What happens to payments in hospital or prison

A stay in hospital or a move into a care home changes what some benefits pay, and in some cases stops them altogether. The main rule to know is 28 days: if you stay in hospital for 28 days or more, Attendance Allowance, Pension Age Disability Payment, Personal Independence Payment, Adult Disability Payment, Disability Living Allowance and Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance stop¹. Shorter stays do not affect them.

Carer's Allowance works differently, because it depends on what the carer does, not on where the carer is. It is £86.45 a week for caring for someone at least 35 hours a week, where that person gets certain benefits². If the person you care for goes into hospital and you carry on providing at least 35 hours of care a week, your Carer's Allowance can continue until their disability benefit stops³. If you are the one going into hospital, you can usually keep getting it for 12 weeks, provided you still meet the rules and the person you care for is still getting their disability benefit⁴.

The practical step in every case is the same: tell whoever pays the benefit as soon as the move happens⁵. That could be the Department for Work and Pensions, Social Security Scotland, the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland, the Pension Service, HM Revenue and Customs or your local authority⁶. Reporting late is how overpayments start.

The payments this affects: PIP and Carer's Allowance

Two benefits sit at the centre of this. The first is the disability benefit paid to the person who needs care, usually Personal Independence Payment, or Attendance Allowance for people over State Pension age. The second is Carer's Allowance, paid to the person providing the care.

Carer's Allowance depends on the person you care for receiving a qualifying benefit. The daily living component of PIP is one of them⁹. So is Attendance Allowance³. In Scotland, Carer Support Payment uses the same qualifying benefit, the daily living component of PIP¹⁰, and is paid at £86.45 a week¹¹.

That link is why a hospital stay for the person you care for matters to you as well as to them. If their disability benefit stops, your Carer's Allowance has nothing to hang on. If they keep getting it and you keep caring for at least 35 hours a week, your payment can carry on³.

One thing that does not cause a problem: claiming PIP for yourself does not affect any Carer's Allowance you receive¹². A carer who is also disabled can hold both.

Carer's Allowance: £86.45 a week for at least 35 hours of care

Carer's Allowance is £86.45 a week if you care for someone at least 35 hours a week and they get certain benefits². The same rate applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from April 2026/27¹³, and Carer Support Payment in Scotland is also £86.45 a week¹¹.

The rate is quoted at £86.45 across most current guidance¹⁴, though one source gives £83.30 a week¹⁵. Where figures differ, the £86.45 rate is the one repeated by the official guidance and by the largest number of independent sources.

There is an earnings limit, and self-employed carers can offset certain costs against it. These include work-related expenses, payments for alternative care when at work, and 50% of your pension contributions⁸.

When the person you care for goes into a home

A move into residential care is a change of circumstances, and it can affect both benefits. Moving into a home may affect your Carer's Allowance or the Carer's Allowance of someone who looks after you, and you need to tell Carer's Allowance about the move¹⁷. The same applies to Carer's Credit¹⁷.

You can continue to claim Carer's Allowance only if the person you care for continues to receive a qualifying disability benefit and you are still caring for them for at least 35 hours a week³. If both of those hold, the claim can continue until their disability benefit stops³.

If the person you care for is in hospital rather than a home, the 12-week continuation for the carer has its own condition. To qualify for the 12-week duration, the person you care for must have been in hospital for at least eight of the 12 weeks³. A separate source describes the condition differently, as providing 35 hours or more of care a week for 14 of the past 26 weeks³. The two descriptions do not match, so it is worth checking your own case with the Carer's Allowance Unit.

For the person in care, the picture depends on who is paying. If they pay for the care home themselves, the daily living and mobility parts of PIP can continue¹⁸. Attendance Allowance is different: going into a hospital or care home for more than 28 days is a change that could affect entitlement¹⁹.

Reporting a change to the Carer's Allowance Unit

The report itself is straightforward. Report a change online or call the Carer's Allowance Unit²⁰. If the person you care for goes into a home, the same route applies: report a change online or call the Carer's Allowance Unit¹⁸.

If you are going to be in hospital for any planned period of time, you need to let the Carer's Allowance Unit know, or the Disability and Carer Service if you live in Northern Ireland³. In Northern Ireland, moving into a home may affect your Carer's Allowance or the Carer's Allowance of someone who looks after you, and you need to tell Carer's Allowance about the move¹⁷.

The DWP needs to be told if you were claiming benefits before going into hospital, because some benefits stop after you have been in hospital for a certain amount of time²¹. The benefit payer is told as soon as you go into hospital⁵.

Knock-on effects on other benefits you or they get

Losing one benefit can pull others with it, and this is where a hospital stay or a care home move can cost more than the payment that stops.

For the person receiving care, claiming Carer's Allowance on their behalf can affect what they get. If they are getting Severe Disability Premium, this will stop if you claim Carer's Allowance⁸. Their Severe Disability Premium stops where the cared-for person gets it and a claim is made²³. Claiming may also mean they stop getting a reduction in their council tax²⁴.

For Pension Credit, the amount you get may decrease if you are in hospital for more than four weeks²⁵. That is a different threshold from the 28-day rule for disability benefits, so the two can bite at different times.

For Universal Credit, the carer element and Carer's Allowance are two separate things, and your carer can claim both at the same time, but Carer's Allowance counts as income and is deducted from their Universal Credit²⁶. The carer element will also stop if your Carer's Allowance stops because the person you look after is in hospital³.

Receiving Pension Age Disability Payment could lead to an increase in any means-tested benefits or tax credits you receive, or you might now find that you qualify for them for the first time²⁷. Disability Living Allowance works the same way: you may be entitled to extra amounts in other benefits you receive, or become entitled to a new benefit for the first time²⁸. Losing your DLA can affect other benefits you receive²⁹.

Where to get free help

Several charities give free, impartial advice on benefits in hospital and care, and none of them charge. Carers UK publishes guidance on Carer's Allowance and breaks in care³. Turn2us covers hospital and benefits, including what happens to your money, home and pets when you go into hospital³¹. Independent Age covers benefits in hospital and care homes¹. Scope covers Carer's Allowance and change of circumstances on Universal Credit²³. Contact covers Carer's Allowance and Universal Credit for families³². Sense covers carer benefits¹⁵. Age UK publishes benefit rates³³. Mental Health and Money Advice covers managing your money if you have to go into hospital²¹. OPFS covers Carer Support Payment in Scotland³⁴. The Law Centre NI covers backdating rules in Northern Ireland³⁵.

If a decision goes against you, you can ask for it to be looked at again. The challenging a decision page explains mandatory reconsideration, and appealing to a tribunal covers what happens next. If you are struggling with money while a payment is sorted out, checking what you are entitled to lists free calculators and advisers.