Life after caring

Benefits

If you are under pension age and not able to work because of illness, disability or your illness or disability affects your work, you may be able to claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). You may get ESA if you’ve lived or worked abroad and paid enough UK National Insurance (or the equivalent in a member country of the European Economic Area (EEA) or other country with which the UK has an agreement). 

You may also be entitled to Personal Independence Payments (if under 65) or Attendance Allowance (if 65 or over) if you need help to look after yourself or with getting around. Personal Independence Payments and Attendance Allowance are not means tested, and can be claimed in addition to other benefits and sources of income.

Other benefits

If your income is relatively low, you may be able to claim one or more of the following means tested benefits. For most means tested benefits the savings limit is £16,000.

• Job seekers allowance - for people who are unemployed and are on a low income.
• Income support - for people who are on a low income and are under state pension age
• Pension Credit - paid as a guaranteed credit if you are over the qualifying age and on a low in come. Plus, a savings credit for people over 65.
• Housing Benefit - this can help you to pay the rent if you’re on a low income
• Council Tax Benefit - help to pay your council tax if you’re on a low income.

Note: If you were getting a Council Tax discount because of your caring responsibilities, remember to let your local council know that your caring responsibilities have ended. If you are living alone, you may still be entitled to a single occupants discount.

The Turn2Us website has lots of for information on income-related benefits, Universal Credit and tax credits.

Local Energy Advice Partnership (LEAP)

LEAP is a free service that helps people keep warm and reduce their energy bills without costing them any money. book a free visit from the Local Energy Advice Partnership experts working in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. Find out more on their website.

Find new challenges

It can take time to come to terms with the loss of your caring role, but there will come a time when you are ready to think about what to do next. Keeping in touch with friends, friends and your local community can be difficult when you do not have much time for yourself. You may feel isolated after many years of caring and you may feel that this has knocked your confidence. You could start by finding out what help or services your local carer’s centre or group offers to former carers. Listed below are some other suggestions to help you get started.

Volunteering

If you have time to spare, you could consider volunteering. As well as offering much needed help to local people or organisations, volunteering can be a very social activity, and can be a good way to meet new people. Volunteering opportunities can range from befriending older or disabled people, offering your skills (e.g. administration, fundraising, legal advice etc) to a local charity, to helping on a local conservation project.

PramaLIFE have a mentoring scheme for experienced, ex-carers to provide some guidance to carers new to the role. They will train and guide mentors in how to signpost and advise the new carers through the challenges and systems they will face. This may be a good place to start as a volunteer. If you would like to find out more please contact Sue Warr on 01202 207300, or e-mail sue.warr@pramacare.co.uk

There are many ways to find out about volunteering, but you could contact the Community Action Network, who can help you find volunteering options. 

Learn something new

You may feel that you would like to refresh skills that you might not have used for a while, or learn something completely new. You might have gained new skills or interests from your caring role that you also want to pursue. Taking a course can also be a great way to meet new people.

To find information about what is available to you can contact your local library or contact Skills & Learning.

Returning to work

If you have given up work (or not worked at all) because of your caring responsibilities, you may want to work or return to work once your caring role ends. If you are not sure what you would like to do, start by recognising the skills and interests you have. Think about what you have learned from:

• any paid work you have done
• tasks and responsibilities involved in your role as a carer or parent, or in running a home
• other activities that you do, for example voluntary work

Then identify your interests. Think about:

• what you like doing
• how you would like to use your skills
• things you miss doing that you once did, e.g. previous work

Think about how you can gain confidence to use your skills in new ways.

You may want to find a personal development training course, for example confidence building, assertiveness, or managing stress.

The National Careers Service can provide you with information, advice and guidance on skills learning and work. You can also take an online skills health check designed to help explore your skills and interests. 

Think about what employers want:

• Make the time you have spent caring and your caring role a positive feature of your CV and job application
• Identify the transferable skills you have gained through caring that fit with employers needs.

Think about short and long term goals and make a plan of what you would like to do. Make sure the plan is achievable - include small steps as well as your long term goals. Once you know what you want to do, you can look for the right kind of support to help you.

Support to get back into training and work

Jobcentre Plus can tell you about the range of help they offer, both to find work and to help you out when you start work. This could be:

• training programmes to learn new skills or refresh existing ones
• support in writing job applications or your CV, and in preparing for interviews
• financial help when you move into work, e.g. Tax Credits, Housing/Council Tax Benefit

When you make a claim for Jobseeker’s Allowance, you will have a jobseeker’s interview that looks at your skills and qualifications, the type of work you want and the steps you will take to find work. When you are asked about your job skills and experience, make sure that you include the skills you have gained and used as a Carer as well as those you may have gained from previous employment.

Helping to improve support for carers

Carers and former carers can be invaluable, and local services would like to hear from them about what they think about the services and support available for carers.

There is a Carers Reference Group who come together to help delelop services for carers. You can find out more about the Carers Reference Group here. 

Useful contact numbers (as mentioned throughout)

Benefits

• Turn2Us - 0808 802 2000
• LEAP - 0800 060 7567

Volunteering

• Community Action Network - 01202 466130

Adult Learning

• Skills & Learning - 01202 123444

Getting back to work

• National Careers Service - 0800 100 900
• Bournemouth Job Centre Plus and Poole Job Centre - 0800 169 0190