diffficult and does not require legal representation.

Rejctions usually happen because the applicant does not understand the type of information that is required as they have not sought advice from an appropriate advice centre.

I am well aware that that should not be necessary, but it is reality and as someone who helped people for a charity for older people for some years.Properly filled in the rejection rate is actually very low.

crazyhorse DLA is an entirely different benefit to Attendance Allowance and the two cannot be compared.

Whether someone can walk or not is entirely irrelevant to whether you get the benefit, and I would be very worried if anyone thought that if they could walk they would not get a disability benefit.

Starof1972 - don’t get me wrong - I’m pleased for you , but am a tad curious - are you able to walk ? Never mind, forget I asked that.
Another thing, I have always felt that DLA / Attendance Allowance etc should be means tested. That’s just my opinion. My friend’s plight has made me a bit cynical.

Thank you crazyH and Starof1972

It seems that a successful application is pot luck. It does say on the refusal letter that I can try again. I don’t know how I can advance my case. I sent them a lot of information including Specialist letters and they also asked my GP. She was very supportive.

Starofl , delighted for you ! Such good news.

Thank you all. Racingsparrow and crazyH, I'm so sorry to hear this. It doesn't seem right at all. My main trouble is with my shoulders, hands, and wrists in particular. I am so grateful that I have received the award, especially having read stories such as these.

It’s so unfair isn’t it Racingsparrow …. my poor friend who could hardly walk 10 feet, before she got s.o.b. (diagnosed with heart problems and Arhritis) was refused DLA.

I am 75 and have recently been turned down for Attendance Allowance. Despite needing to use a wheelchair or a walker because of spinal arthritis, I’m waiting for a hip replacement ( not much chance of this in Wales) I need help with dressing. I suffer with dizzy spells, sometimes leading to a fall when I stand up, this is caused by a faulty heart valve. I was turned down because I did not need help with eating or using the toilet.

If I was overweight and 50 years old I would have no problem getting Disability Living Allowance and all the perks that go with it.

Those of you with a disabled parking permit will have noticed that disabled spaces are often full of upmarket SUV’s whose drivers and passengers seem to have no problems walking without aids. Although I do realise that not all disabilities are visible.

Lovely getting old is it not?

Well done Star those AA forms are difficult. Yes its back dated 4 weeks. Should be paid weekly if you want it as some people get it in cash every week with their pension.

That is so good to hear Starof1972.

We posted round about the same time Charleygirl5. Thank you.
Yes the forms took a few days to complete and I had a few letters to back up the claim which I think must have helped. I've decided not to rock the boat and just be grateful for the monthly payment!
I hope anyone who may be considering applying will be encouraged to try - I was advised several times that I may be eligible but I found it difficult to believe for years.

Thank you both. Your words of wisdom were particularly helpful M0nica. It looks as though I qualified for the higher amount but I won't know for sure until my award letter arrives. I will think carefully about what will help the most but it's a huge relief and a great help to me.

The forms can be daunting. I think it mentions in small print that the money will be paid into your account without any previous correspondence.

Good luck re getting paid weekly, you may have to continue being paid monthly- rules is rules!

Hopefully the extra will make an appreciable difference to your life. The forms are not for the fainthearted!

Delighted to hear that everything has gone so well. I hope the money can do something to make the problems that 'earned' it, easier to cope with.