Do I lose Carer's Allowance when my child turns 16?

No, turning 16 does not end Carer's Allowance. It continues while your child gets a qualifying disability benefit. At 16 their DLA ends; claim PIP by the date in the DWP letter and DLA keeps paying until the decision. The thing that puts your payment at risk at 16 is not your child's birthday. It is the move from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to Personal Independence Payment (PIP), and whether that move keeps a qualifying benefit in place.

What Carer's Allowance actually depends on

Your Carer's Allowance does not run from your child's age. It runs from a set of conditions that have to keep holding, whatever age your child is. To keep getting it you must spend at least 35 hours a week caring, earn no more than £204 a week after allowed deductions in the 2026/27 tax year, and not be in full-time education or studying 21 or more hours a week. And the load-bearing one: the person you care for has to keep getting a qualifying disability benefit: the daily living part of PIP, the middle or highest care rate of DLA, or an equivalent such as Attendance Allowance or, in Scotland, Child Disability Payment or Adult Disability Payment. Carer's Allowance is £86.45 a week in 2026/27.

What changes at 16: DLA to PIP

Children's DLA stops at 16. Your child gets a letter from the DWP inviting them to claim PIP instead. This is the moment that decides whether your Carer's Allowance carries on, so the table below is the part to get right.

• They claim PIP by the date in the letter: their DLA keeps being paid until the PIP claim is assessed, so there is no gap and your Carer's Allowance continues uninterrupted.
• They miss that date: DLA payments stop. With no qualifying benefit in place, your Carer's Allowance stops too.
• They are awarded PIP daily living (standard or enhanced): that is a qualifying benefit, so your Carer's Allowance keeps paying.
• They are awarded only the mobility part, or refused: the daily living component is the one that counts for you, so without it your Carer's Allowance ends.

So eligibility on paper is not the same as the payment continuing. The single action that protects your money is making sure the PIP claim goes in by the deadline in the letter.

Two traps the usual answers miss

First, being an appointee for your child's DLA (acting for them because they cannot manage the claim themselves) does not carry over to PIP automatically. You have to apply for appointee status again for the PIP claim, so do not assume it transfers. Second, watch your own situation: if you start a full-time course or study 21 or more hours a week, your Carer's Allowance can end on its own, separately from anything your child's benefits do.

For more on the conditions on your side of the claim, see claiming Carer's Allowance while working part-time. For wider help with costs while your child is at home, see the Family Fund and whether you can apply.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.