Attendance Allowance helps with the extra costs of a disability or illness once you are over State Pension age. It is not means-tested, and it is based on the help you need, not the help you actually get. Answer the questions below to see whether you are likely to qualify and which rate your needs point to.
Key points
✓For people over State Pension age who need help with personal care or supervision to stay safe.
✓Two rates in 2026/27: lower £76.70/week, higher £114.60/week.
✓Lower rate = needs by day OR night; higher rate = needs by day AND night.
✓You normally need to have had the needs for 6 months (waived if terminally ill).
✓Savings, income, working and living alone do not affect it.
Check if you qualify
Answer honestly about your worst days. There is no obligation to claim, and nothing you enter is stored.
Have you reached State Pension age?
A guide only, not a benefit decision. Attendance Allowance is not means-tested and is based on the help you need, not the help you get. Rates shown are for 2026/27. In Scotland this benefit is now Pension Age Disability Payment. This tool does not store anything you enter.
Challenging a decision? Keep your case in order
Keep your deadline, your evidence and every call and letter together in the free Claim Companion workspace. Log your good and bad days as they happen, so your record is ready when you need it.
Attendance Allowance looks at whether you need help during the day, during the night, or both:
✓Yes: Day needs: frequent help with personal care (washing, dressing, eating, the toilet, medication) throughout the day, OR continual supervision to avoid substantial danger to yourself or others.
✓Yes: Night needs: prolonged or repeated help during the night, OR someone needing to be awake to watch over you.
✓Yes: Lower rate (£76.70/week): you have day needs OR night needs.
✓Yes: Higher rate (£114.60/week): you have day needs AND night needs, or you are terminally ill.
You do not need to already be getting this help. If you struggle and manage without a carer, you can still qualify, the test is the help you reasonably need.
If the checker says you may qualify
Next steps:
✓Yes: Read the full guide for how to claim, the AA1 form, and what evidence helps.
✓Yes: Describe your needs on your worst days, with real examples and how long things take.
✓Yes: If you are in Scotland, you now apply for Pension Age Disability Payment instead.
✓Yes: If you are refused, challenge it. Across all benefits the tribunal handles, 60% of appeals decided at a hearing went in the claimant's favour in April to June 2026 (Ministry of Justice); Attendance Allowance is not published separately.
See the full Attendance Allowance guide for how to claim and what other help it can unlock, such as extra Pension Credit and Council Tax Reduction.
Keep track of your case
The guides on this site are free and always will be. If your problem will take weeks or months, the Claim Companion is a free workspace to keep your deadline, your evidence and every call and letter together.
A case that runs on
Claim Companion
Freeno payment and no card
For something that will take weeks or months: a benefits claim or appeal, an eviction, a dispute at work. A free workspace that keeps your deadline, your evidence and every call and letter in one place.
We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Who can get Attendance Allowance?
People over State Pension age who have a physical or mental disability or illness severe enough that they need help with personal care or supervision to stay safe. It is not means-tested, so income and savings do not matter, and it does not depend on having a carer.
Which rate of Attendance Allowance will I get?
The lower rate (£76.70/week in 2026/27) is for people who need help or supervision either during the day or during the night. The higher rate (£114.60/week) is for people who need help both day and night, or who are terminally ill.
Do I need to have been ill for 6 months?
Usually yes, you must have needed the help for at least 6 months before Attendance Allowance is paid. You can claim before the 6 months is up, and payment starts once you reach that point. The 6-month rule is waived if you are terminally ill, when you get the higher rate straight away.
Know Your Rights UK. "Attendance Allowance Eligibility Checker." Know Your Rights UK, https://www.knowyourrightsuk.com/benefits/attendance-allowance/eligibility