PENSIONERS could claim hundreds of pounds a month if they qualify for attendance allowance.

The attendance allowance is designed to help with extra costs if you have a disability severe enough that you need someone to help look after you.

There are two different rates, depending on the level of care needed.

The lower rate is worth £60 a week, while the higher rate comes in at £89.60 each week.

Over a whole year, the higher rate benefit adds up to £4,659.20, so it's well worth putting in a claim if you think you might be eligible.

There are 57 categories of medical conditions you can claim with, but the most commonly used ones are arthritis (30%) and dementia (8%).

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But figures from earlier this year show some claimants could be missing out on cash they should be eligible for.

An estimated £230 million has gone underpaid to claimants in the last year, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).

This means attendance allowance is the benefit with the highest rate of underpayment.

But unlike previous cases of underpayment which have been caused by system errors, the NAO said it found "almost all" the underpayment was caused by "claimant error".

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This means people are missing out on cash that could boost their income during the cost of living crisis by making mistakes in their application.

But there are ways to check how much cash you are entitled to, and organisations that can help you check your application.

Here's everything you need to know including the qualifying criteria and how to apply:

What medical conditions qualify for attendance allowance?

To get attendance allowance you need to be:

• physically or mentally disabled
• State Pension age or older

You cannot get Attendance Allowance if you already get Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

To qualify for the lower amount, you need to require frequent help or constant supervision during the day, or supervision at night.

You get the higher amount if you need help or supervision throughout both day and night, or if you’re terminally ill.

Usually, you need to have needed help with your condition for more than six months to get the benefit, but this is waived if you're terminally ill.

You don't need to have a carer in order to claim, but if you do, they could getCarer’s Allowance if you have substantial caring needs.

You can't get Attendance Allowance if you live in a care home and your care is paid for by your local authority.

However, you can still claim if you pay for all your care home costs yourself.

To qualify, you also need to be in Great Britain when you claim, unless you're in the armed forces.

You need to have been in Great Britain for at least two of the last three years and be habitually resident in the UK.

However, you might still be able to get Attendance Allowance if you’re a UK national and you live in or move to the EU, European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland.

The full list of categories you can claim for are:

• Arthritis
• Spondylosis
• Back Pain – Other / Precise Diagnosis not Specified
• Disease of The Muscles, Bones or Joints
• Trauma to Limbs
• Blindness
• Deafness
• Heart disease
• Chest disease
• Asthma
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Cerebrovascular Disease
• Peripheral vascular Disease
• Epilepsy
• Neurological Diseases
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Parkinsons Disease
• Motor Neurone Disease
• Chronic Pain Syndromes
• Diabetes Mellitus
• Metabolic Disease
• Traumatic Paraplegia/Tetraplegia
• Major Trauma Other than Traumatic Paraplegia/Tetraplegia
• Learning Difficulties
• Psychosis
• Psychoneurosis
• Personality Disorder
• Dementia
• Behavioural Disorder
• Alcohol and Drug Abuse
• Hyperkinetic Syndrome
• Renal Disorders
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Bowel and Stomach Disease
• Blood Disorders
• Haemophilia
• Multi System Disorders
• Multiple Allergy Syndrome
• Skin Disease
• Malignant Disease
• Severely Mentally impaired
• Double Amputee
• Deaf/Blind
• Haemodialysis
• Frailty
• Total Parenteral Nutrition
• AIDS
• Infectious diseases: Viral disease – Coronavirus covid-19
• Infectious diseases: Viral disease – precise diagnosis not specified
• Infectious diseases: Bacterial disease – Tuberculosis
• Infectious diseases: Bacterial disease – precise diagnosis not specified
• Infectious diseases: Protozoal disease – Malaria
• Infectious diseases: Protozoal disease – other / precise diagnosis not specified
• Infectious diseases – other / precise diagnosis not specified
• Cognitive disorder – other / precise diagnosis not specified
• Terminally Ill

If your circumstances change, you could get a different rate, so it's very important to report any changes to the government.

What other benefits can I claim with attendance allowance?

Signing up for attendance allowance may also boost any other benefits you get.

For instance, you could get extra Pension Credit, Housing Benefit or a council tax reduction.

The money is paid into your bank, building society or credit union account.

You also won't be affected by the Benefit Cap if you or your partner get Attendance Allowance.

The benefit cap limits what households can claim per year.

If you want to know whether your specific benefits will be affected by receiving Attendance Allowance, you should contact the office dealing with that benefit.

They will then assess you to see what other help you might be entitled to.

One thing to note is that you might need to send them a copy of your Attendance Allowance decision letter.

Here's the Attendance Allowance claim form.

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You need to send the completed form to:

Freepost DWP Attendance Allowance

You don't need a postcode or a stamp.

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