Notes about Attendance Allowance - Isle of Man Government

SOCIAL SECURITY
Notes about
Attendance Allowance
Please read these notes carefully before you fill in the forms in this claim pack
What is Attendance Allowance ?
Attendance Allowance is a tax-free social security benefit for people who are 65 and over and whose illness
or disability means that they need:
frequent attention throughout the day in connection with their bodily functions, or
continual supervision throughout the day in order to avoid substantial danger to themselves or others, or
prolonged or repeated attention during the night in connection with their bodily functions, or
. another person to be awake for a prolonged period or at frequent intervals during the night to watch over them
in order to avoid substantial danger to themselves or others.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SECURITY
From 9/02
Rheynn Slaynt as Shickyrys Y Theay
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What are bodily functions?
These include breathing, dressing, undressing, eating, going to the toilet, taking a bath or shower, getting into
or out of bed, sitting, sleeping, hearing, seeing and communication with other people.
They do not include cooking, shopping or keeping the house clean.
You can claim Attendance Allowance even if you have not got anyone to help you with your bodily functions
or if you do not actually get the help you need.
What do I need to do to claim Attendance Allowance?
You need to fill in the forms in this claim pack. Fill them in in ink – please do not use pencil, crayon or felt-tip
pens. Use CAPITAL LETTERS where possible The forms are rather long, but don’t be put off by this. If you
find it difficult to fill in the forms, don’t worry – you can ask someone else to fill them in for you. Ask a relative,
a friend, a carer or someone like this. But you must sign each section yourself if you can, even if someone else
has filled it in for you. If you can’t sign the forms yourself, the person who fills them in for you can sign them
for you. But they must tell us why they are signing them for you – there is space on page 2 of section 1 for
them to do this.
Take your time to fill in the forms. Read them carefully – they tell you what to do. Answer all the questions
that apply to you. Use the spaces to tell us in your own words as much as you can about the help you need.
Don’t worry if you need to cross out any mistakes or if you’re not sure how to spell any words. But please do
not use correction fluid.
Everyone must fill in the blue form (section 1). This tells us about who you are, where you live and how
you want to be paid Attendance Allowance.
The pink form is called section 2. This tells us about how your illness or disability affects you. Your answers will
help us to get a clear picture of what your needs are. If you fill in Section 2 it may help us to deal with your
claim more quickly. If you don’t fill in section 2, or if we don’t have enough information from what you tell us
in section 2 to determine your claim, we may have to ask a doctor to contact you to make an appointment for
a medical examination.
Everything you tell us in these forms is confidential
Don’t fill in section 2 if you are claiming under the Special Rules (see overleaf)
– please throw it away.
When should I claim?
You must get the blue form (section 1) back to us by the date we have put on page 1 of that form.
If you don’t get it back to us by this date, you may lose money. Don’t delay getting section 1 back to us
if, for example, you have left section 2 with someone to fill in page 20.
You are not normally entitled to Attendance Allowance until you have needed help with personal care for 6
months. But if you claim now, we can make sure you get Attendance Allowance as soon as you are entitled to it.
How much is Attendance Allowance?
Attendance Allowance is payable at one of two fixed rates:-
the higher rate is payable if you need help both during the day AND at night
the lower rate is payable if you need help during the day OR during the night.
. The current rates of allowance are stated in leaflet NI196(IOM) which you can get free of charge at any
social security office.
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What are the Special Rules?
The Special Rules apply to people who, because of their illness, are not expected to live longer than 6
months. They allow these people to get benefit quickly and easily.
Getting Attendance Allowance under the Special Rules means that:
you will automatically qualify for the higher rate, no matter what your care needs may be
you will get paid straight away - you don’t have to wait until you’ve needed help for 6 months
. your claim will be dealt with more quickly.
If you are claiming Attendance Allowance under the Special Rules, you don’t need to complete the pink form
(section 2) – you should throw this away. But you will need to get a DS1500 Report from your doctor or
specialist as soon as possible. This is a report about your medical condition. You will not have to pay for it.
You can ask the doctor’s receptionist or a nurse or a social worker to arrange this for you – you don’t have
to see the doctor. You should be given a DS1500 Report straight away. Ask for the report in a sealed envelope
if you don’t want anyone else to see it.
Send the DS1500 Report with your completed section 1 form as soon as you can. Use the envelope that
came with this claim pack. - it doesn’t need a stamp. Make sure you tick the box on page 10 to show
that you are claiming under the Special Rules. If you don’t tick this box, we can’t pay you under the
Special Rules.
If you can’t get your DS1500 Report straight away, send us the completed section 1 form on its own.
Send us the DS1500 Report as soon as you can.
Claiming under the Special Rules for someone else
You can claim under the Special Rules for someone else. You do not have to tell them you are claiming for
them. Tell us about them in this claim pack. We will normally write to them about whether they can get
Attendance Allowance. But we won’t tell them anything about the Special Rules.
What if I’m under 65?
If you’re under 65 and you need help with personal care or with getting around, you may be entitled to
Disability Living Allowance (DLA). If you fill in this claim pack we will treat it as a claim for DLA, or you
can ask us for a claim pack specifically for DLA.
You can choose to have your Attendance Allowance paid straight into a bank or building society account, or
you can collect it in cash from the post office.
Payment at a post office
How is Attendance Allowance paid?
You can collect your Attendance Allowance each week at the same post office as you get any other benefits
(for example, your Retirement Pension). If you don’t get any other benefits, you can choose the post office
from where you wish to collect your Attendance Allowance.
Payment into a bank or building society account
We can pay social security benefits into any of the following accounts :
a bank cheque or deposit account (but not a mortgage account)
a Girobank account or National Savings Bank investment account (but not an ordinary account)
. a building society cheque or savings account (but not a mortgage account).
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The account must be in the Isle of Man.
How is Attendance Allowance paid? (continued)
The account may be
. in your name, your spouse’s or partner’s name, or in the name of someone who has been authorised by
the DHSS or the courts to receive your benefit or to act on your behalf in social security matters, or
. a joint account in your name and your spouse’s name, or your name and the name of a person who has
been authorised by the DHSS or the courts to receive your benefit or to act on your behalf in social
security matters
If you are getting any other social security benefits paid straight into a bank or building society account, and
you also want your Attendance Allowance to be paid straight into a bank or building society account, you
must give us the details of the same account your other benefits are paid into. It is not possible for us to
pay different benefits to different bank or building society accounts.
We will tell you when the money will be paid into the account for the first time. After that we will pay the
money into the account every 4 weeks.
If the wrong amount is paid
If you think we have paid you too much or too little money, you should get in touch with us straight away.
If not enough money is paid into the account, we will add the money we owe onto the next payment, or we
may make a special payment.
If too much money is paid into the account, because of the way the credit transfer system works, you may
have to pay the extra money back. This may happen if, for example, you give us some information which
means you are entitled to less money than before, but we do not have time to change the amount to be paid
into your account.
For more help and advice
Contact us at The Disability Benefits Unit
by telephoning 685104, or
by e-mailing us at disability.benefits@socialsecurity.dhss.gov.im, or
. by visiting or writing to Markwell House, Market Street, Douglas IM1 2RZ.
Or you can call at your local social security office.
We will be happy to explain who is entitled to Attendance Allowance, the claims procedure and about
payments of Attendance Allowance. However, we cannot help you to describe your illnesses or disabilities or
how they affect you - you must do this yourself. Or you can ask a relative, friend or social worker to help
you, if necessary.
About other benefits
Social security offers a wide range of benefits. If you would like to know more about any benefits contact
your local social security office or telephone our Information Unit on 685028 and ask for leaflets
. FB2(IOM) – Which Benefit, and
. Key.1(IOM) – Keys to Entitlement.
Or you can visit our website at www.gov.im/dhss
About these notes
These notes have no status in law and should not be treated as a complete and authoritative statement
of the law.
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