Attendance Allowance in a Care Home Northern Ireland: The 28-Day Rule Explained

Whether your parent can keep Attendance Allowance after moving into a care home depends on a single question: who is paying the fees? Self-funders keep it. Residents whose care is funded or part-funded by the HSC Trust lose it after 28 days. Getting this wrong creates overpayments that the Department for Communities will recover, sometimes months later when the family least expects it.

The 28-Day Rule

Attendance Allowance is suspended on the 29th day of a care home stay if the HSC Trust is contributing to the cost of the placement. The count starts from the date of admission, and days are counted consecutively — there is no reset for temporary discharges of less than 28 days.

"Contributing to the cost" means any Trust contribution to the care fees, however small. If the Trust pays even a portion of the weekly fee (because your parent's capital has dropped below £23,250 and they are receiving means-tested funding), Attendance Allowance stops.

This rule catches families during transitions. A parent who enters a care home as a self-funder keeps Attendance Allowance. Months or years later, when their savings deplete and Trust funding begins, the benefit must be stopped. Families who fail to report this change end up with an overpayment.

Self-Funders Keep Attendance Allowance

If your parent is paying the full cost of their care home fees — no Trust contribution at all — Attendance Allowance continues indefinitely. There is no time limit.

Current weekly rates:

• Higher rate: £114.60 per week (for needs both day and night)
• Lower rate: £76.70 per week (for needs during day or night)

At the higher rate, that is nearly £6,000 per year. Combined with the £100 weekly NHS Funded Nursing Care payment (if in a nursing home), a self-funder can offset over £11,000 per year against their care costs.

This is why maximising benefit claims before the financial assessment is so important. A self-funding parent who is not claiming Attendance Allowance is losing thousands of pounds per year that could extend the period before their savings cross below £23,250.

What Happens During the 12-Week Property Disregard

Here is where it gets complicated. During the 12-week property disregard, the Trust temporarily ignores the property's value and may fund the placement. If the Trust is contributing during this period, the 28-day rule applies and Attendance Allowance will stop after 28 days.

However, if your parent's liquid capital (savings, investments — everything except the disregarded property) is above £23,250, they remain a self-funder during the 12-week disregard, and Attendance Allowance continues.

The practical implication: families whose parent has modest savings but a valuable house will see Attendance Allowance suspended within 28 days of the care home admission, even though the Trust is only funding on a temporary basis during the property disregard period.

How to Report Changes

When your parent's funding status changes — from self-funding to Trust-funded or vice versa — you must notify the Disability and Carers Service at the Department for Communities. In Northern Ireland, this is the body that administers Attendance Allowance (not the DWP, which handles it in Great Britain).

Report:

• The date the Trust began contributing to care fees
• Whether the contribution is temporary (during the 12-week property disregard) or permanent (means-tested funding)

Do not wait for the Trust to report it. The responsibility falls on the claimant (or their representative) to notify the change. Late reporting leads to overpayment recovery, which the department pursues regardless of the circumstances.

Claiming Attendance Allowance Before Care Home Admission

If your parent is not yet claiming Attendance Allowance, apply before they enter a care home. The benefit is not limited to care home residents — it is available to anyone who has reached State Pension age and needs help with personal care or supervision due to a physical or mental disability.

The application process requires detailed descriptions of your parent's day-to-day care needs. Many families find that the form underrepresents their parent's needs because they describe what the parent can do rather than what they struggle with. Focus on the worst days, not the best.

Attendance Allowance is not means-tested for the initial claim — anyone who meets the care-need criteria qualifies regardless of income or capital. The means-testing element only arises when it interacts with care home funding status.

The Northern Ireland Care Funding Guide includes an Attendance Allowance optimiser with pre-written descriptions for common care scenarios and transition management templates for the self-funder-to-Trust-funded handover.

See more Northern Ireland guides →