What is Attendance Allowance?

Attendance Allowance is a tax-free DWP benefit for people over State Pension age (66) who need help with personal care due to illness or disability. You can claim up to £5,959 per year (£114.60 per week at the higher rate). It's not means-tested, so your savings and income don't affect eligibility.

What are the Attendance Allowance rates?

There are two Attendance Allowance rates: Lower rate of £76.70 per week (£3,988/year) for frequent help during day OR supervision at night, and Higher rate of £114.60 per week (£5,959/year) for help or supervision throughout both day AND night. Rates are set by the DWP and reviewed annually.

What is the Attendance Allowance eligibility criteria?

To be eligible for Attendance Allowance you must: be State Pension age (66) or over, have needed help for at least 6 months (unless terminally ill), need help with personal care or supervision, and have been in the UK for at least 2 of the last 3 years. You cannot claim if receiving PIP or DLA.

How do I apply for Attendance Allowance?

You can apply for Attendance Allowance by completing form AA1 from the DWP, available online at GOV.UK or by phone on 0800 731 0122. Alternatively, our expert service helps you complete the Attendance Allowance application form correctly with a 95% success rate and no-win, no-fee guarantee.

Can I get help with my Attendance Allowance form?

Yes! Many people find the DWP Attendance Allowance form complex. Our service provides expert help completing your Attendance Allowance application form, ensuring all questions are answered correctly to maximize your chances of approval. We only charge £430 if your claim is successful.

What is the higher rate Attendance Allowance?

The higher rate Attendance Allowance is £114.60 per week (£5,959 per year). You qualify for the higher rate if you need help or supervision throughout both day and night, or if you're terminally ill (under Special Rules for Terminal Illness).

Can I claim Attendance Allowance and PIP together?

No, you cannot claim Attendance Allowance and PIP (Personal Independence Payment) at the same time. Attendance Allowance is for people over State Pension age, while PIP is for those under State Pension age. If you receive DLA, you may be able to switch to Attendance Allowance when you reach State Pension age.

Does Attendance Allowance affect Council Tax Reduction?

No, receiving Attendance Allowance does NOT affect your Council Tax Reduction. In fact, getting Attendance Allowance may help you qualify for additional Council Tax discounts, such as the Severe Mental Impairment exemption. Attendance Allowance is also disregarded when calculating Housing Benefit and Pension Credit.

Can I claim Pension Credit and Attendance Allowance?

Yes! You can claim both Pension Credit and Attendance Allowance. Getting Attendance Allowance may actually increase your Pension Credit payments through the Severe Disability Addition. This can add over £81 per week extra to your Pension Credit if you live alone and receive Attendance Allowance.

What is the DWP Attendance Allowance contact number?

The DWP Attendance Allowance helpline number is 0800 731 0122 (free from UK landlines and mobiles). Lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. You can also contact our specialist service on 01702 655034 for expert help with your Attendance Allowance application.

Attendance Allowance: Where to Send Your Application? A Guide.

2026-03-08 by Elder Care

Confused about where to send your Attendance Allowance form? Elder Care clarifies the process for a stress-free application. Call us on 01702 938110.

Understanding the Attendance Allowance Application Process

When applying for Attendance Allowance, one of the first questions that often comes to mind is: "Where do I send this important form?" While the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) handles these applications, simply knowing their general address isn't enough. The process involves a specific approach, which can be particularly challenging for older individuals or their busy family carers.

Attendance Allowance is a vital benefit designed to help with the extra costs of long-term illness or disability for those over State Pension age. It's not means-tested and isn't affected by your savings, making it a crucial support for many. For 2026, the rates are £76.70 or £114.60 per week, equating to an extra £3,988.40 or £5,959.20 annually, paid every four weeks.

The Importance of a Correct Submission

Submitting your Attendance Allowance claim to the correct DWP address is, of course, essential. However, the mailing address is only one small piece of a much larger puzzle. The AA1 paper form itself is extensive, often running to over 40 pages. It demands a significant amount of detailed, specific information about your daily living and supervision needs arising from your health conditions.

Sending the form to the right place is one thing; sending a *fully completed and properly evidenced* form is entirely another. Many applications are rejected or awarded at the lower rate due to insufficient detail or lack of compelling evidence, not because they went to the wrong address.

The Paper Form vs. Online Application: What You Need to Know

While the DWP has introduced an online application for Attendance Allowance, we strongly recommend caution. The online form, while seemingly simpler, offers far less space and fewer opportunities to fully elaborate on your care needs and provide the crucial details that lead to a successful claim. It often results in lower-rate awards or outright rejections because it cannot capture the nuance and depth of evidence required for complex conditions like:

Advanced Dementia: Explaining the need for constant supervision, prompting with tasks, help with personal care, and risks of wandering isn't easily done in short online boxes.
Severe Arthritis: Detail on how stiffness and pain impact dressing, washing, mobilising, and preparing food, and the types of assistance required.
Parkinson's Disease: Documenting fluctuating symptoms, mobility issues, tremor, swallowing difficulties, and the need for assistance with medication management or personal safety.
Frequent Falls: Evidence not just of falls, but the *risk* of falling, the need for supervision, and assistance with getting up or moving around safely.
Incontinence: Describing the frequency, type of assistance needed, impact on skin care, and emotional distress.

These conditions require thorough, clear, and consistent evidence across multiple sections of the paper form. The paper form allows for detailed explanations of how your conditions affect you both day and night, including specific examples of times you need help or supervision. This level of detail is critical for the DWP decision-makers to understand your full situation.

Why the Paper Form is Often More Effective, But More Challenging

Using the detailed AA1 paper form, despite its complexity, generally leads to better outcomes if completed expertly. It provides the space to truly articulate your care needs. However, completing it correctly is a significant undertaking:

Time-Consuming: Gathering all the necessary information and completing 40+ pages takes many hours, often spread over weeks.
Specific Evidence Required: The DWP looks for very particular phrasing and examples relating to your support needs, both physically and due to cognitive conditions or mental health.
Common Pitfalls: Many people struggle to describe their needs objectively, often downplaying their difficulties or failing to provide the level of specific detail, such as times of day or exact examples of assistance that results in rejection.
Stressful for Applicants: The process can be incredibly stressful and overwhelming for older individuals and their families.

Our Managed Service: A Simpler Path

At Elder Care, we manage the entire Attendance Allowance application process for you. This includes ensuring your application is not only sent to the correct DWP processing centre but, more importantly, that it is completed to the highest standard, maximising your chances of a successful outcome and the best possible award rate.

We don't just tell you the address; we take away the burden of dealing with the form altogether. Our experienced team will:

Conduct a detailed consultation to thoroughly understand your specific conditions and care needs. We'll ask the right questions to uncover all aspects of your daily life affected by your health.
Gather and compile all necessary information, transforming your experiences into the specific language and detail required by the DWP.
Complete the extensive AA1 paper form on your behalf, meticulously covering every section and providing compelling evidence for both day and night care needs.
Handle all correspondence and submissions, ensuring your application reaches the correct DWP processing centre, fully compliant and powerfully presented.

This approach eliminates the stress of filling out the complex form yourself, trying to interpret DWP guidelines, and worrying about whether you've provided enough detail. We know exactly what information the DWP needs to award Attendance Allowance.

Examples of Care Needs We Help Articulate:

Help with medication: Not just taking pills, but reminding, prompting, opening packets, managing side effects, or measuring liquids.
Personal care: Assistance with washing, dressing, using the toilet, and managing continence issues (e.g., changing pads, cleaning).
Meal preparation: Needing help with safely preparing food due to mobility, dexterity, or cognitive issues.
Mobility indoors and outdoors: Help moving around the home safely, preventing falls, or needing assistance with stairs.
Supervision: Requiring someone present due to confusion, memory loss (e.g., forgetting to turn off appliances), risk of falls, or wandering.
Communication: Help expressing needs or understanding information due to speech, hearing, or cognitive difficulties.

Ready to Secure Your Attendance Allowance?

Don't let the complexity of the application, or simply knowing where to send it, hold you back from claiming the support you're entitled to. Our service is designed to make the process as straightforward and stress-free as possible for you and your family.

At Elder Care, we operate on a No-Win-No-Fee basis. You only pay our success fee of £430 if your Attendance Allowance claim is awarded. This means there's no upfront cost to you, giving you peace of mind.

Take the next step towards securing your Attendance Allowance.

Complete our free, no-obligation online Eligibility Check at /eligibility-check
Or call our dedicated team today on 01702 938110

Let us handle the details, so you can focus on what matters most.

Check Your Eligibility Free