Pensioners with certain health conditions are entitled to a payment boost.
Attendance Allowance payment rates will increase from April 2026 (Image: Getty)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed an extra £218.40 per year payment boost for state pensioners with certain health conditions from April next year.
People of State Pension age who have care needs due to a health condition or disability can get help with extra living costs by claiming Attendance Allowance from the DWP. The benefit is paid at two different rates and the amount you can get depends on how much care you need. Currently, the lower rate is worth £73.90 per week and is given to those who need frequent help or constant supervision during day or at night, and the higher rate is worth £110.40 per week and is given to those who need help or supervision throughout the day and night, or if a medical professional has said you’re nearing the end of life.
But the DWP has confirmed that the payment rates will increase from April for the 2026/2027 tax year, meaning some pensioners are in line to get an annual payment boost of up to £218.40.
Attendance Allowance is paid every four weeks, so claimants get 13 payments in total throughout the year from the DWP.
Under the current rates, pensioners on the lower rate can get up to £3,842.80 per year, while those on the higher rate can get up to £5,740.80 per year.
But from April, the lower rate will increase from £73.90 per week to £76.70, giving claimants up to £3,988.40 annually, amounting to a boost of £145.60 per year.
Meanwhile, those on the higher rate will see payments rise from £110.40 per week to £114.60 from April, amounting to £5,959.20 per year, giving claimants an extra £218.40 annually.
Attendance Allowance is paid to those who are eligible in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but if you live in Scotland you will need to apply for Pension Age Disability Payment (PADP) instead which is paid at exactly the same rate.
To qualify for either Attendance Allowance or PADP you must have reached State Pension age AND all of the following apply:
- you have a physical disability, a mental disability, or a health condition
- your disability or health condition is severe enough for you to need help caring for yourself or someone to supervise you, for your own or someone else’s safety
- you have needed that help for at least six months
While there isn’t a definitive list of health conditions that qualify for Attendance Allowance and PADP, the DWP does have a list of 56 main disabling conditions recorded on its Disability Living Allowance computer system.
If you have one of these conditions you may be likely to qualify for up to £5,740.80 worth of annual support, but it is important to note that this is not a checklist for qualifying for Attendance Allowance or PAPD, it is simply an overview of the type of conditions that are being supported. The conditions include:
- Arthritis
- Spondylosis
- Back Pain – Other / Precise Diagnosis not Specified
- Disease of The Muscles, Bones or Joints
- Trauma to Limbs
- Visual Disorders and Diseases
- Hearing Disorders
- Heart disease
- Respiratory Disorders and Diseases
- 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
