Martin Lewis says state pensioners can claim free £5,644 and 'your finances are irrelevant'

Martin Lewis has warned one million people are missing out on Attendance Allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ). The BBC Sounds podcast host took to Twitter, now X, on Friday with an alert for DWP claimants.

He said: "In this I talk through Marriage Tax Allowance (2m missing out), council tax support (2m missing out), childcare national insurance credit (250,000 missing out), attendance allowance (1m missing out). Do have a listen and spread with anyone it'd be useful for."

The DWP benefit could give you up to £108.55 per week and it’s not means-tested, for a total of £5,644 per year which will be going up again in April. On his podcast this week, Mr Lewis said: “This is for disabled or ill state pensioners. That's who we're talking about, people of state pension age.

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"Could be you, could be someone you know, and it's just listen out for someone you know in these circumstances. Attendance allowance is not means tested. So your financial situation is irrelevant here, which is why it applies to so many people. It applies to both mental and physical health conditions.

"One aside, if you get PIP, personal independence payments or disability living allowance, they're usually more worth more. You can't get that, and attendance allowance don't apply. Stick with what you've got. So it is for people, if you need help, I'm going to define help in a moment, during the day or during the night, then you're on the lower rate, 73 pounds a week, 3,800 pounds a year, that works out to be.

"If you need help during the day and the night, you're on the higher rate, 109 pounds a week, which is 5,600 pounds a year, roughly. If you have less than a year to live, you're also on the higher rate, 109 pounds a week, less than just 5,600 pounds a year.

"So help is defined as must have needed help for six consecutive months, even if you didn't get it. So the fact you haven't had help is irrelevant. Help is help with someone for daily living. It could be feeding, it could be eating, it could be going to the toilet, it could be getting yourself dressed, it could be mobility.

"It's all of those natural, ordinary purposes that a healthy, well able-bodied person would be able to do for themselves. But who assesses this? There's sort of if, buts and gray areas. There are, but these are the rules. In fact, there's a lovely quote by Lord Denning. It is, you know, when you apply, you're going to need your national insurance number, your GP number, your prescription and hospital records.”

He said: “All of those things help. But the vast majority of people don't actually have an assessment in person. The application form does it, as long as they've got the records that are backing up their condition. You know, I had somebody on my telly show the other day.

"This was a man who had very severe arthritis in both hips. He could struggle to walk. I mean, you know, he's walking two or three meters. He's living with his daughter and his son-in-law. And very clearly, he had mobility issues and he got attendance allowance. And attendance allowance is worth it. I should also state, it's not just help with daily living. There's also a supervision category.

"And supervision is if you need somebody to watch you to avoid danger to yourself or to others, then that also counts. Now, when you are doing this, it's common for people with Parkinson's, dementia, terminal illness, physical disability, and a whole lot more. It is very common.”