carers allowance application process

Lucasgirl1980

Hi,

I applied for carers allowance on May 25th & heard nothing from them since. Not even an acknowledgement of receipt. So this week marked 3 months so I rang. Got through to a woman who told me that currently they are processing applications for the first week in May. So it will be 2 or 3 weeks before they get to mine. I asked at what stage the application was at and she said, it's been 'cleared' by the medical officer and send on to the deciding officer where it will be means tested etc and then a decision will be made. Just wondering what 'cleared' by medical officer means, cleared as in approved? Anyone know any further information?

lulu1

Yes I would think it has been approved and the social welfare will visit to and decide what you are entiteled to

Lucasgirl1980

lulu1 wrote: »

Yes I would think it has been approved and the social welfare will visit to and decide what you are entiteled to

Social welfare will visit? I'd imagine if the medical side was declined they wouldn't even bother means testing it. I guess I just wait and see cos you just drive yourself nuts trying to guess. Thanks for your help 😊

looksee

Mod But it looks as though the medical aspect has been approved? Lulu has done her best with your question, your being short with replies will not encourage other people to give advice!

Lucasgirl1980

looksee wrote: »

Mod But it looks as though the medical aspect has been approved? Lulu has done her best with your question, your being short with replies will not encourage other people to give advice!

How was I being short? I just queried one part of her answer. Expressed my frustration with the waiting process. And thanked her for her help

Lucasgirl1980

Lucasgirl1980 wrote: »

How was I being short? I just queried one part of her answer. Expressed my frustration with the waiting process. And thanked her for her help

Actually, genuinely baffled! It certainly wasn't my intention to be rude and I apologise if it came across that way. Thank you lulu for your answer. I only queried the part about the social welfare visit, as in, they really do that? The rest was either me thinking out loud or having a moan about the waiting process, certainly nothing relating to your answer.

This is a really wonderful service that helps people a lot, however it's not easy to ask some of this stuff, anonymously or not & not everybody is good at expressing themselves. Its certainly not made easier if your going to be pounced upon for even a perceived slight. If I had said something genuinely rude, I'd hold my hands up, but I didn't so ill leave it at that and go elsewhere for any help in future.

looksee

PM sent

lulu1

Lucasgirl1980 wrote: »

Social welfare will visit? I'd imagine if the medical side was declined they wouldn't even bother means testing it. I guess I just wait and see cos you just drive yourself nuts trying to guess. Thanks for your help ��

I am not sure about how they do things in your area but where i live the social welfare officer comes to your home they will have all the info that you submitted with them and go through it with you

dmcguq10

Lucasgirl1980 wrote: »

Hi,

I applied for carers allowance on May 25th & heard nothing from them since. Not even an acknowledgement of receipt. So this week marked 3 months so I rang. Got through to a woman who told me that currently they are processing applications for the first week in May. So it will be 2 or 3 weeks before they get to mine. I asked at what stage the application was at and she said, it's been 'cleared' by the medical officer and send on to the deciding officer where it will be means tested etc and then a decision will be made. Just wondering what 'cleared' by medical officer means, cleared as in approved? Anyone know any further information?

Have you heard anything back yet? I applied on May 29th and haven't heard back from them.

Lucasgirl1980

dmcguq10 wrote: »

Have you heard anything back yet? I applied on May 29th and haven't heard back from them.

Hiya,

If you go to welfare.ie and at the bottom right hand side of the page is an option called ask a question/general enquiries. Click on that and follow the instructions. They got back to me within 24 hrs.

As of September 14th, they were currently examining applications week ending may 12th. Mine was may 24th so should be next week, yours should be week after then.

Hope that helps 😊

Lucasgirl1980

Just to update anyone who has been waiting ages. Their is light at the end of the tunnel.

I got approved today for carers allowance backdated from may 24th, including respite grant.

I'm rather surprised as I didn't send a lot of information from doctors or anything. So I was ready to send more information.

It's a ridiculous process that leaves already stressed out people, even more stressed out and with their lives on hold as you can't pursue any further options until you either get approved or not. Almost 5 months of waiting and worrying. Trying to take care of dad while being hounded by social welfare and turas nua.

Anyway I hope this eases someones worry even a little bit. If anyone has any questions ask away.

kathleen37

Good for you!

I phoned them today as I still haven't heard anything since I sent back my Habitual Residence form (which they requested beginning August - my application originally went in beginning of April...) They said my details were with the Social Welfare office since August and the Inspector would be coming round to go through my details re the means testing. I think the issues with my application is that since living here since 2002, I've only ever worked in Northern Ireland so have never paid tax here (even though I've only ever lived in Donegal)

Did you get a visit from Social Welfare? Nervous about that now.

Thanks

Lucasgirl1980

kathleen37 wrote: »

Good for you!

I phoned them today as I still haven't heard anything since I sent back my Habitual Residence form (which they requested beginning August - my application originally went in beginning of April...) They said my details were with the Social Welfare office since August and the Inspector would be coming round to go through my details re the means testing. I think the issues with my application is that since living here since 2002, I've only ever worked in Northern Ireland so have never paid tax here (even though I've only ever lived in Donegal)

Did you get a visit from Social Welfare? Nervous about that now.

Thanks

Hi

No I didn't get any visit from social welfare. Nor was i asked for any further information. I think it was so straight forward for me because I was a carer for my mother a few years ago so I'm already in the system etc.

I am surprised they didn't ask for more medical details though. I had paperwork here ready to go if needed.

The other bit of advice I'd give you is to ring and email constantly. In the last month I've sent them a message at least twice a week and then rang every Friday. Puts a bit more pressure on them.

Best of luck with it

dmcguq10

Got a letter requesting the 'proper' bank statements from the bank and not print outs. Does this mean that the doctor has looked at the case yet?

Also I'm on JSA however I am currently suffering severe stress and will be going to gp. If I was to be put on illness benefit would this affect the ongoing claim to carers?

Lucasgirl1980

Hi


Well when i first rang it had cleared the medical doctor and had been sent onto the deciding officer where it would be means tested. So if their looking at bank statements i reckon the medical offficers have cleared it.



It seems to go through 3 stages, Medical officer, then onto the financial officer, who means tests the applicants and then its sent onto a deciding officer who looks at everything and decides if you have a claim or not.


I reckon you would have a hard time claiming carers allowance if you are on an illness benefit as you would have to be fit & healthy enough to take care of another person. Thats just my opinion though, i dont know for sure, the only way to know for sure is to ring them and ask.:) Good luck

looksee

Hm, someone is going to have to come up with a way of authenticating bank statements and the like if government bodies are going to reject print outs. The banks are almost disappeared from the real world of communications as it is, getting 'real' bank statements could be difficult.

Lucasgirl1980

It is ridiculous that they won't accept printouts. As far as getting 'real' statements, to be fair, i ordered it from my bank and had it within 5 working days. Just went online and ordered under 'order duplicate statements' and that was it.



I think its just the inconvenience it causes because most people will just get the printouts without checking & then whatever their applying for gets further delayed while you order the duplicates.



Theirs also a fairly hefty charge for duplicates statements, i think its 3.80 for the first page & 2.50 for each additional page. :mad:

dmcguq10

Lucasgirl1980 wrote: »

It is ridiculous that they won't accept printouts. As far as getting 'real' statements, to be fair, i ordered it from my bank and had it within 5 working days. Just went online and ordered under 'order duplicate statements' and that was it.



I think its just the inconvenience it causes because most people will just get the printouts without checking & then whatever their applying for gets further delayed while you order the duplicates.



Theirs also a fairly hefty charge for duplicates statements, i think its 3.80 for the first page & 2.50 for each additional page. :mad:

I ordered a real statement yesterday from one of the machines which takes 5 working days. The letter from carers allowance stated that printouts were acceptable as long as they were stamped by the bank however the bank refused to stamp them. They said they don't stamp anything.


Rang up carers today as was told that after I post back the documentation they require I should have a decision within 2 - 3 weeks. They could not tell me what stage of the application my claim was at.

Peig Sayers

dmcguq10 wrote: »

I ordered a real statement yesterday from one of the machines which takes 5 working days. The letter from carers allowance stated that printouts were acceptable as long as they were stamped by the bank however the bank refused to stamp them. They said they don't stamp anything.


Rang up carers today as was told that after I post back the documentation they require I should have a decision within 2 - 3 weeks. They could not tell me what stage of the application my claim was at.

I had that problem with my bank. They wouldn't stamp my statement. I dug my heels in and finally got it stamped. Such nonsense.

dmcguq10

Got refused carers allowance in the middle of November I then appealed and got a letter in the first week of December saying my appeal was granted. Rang up the appeals office last week and was told that they are just waiting on Longford to send over forms to the appeals office.

Does anyobe know how long this process takes?

splinter65

dmcguq10 wrote: »

Got refused carers allowance in the middle of November I then appealed and got a letter in the first week of December saying my appeal was granted. Rang up the appeals office last week and was told that they are just waiting on Longford to send over forms to the appeals office.

Does anyobe know how long this process takes?

It depends on wether you were getting another SW payment while you were waiting or were someone’s dependent while waiting.
If you were then Longford will have to wait for your local office to send back details so they can calculate how much arrears you’ll get and also if you are already someone’s dependent then it may be financially worth your while to stay that way and take 1/2 rate Carers.
All in all it could be another month but it will be backdated so look at it as a little savings club.

dmcguq10

splinter65 wrote: »

It depends on wether you were getting another SW payment while you were waiting or were someone’s dependent while waiting.
If you were then Longford will have to wait for your local office to send back details so they can calculate how much arrears you’ll get and also if you are already someone’s dependent then it may be financially worth your while to stay that way and take 1/2 rate Carers.
All in all it could be another month but it will be backdated so look at it as a little savings club.

When I said in the post the appeal was granted what I should have said was the letter stated that they have received all my appeal documentation which included consultant letters etc and that they would look at all and make a decision in due course.

Because they are waiting on correspondace from Longford does that indicate that I have been approved? The person in the appeals office did not indicate I was approved.

I am on JSA my partner is on DA.

splinter65

dmcguq10 wrote: »

When I said in the post the appeal was granted what I should have said was the letter stated that they have received all my appeal documentation which included consultant letters etc and that they would look at all and make a decision in due course.

Because they are waiting on correspondace from Longford does that indicate that I have been approved? The person in the appeals office did not indicate I was approved.

I am on JSA my partner is on DA.

Ok so your appeal is not granted it has just been received in the appeals office.
The appeals office have requested your fie from CA in Longford. The appeal can’t move forward until they get your file. It doesn’t mean that your appeal is allowed.
I’m sorry but appeals are taking at least 6 months because of these delays.
All I can tell you is that if you gather any further evidence to support your appeal in particular medical evidence you should send it to the appeals office immediately but don’t forget to include your PPSN.

dmcguq10

Quick Update,

Initially applied back in May got refused in November sent off appeal forms with medical and consultant reports and appeal was received at start of December. I rang up the appeals office today and they have said its passed 2 stages and has to go through 2 more one of which is a medical officer. Should have a final decision within a month.

splinter65

dmcguq10 wrote: »

Quick Update,

Initially applied back in May got refused in November sent off appeal forms with medical and consultant reports and appeal was received at start of December. I rang up the appeals office today and they have said its passed 2 stages and has to go through 2 more one of which is a medical officer. Should have a final decision within a month.

Best of luck with it all

dmcguq10

Person who I am caring for has a appointment with Consultant at the end of this week. I contacted Carers appeals today and told them that I had an appointment and would it be worthwhile sending off 'updated medical info' and they said of course it would be worthwhile. So I'm planning on posting off a letter from the consultant after we meet.

The lady on the phone said its on the 'final decision' now and it has passed the medical officer. What does this mean exactly as the woman would not elaborate too much?

kathleen37

I had a meeting with the local social welfare inspector and I was told that was the last stage. They were really nice, and very helpful.

dmcguq10

kathleen37 wrote: »

I had a meeting with the local social welfare inspector and I was told that was the last stage. They were really nice, and very helpful.

Best of luck, its a long tough process

jmcgill16

Question for anyone who's been through this - my neighbour applied for Carers last September. She got refused in early January and sent in additional documents for review in mid January. She hasn't heard anything since, but a letter saying she'd been awarded a free travel pass, and then a new PSC card with free travel on it, arrived for her in the post last week. Nothing else since.

I told her I presumed thats a good sign - does anyone know if that mean shes gotten it, and the free travel section just sorted things faster than the Carer's Allowance section? I can't find anything on Google about this happening.

lulu1

jmcgill16 wrote: »

Question for anyone who's been through this - my neighbour applied for Carers last September. She got refused in early January and sent in additional documents for review in mid January. She hasn't heard anything since, but a letter saying she'd been awarded a free travel pass, and then a new PSC card with free travel on it, arrived for her in the post last week. Nothing else since.

I told her I presumed thats a good sign - does anyone know if that mean shes gotten it, and the free travel section just sorted things faster than the Carer's Allowance section? I can't find anything on Google about this happening.

Yes I would say she had been awarded it if she got these in the post

splinter65

jmcgill16 wrote: »

Question for anyone who's been through this - my neighbour applied for Carers last September. She got refused in early January and sent in additional documents for review in mid January. She hasn't heard anything since, but a letter saying she'd been awarded a free travel pass, and then a new PSC card with free travel on it, arrived for her in the post last week. Nothing else since.

I told her I presumed thats a good sign - does anyone know if that mean shes gotten it, and the free travel section just sorted things faster than the Carer's Allowance section? I can't find anything on Google about this happening.

That’s nailed on that she has it. Just sit tight and she’ll get a letter soon. Good for her.

kathleen37

dmcguq10 wrote: »

Best of luck, its a long tough process

Yes, mine took 9 months as I had to complete the habitual residency stuff as I've only ever worked in NI, although I live here.

After I saw the social welfare inspector, I got the letter saying I was successful a couple of weeks later.

I hope your application is successful too

kathleen37

jmcgill16 wrote: »

Question for anyone who's been through this - my neighbour applied for Carers last September. She got refused in early January and sent in additional documents for review in mid January. She hasn't heard anything since, but a letter saying she'd been awarded a free travel pass, and then a new PSC card with free travel on it, arrived for her in the post last week. Nothing else since.

I told her I presumed thats a good sign - does anyone know if that mean shes gotten it, and the free travel section just sorted things faster than the Carer's Allowance section? I can't find anything on Google about this happening.

That is odd, I'd suggest she phones the Carers team Monday morning.

When I got my acceptance letter, it had details of applying for the PSC card, as I didn't have one at that point. It had the free travel on it when it came through.

lulu1

kathleen37 wrote: »

That is odd, I'd suggest she phones the Carers team Monday morning.

When I got my acceptance letter, it had details of applying for the PSC card, as I didn't have one at that point. It had the free travel on it when it came through.

The ops neighbor probably had a public service card to start with whereas you haden't hence having to apply

jmcgill16

Thanks for the replies. I asked and she did have a PSC card prior to this, so the new one probably came out fairly quickly because it was just a case of them updating that I guess.

For anyone else who finds themselves in a similar situation: the letter from Longford arrived to confirm she'd been awarded Carers about 2 weeks after her new PSC card with the free travel. I'm delighted for her!

splinter65

jmcgill16 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. I asked and she did have a PSC card prior to this, so the new one probably came out fairly quickly because it was just a case of them updating that I guess.

For anyone else who finds themselves in a similar situation: the letter from Longford arrived to confirm she'd been awarded Carers about 2 weeks after her new PSC card with the free travel. I'm delighted for her!

Thank God

Med101007

Hi everyone.

I am just filling out the Carers Allowance form now and have a question regarding the financial resources section.

Both myself and my partner have current accounts in the Bank of Ireland and AIB respectively. We also have separate savings accounts in the Credit Union.

Do I have to put down our Credit Union account details and get statements from each account? I have small savings in my CU account but my partner has close to 10k that he has been saving for the past 5 years.

lulu1

Med101007 wrote: »

Hi everyone.

I am just filling out the Carers Allowance form now and have a question regarding the financial resources section.

Both myself and my partner have current accounts in the Bank of Ireland and AIB respectively. We also have separate savings accounts in the Credit Union.

Do I have to put down our Credit Union account details and get statements from each account? I have small savings in my CU account but my partner has close to 10k that he has been saving for the past 5 years.

You are advised to put whatever savings you have down in the form but whether people do or not is another story

kathleen37

Don't they need to see statements though?

Is 10k above the limit? I can't remember what they are (tried to block out that application process...)

splinter65

Med101007 wrote: »

Hi everyone.

I am just filling out the Carers Allowance form now and have a question regarding the financial resources section.

Both myself and my partner have current accounts in the Bank of Ireland and AIB respectively. We also have separate savings accounts in the Credit Union.

Do I have to put down our Credit Union account details and get statements from each account? I have small savings in my CU account but my partner has close to 10k that he has been saving for the past 5 years.

Yes you have to give them all your financial details. That’s what a means test is.

Med101007

Is there any point in applying for Carers Allowance if my partner's savings are over 10k?

kathleen37

Have a read through

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/carers/carers_allowance.html

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/irish_social_welfare_system/means_test_for_social_welfare_payments/how_to_assess_your_means_from_capital_for_social_welfare_payments.html

splinter65

Med101007 wrote: »

Is there any point in applying for Carers Allowance if my partner's savings are over 10k?

Yes there’s every point in applying. The means test for Carers is very generous. The waiting period is very long so just fill in the form as best you can and get it sent off. How much has your partner got in savings? Is it a joint account?

dmcguq10

Quick update

Rang up carers appeals office today they recieved all the original letters I posted to Longford (when I originally applied last May 2018) on the 16th Feb 2019. They also recieved updated prescriptions and consultant letters as well as upcoming dates with consultants.

They said they are just waiting on deciding officier to take a look at all the evidence. Couldn't give me a timeframe though.

lulu1

dmcguq10 wrote: »

Quick update

Rang up carers appeals office today they recieved all the original letters I posted to Longford (when I originally applied last May 2018) on the 16th Feb 2019. They also recieved updated prescriptions and consultant letters as well as upcoming dates with consultants.

They said they are just waiting on deciding officier to take a look at all the evidence. Couldn't give me a timeframe though.

If your claim is sucessfull you will be backdated to when your claim was received by the department

dmcguq10

lulu1 wrote: »

If your claim is sucessfull you will be backdated to when your claim was received by the department

Backdated from when the original claim was recieved or the appeal?

lulu1

dmcguq10 wrote: »

Backdated from when the original claim was recieved or the appeal?

I stand to be corrected but I think when the original claim was received

mrkiscool2

lulu1 wrote: »

I stand to be corrected but I think when the original claim was received

Hey lulu1, sorry to be a hassle, you've been great at answering so far. I got approved and received my first payment, but it wasn't backdated. Any idea when I will get the backdated amount?

splinter65

mrkiscool2 wrote: »

Hey lulu1, sorry to be a hassle, you've been great at answering so far. I got approved and received my first payment, but it wasn't backdated. Any idea when I will get the backdated amount?

It’s at least 8 weeks at the moment, and counting.

mrkiscool2

splinter65 wrote: »

It’s at least 8 weeks at the moment, and counting.

Ooof. Thanks for the answer though, much appreciated.

dmcguq10

lulu1 wrote: »

I stand to be corrected but I think when the original claim was received

OK

It's a very frustrating process. Does anyone know how long the appeals process actually takes? Appealed in November and all information was only received in Feb. Its still awaiting to be seen by the deciding officer.