Who can claim Attendance Allowance
Attendance Allowance has a short eligibility test, and every part of it must be met. The test concerns your age, the help or supervision you need, how long you have needed it, where you live, and which other benefits you do not receive. There is no means test anywhere in it: earnings, savings, and private pension income are simply not part of the decision.
The test, in full
| Test | Rule (GOV.UK) |
|---|---|
| Age | Reached State Pension age (66) or older. |
| Disability or health condition | A physical disability (including a sensory disability, for example blindness), a mental disability (including learning difficulties), or a health condition. |
| Help or supervision needed | The condition is severe enough that you need help caring for yourself, or someone to supervise you for your own or someone else's safety. |
| How long | You have needed that help for at least 6 months. This is waived under the end-of-life special rules. |
| Where you are | In Great Britain when you claim, and in Great Britain for at least 2 of the last 3 years (exceptions include refugees and people with humanitarian protection status, and members and family members of the armed forces). |
| Residence | Habitually resident in the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands. |
| Immigration | Not subject to immigration control, unless you are a sponsored immigrant. |
| Other benefits you must not get | Not getting Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Adult Disability Payment, Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance, or Armed Forces Independence Payment. |
What "help" means here
Help means help with personal care and daily living: washing, bathing, dressing, eating, using the toilet, getting in and out of bed, and taking medication. Supervision means having someone there to watch over you so that you, or someone else, stays safe — for example because you might fall, wander, leave the gas on, or become confused and distressed. The claim is judged on the help you need, not on the help you actually get. That distinction matters: GOV.UK is explicit that you do not have to have someone caring for you in order to claim, and needing help that nobody currently gives you still counts.
The 6-month rule
The help must have been needed for at least 6 months before a claim can succeed. In practice this means a new, sudden need does not qualify on day one — but it does not mean you must wait out the six months before claiming, and the claim form asks about the history of the need so the DWP can judge when the qualifying period is met. Under the end-of-life special rules the 6-month requirement is waived entirely, and a claim can be made quickly at the higher rate.
Two rules people get wrong
First, savings do not disqualify you. The single most common reason people rule themselves out of Attendance Allowance is the belief that a decent pension or a savings account blocks a claim. It does not: GOV.UK states that Attendance Allowance is not means-tested and that what you earn or how much you have in savings will not affect what you get. Second, you do not need a diagnosis on a list. Attendance Allowance is awarded on the help you need and its effect on your daily life, not on the name of a condition — the same functional-effect rule that applies to PIP. A condition that is not on any list can still qualify if the help it creates is real and sustained.