Hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers are now facing extremely precarious financial positions due to a lack of financial support with their caring role.
Providing unpaid care limits many carers’ ability to earn a full income, with many having to reduce their working hours or give up work completely as a result. Caring also adds extra costs that they would not otherwise have.
The current cost of living crisis has had a profound impact on unpaid carers across the UK. Many are now unable to afford food, petrol or their utility bills, all of which have rapidly risen in price over the last 18 months.
Many carers are turning to unsustainable solutions to cope with these challenges, such as falling into debt or cutting back on activities that improve their health and wellbeing.
- Unpaid carers experience an average ‘pay penalty’ of nearly £5,000 per year.
- The rate of poverty for carers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance more than doubled over 10 years, from 16% in 2010/11 to 34% in 2020/21.
- 60% of carers are worried about the impact of caring on their finances.
- 1 in 3 carers have had to cut back on essentials like food and heating.
It is unacceptable that so many unpaid carers are struggling with their finances and worrying about the future. Urgent action is required to ensure no carers have to live in poverty due to a lack of financial support.
Couldn’t afford my internet bill, explained I need it to get medication, food, heating and light, contacting in emergency and they cut me off, I was literally crying on the phone to them, telling them it is my lifeline, they didn’t care...”
A carer in receipt of Carer’s Allowance.
The next Government must:
- Raise the level of Carer’s Allowance and associated premia by at least £11.10 a week to match the effective rate in Scotland.
- Increase the earnings limit for Carer’s Allowance to the value of 21 hours work a week at the National Living Wage rate.
- Reform the eligibility rules for Carer’s Allowance – giving access to a lower rate of the benefit for those caring between 20 and 35 hours a week, enabling more than one person to receive the benefit if multiple people are caring for the same person, and extending the run on of payments for bereaved carers from 8 to 12 weeks.
- Carry out a full review of the links between caring and poverty across the UK and commission an independent inquiry to explore longer-term solutions to bringing more unpaid carers out of poverty.
- Provide additional financial support to carers of State Pension age, including a new non-means-tested payment.
- Modernise and digitise the delivery of Carer’s Allowance to make it less complicated for claimants and to protect carers from overpayments.
Gary's story
In 2017, Gary’s wife Natasha was diagnosed with a spinal cord tumour and Gary became her full-time carer.
Find out more
For more information, see our detailed State of Caring report into carers’ finances.
Carers UK also leads the Carer Poverty Coalition, over 130 organisations who are campaigning to reduce financial hardship and poverty for unpaid carers.
