DWP reassessing Carer's Allowance overpayments from 2015 to 2025

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is reassessing Carer's Allowance overpayments that took place between 10 April 2015 and 2 September 2025, according to GOV.UK¹. Claimants affected may get a refund, or have their debt reduced or cancelled¹.

The department says people do not need to contact the Carer's Allowance Unit about a reassessment, and that it will contact claimants with a decision or if it needs more information¹.

Business Debtline, an independent advice service, states that an independent review into Carer's Allowance overpayments found the DWP had acted unfairly, and that claimants had been asked to repay an entire week's Carer's Allowance if they earned 1p more than the earnings limit, with hundreds of thousands building up large overpayment debts². It says the DWP has announced it will reassess all related overpayment cases between 2015 and the summer of 2025, and that affected claimants will have their debt reduced or money refunded². Business Debtline's guidance covers England and Wales and does not cover Universal Credit, New Style Jobseeker's Allowance or New Style Employment and Support Allowance overpayments².

Carer's Allowance is currently £86.45 a week for someone who cares for another person at least 35 hours a week, where that person receives certain benefits¹. Claimants do not have to be related to, or live with, the person they care for, and no extra payment is made for caring for more than one person¹. Where more than one person cares for the same individual, only one of them can claim¹. The benefit can affect other benefits received by both the claimant and the person they care for, and is taxable if income is above the Personal Allowance¹.

Why it matters for households

The reassessment covers overpayments arising across a period of more than ten years, so it reaches people who may have been repaying Carer's Allowance debt for a long time, as well as those whose cases are more recent. For anyone in that group, the outcome is one of three: a refund of money already repaid, a lower outstanding balance, or the debt cancelled altogether¹. Until the DWP makes contact, the amount owed and the timing of any change have not been reported.

The wider overpayment rules still apply to Carer's Allowance cases, as they do to other DWP benefits such as Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance². Business Debtline states that an overpayment must be repaid where someone misrepresented or failed to disclose information, even if it was not their fault, but that people should not be asked to repay an overpayment caused by a DWP official error². Where recovery is pursued, deductions from Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-based Employment and Support Allowance and Pension Credit are capped at £13.95 a week, or £37.20 a week where a penalty was accepted or fraud was committed². More detail on how overpayments are recovered sits in our guide to benefit overpayments and deductions from benefits.

Carer's Allowance is not available to new claimants in Scotland, where Carer Support Payment is claimed instead¹. Claimants moving from England or Wales to Scotland must tell the DWP and make a new claim for Carer Support Payment, and their Carer's Allowance stops 13 weeks after the move¹. Those moving the other way must report the move to Social Security Scotland and claim Carer's Allowance, with payments at risk if they do not¹. Our guide to disability and carer payments when moving between Scotland and the rest of the UK sets out those arrangements.

What happens next

The DWP will contact affected claimants directly with a decision, or if it needs further information; claimants are told not to contact the Carer's Allowance Unit about a reassessment¹. No timetable for completing the reassessment has been reported.