DWP to check all Carer's Allowance overpayment alerts

From April 2025 the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will check all Carer's Allowance overpayment alerts and investigate past overpayments, according to the independent charity Turn2us¹. Previously the DWP did not check every overpayment case it was alerted to, so some carers did not realise they were being overpaid¹. Turn2us states that these overpayments still have to be repaid¹.

The overpayments arise when a carer earns more than the earnings limit. Turn2us gives the weekly limit as £204 and the weekly rate of Carer's Allowance as £86.45¹. Where a carer earns above the limit in a week, Turn2us states that the full £86.45 for that week must be paid back¹. The rules on the earnings limit and on breaks from caring are set out separately.

Payment arrangements are unchanged by the announcement. Carer's Allowance is paid directly into a bank or building society account, or through the Payment Exception Service for people who cannot open or manage such an account, and claimants can choose weekly payment in advance or payment every 4 or 13 weeks in arrears¹.

Carer's Allowance interacts with other benefits in ways that affect household income. After tax it counts in full as income when entitlement to means-tested benefits is calculated¹. Where it overlaps with another benefit such as State Pension, a carer may receive no payment of Carer's Allowance at all, but entitlement can still add a Carer's Premium or Addition to other benefits, and where the other benefit is worth less than Carer's Allowance it can be topped up to the Carer's Allowance rate¹. Qualifying for Carer's Allowance also exempts a claimant and their partner from the Benefit Cap¹. Turn2us describes the overlapping benefit rules as complicated¹.

Why it matters for households

The change affects carers who have earned above the £204 weekly limit at any point and who were overpaid as a result, including cases the DWP did not previously review¹. Because past overpayments are being investigated as well as new alerts, a carer could be contacted about an overpayment that arose some time ago and that they had not been told about¹. Turn2us states that overpayments must be repaid whether or not the carer realised they were being overpaid¹. Repayment sits alongside the existing treatment of Carer's Allowance as income for means-tested benefits, so a recovery could affect a household already assessed on that income¹. The Benefit overpayments and deductions from benefits guide covers how overpayments are handled, and Money Help for Unpaid Carers covers the wider financial position of carers.

What happens next

The checking of all overpayment alerts and the investigation of past overpayments begin in April 2025¹. Turn2us advises carers who are contacted to get advice as soon as possible, and points to its Find an Adviser tool¹. No further dates have been reported. Carer's Allowance in Scotland is being replaced by Carer Support Payment, and the differences between the two are set out in the comparison guide.