Attendance Allowance Decoded — the UK's Attendance Allowance in plain English
Attendance Allowance is the UK's main disability benefit for people who have reached State Pension age and need help looking after themselves, or supervision to stay safe. It is paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), it is tax-free, and it is not means-tested: what you earn and how much you have in savings does not affect what you get. In 2026/27 it pays £76.70 a week at the lower rate or £114.60 a week at the higher rate, depending on whether help or supervision is needed during the day, at night, or both.
This site explains Attendance Allowance in plain English: who can claim, the two rates and the day-and-night test that decides between them, the extra money a successful claim can unlock, the special rules for people nearing the end of life, how to claim, what happens in a care home or hospital, and how it compares with the benefits it sits alongside. Every headline figure comes from GOV.UK, current from April 2026.
Key numbers at a glance (2026/27, from April 2026)
- Lower rate: £76.70 a week (£306.80 over four weeks; £3,988.40 over a year, by arithmetic).
- Higher rate: £114.60 a week (£458.40 over four weeks; £5,959.20 over a year, by arithmetic).
- Previous year (comparison only): £73.90 lower and £110.40 higher in 2025/26.
- Gateway extra: up to £86.05 a week extra Pension Credit for severely disabled people who get Attendance Allowance.
- Combined illustration: higher-rate Attendance Allowance £114.60 + Severe Disability extra £86.05 = £200.65 a week, before any Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction effect.
- Qualifying period: the help must have been needed for at least 6 months (waived under the end-of-life special rules).
Two things about Attendance Allowance surprise most people. The first is that you do not need to have a carer to claim: GOV.UK says so in plain words, and the claim is about the help you need, not the help you happen to receive. The second is that it is not a payment for mobility — unlike Personal Independence Payment (PIP), it has no mobility component at all. It is about personal care and supervision: getting washed and dressed, eating, using the toilet, taking medication, and having someone there to keep you safe.
An honest note about the rates
Readers who know PIP will notice something at once: £76.70 and £114.60 are exactly the same numbers as PIP's daily living component. That is not a coincidence and it is not an error on this site — the two benefits share those weekly amounts, because both are set from the same uprating. What is different is everything around the numbers. PIP is for people aged 16 to State Pension age and is scored on points across twelve activities, including mobility. Attendance Allowance is for people at State Pension age and over, has no points and no mobility element, and turns on a much simpler question: do you need help or supervision during the day, at night, or both? The gateway story is different too, and it is the reason this site exists: Attendance Allowance is the key that can unlock extra Pension Credit, and sometimes extra Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction, on top of the payment itself.
How this site is organized
Start with who can claim for the full eligibility test, then the rates and the day and night test for how the two rates are decided. Gateway to more money explains the £86.05 Pension Credit extra and the £200.65 combined illustration, including the trade-off to check before a carer claims Carer's Allowance. The remaining pages cover end-of-life rules, claiming, care homes and hospitals, changes, comparisons, and common myths.