Key Facts
- Self-funders keep Attendance Allowance in a care home; it stops only when public funds pay the care (gov.uk)
- Under full CHC in a care home, AA is suspended 28 days after admission — the home is treated as a "similar institution to a hospital" (Age UK Factsheet 34, 2026, applying DWP guidance)
- AA continues if CHC is delivered at home (via a Personal Health Budget) and under NHS-Funded Nursing Care (FNC) only
- 2026/27 rates: higher £114.60/wk, lower £76.70/wk — not means-tested (gov.uk)
- You keep an "underlying entitlement" — AA can restart if the funding ends or you move out
- AA does not affect CHC eligibility — CHC is a clinical primary-health-need test
"Can Mum keep her Attendance Allowance now the NHS is paying?" is one of the most common — and most misunderstood — questions families ask when funding changes. The honest answer isn't a simple yes or no. It depends entirely on who pays for the care and where the care happens.
Attendance Allowance is not means-tested, so it rides alongside self-funding without a problem. The moment public money — a local authority, or NHS Continuing Healthcare — starts paying for the care, a different rule kicks in. This guide sets out exactly when you keep it and when it stops.
Reviewed by legal professionals and social care professionals.
TL;DR: Attendance Allowance continues while you self-fund a care home. But once public funds pay the care — the local authority, or NHS Continuing Healthcare — AA is suspended 28 days after admission (Age UK Factsheet 34, 2026, applying DWP guidance). Two exceptions keep it alive: CHC delivered in your own home via a Personal Health Budget, and NHS-Funded Nursing Care (FNC) only. You keep an "underlying entitlement", so AA can restart if the funding ends.
Does Attendance Allowance stop in a care home?
It depends on who pays. If you fund your own care home fees in full, you keep Attendance Allowance — gov.uk is explicit that "you can still claim Attendance Allowance if you pay for all your care home costs yourself" (gov.uk). AA is not means-tested, so savings and income are irrelevant.
The rule changes the moment public money pays for the care. gov.uk states you "cannot usually get Attendance Allowance if you live in a care home and your care is paid for by your local authority." The same applies when the NHS pays — which is what happens under Continuing Healthcare. So the trigger isn't the care home itself; it's public funding of the care.
Why does this matter before anything changes? Because families who don't know the rule keep receiving AA after it should have stopped, and can be asked to repay it. Notify the DWP whenever the funding basis changes.
The 28-day rule: when public funding suspends Attendance Allowance
Attendance Allowance doesn't stop the day funding changes — it stops after 28 days. If any of the costs of "qualifying services" (accommodation, board or personal care) are paid from public funds, AA is suspended 28 days after admission, or sooner if you were previously in hospital (Age UK Factsheet 34, 2026, applying DWP Decision Makers Guide Vol 10 Ch 61).
This is the same mechanism as the hospital-inpatient rule, where AA is payable for the first 28 days and then suspended. Separate stays less than 28 days apart are linked and added together toward the limit.
Crucially, suspension is not the same as losing the benefit. You keep an "underlying entitlement", so if the public funding later ends — CHC is withdrawn at review, or your relative moves back to self-funding — Attendance Allowance can be paid again without a fresh claim.
Does NHS Continuing Healthcare stop Attendance Allowance?
In a care home, yes. When CHC funds someone in a care or nursing home, the DWP can treat the home as a "similar institution to a hospital" and apply the 28-day suspension (Age UK Factsheet 34, 2026). Full CHC means the NHS is paying the qualifying costs — which is exactly the public-funding trigger. So you cannot hold both full CHC in a care home and Attendance Allowance beyond the first 28 days.
This surprises families who assume a non-means-tested benefit is untouchable. It isn't the means test that stops AA here — it's the fact that the state is now paying for the care the allowance was meant to help with.
The sequence in practice: while self-funding, AA is paid indefinitely. CHC is awarded, the NHS takes over the fees, AA continues for 28 days, then it's suspended. The continuing-healthcare-funding pillar explains how CHC pays for care in the first place.
When you keep Attendance Allowance under CHC: home care and FNC
There are two verified exceptions where CHC and Attendance Allowance genuinely coexist — and they're the part most guides miss. AA survives when CHC is delivered in the person's own home, and when the person receives NHS-Funded Nursing Care (FNC) only rather than full CHC.
The logic is the "qualifying services" test. AA stops only when public funds pay for accommodation, board or personal care. At home, no one is paying those accommodation costs from public funds, so the trigger never fires — and everyone on CHC living at home has a "right to have" a Personal Health Budget to arrange that care (NHS England). Under FNC only, the NHS contributes to nursing time but the resident still pays the accommodation and personal-care costs, so AA continues.
| Funding scenario | Does Attendance Allowance continue? |
|---|---|
| Self-funding a care home | Yes — indefinitely |
| First 28 days of CHC/LA funding | Yes — for those 28 days |
| Full CHC in a care/nursing home | No — suspended after 28 days |
| Local-authority-funded care home | No — suspended after 28 days |
| NHS-Funded Nursing Care (FNC) only | Yes — if no public funds pay accommodation/board/personal care |
| CHC delivered in your own home (PHB) | Yes — the public-funding trigger doesn't fire |
Source: Age UK Factsheet 34 (2026), applying DWP guidance; gov.uk Attendance Allowance eligibility.
Does Attendance Allowance affect CHC — and what about Carer's Allowance?
No — holding Attendance Allowance never affects CHC eligibility. CHC is decided on a clinical "primary health need" test, assessed across the 12 DST domains, and benefits play no part. AA is not means-tested, so it's never offset against anything. The influence runs one way: CHC funding in a care home suspends AA, not the reverse.
Watch two knock-on effects. First, Carer's Allowance: a carer can only claim it if the person they care for gets a qualifying benefit, and AA is on that list (gov.uk). If AA is suspended under CHC, the carer should check their Carer's Allowance with the DWP rather than assume it carries on. Second, overpayments: if AA keeps being paid after it should have stopped, the DWP can reclaim it — so tell them promptly when CHC starts.
CareAdvocate is an evidence preparation service, not a benefits agency, and this is general guidance, not advice on your individual claim. If you're wondering whether your relative might qualify for CHC in the first place — which is what triggers all of this — the free CHC eligibility screener gives you a read in a few minutes.
Continue learning
- Attendance Allowance: the complete 2026 guide — rates, eligibility, how to claim
- Carers Allowance and CHC — the benefit crossover for family carers
- NHS-Funded Nursing Care explained — the £267.68 nursing contribution, and why AA survives under it
- Continuing Healthcare funding: the family guide — how CHC and Personal Health Budgets work
Frequently asked questions
Does CHC stop Attendance Allowance?
In a care home, yes — once NHS Continuing Healthcare pays for the care, Attendance Allowance is suspended 28 days after admission, because the home is treated as a 'similar institution to a hospital' (Age UK Factsheet 34, 2026, applying DWP guidance). But AA continues if CHC is delivered in your own home via a Personal Health Budget, and under NHS-Funded Nursing Care (FNC) only.
Can you claim Attendance Allowance in a care home?
Yes, if you pay all your own care home fees — self-funders keep Attendance Allowance ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance/eligibility)). You generally cannot get it if your care is paid for by the local authority or the NHS; in that case AA stops 28 days after admission, though you keep an 'underlying entitlement' so it can restart if funding ends.
What are the 2026/27 Attendance Allowance rates?
Higher rate £114.60 a week; lower rate £76.70 a week ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance/what-youll-get)). Attendance Allowance is not means-tested and not taxable — savings and income do not affect it. You must be State Pension age or older and have needed help with care or supervision for at least six months.
Does Attendance Allowance affect CHC eligibility?
No. NHS Continuing Healthcare is decided on a clinical 'primary health need' test, not on your income or benefits, and Attendance Allowance is not means-tested so it is never counted. The interaction runs one way only: receiving CHC funding in a care home suspends AA payment — holding AA never bars CHC.
What happens to my Carer's Allowance if Attendance Allowance stops?
Carer's Allowance depends on the person you care for receiving a qualifying benefit, and Attendance Allowance is one of them ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance/eligibility)). If the person's AA is suspended under CHC, the carer should check their Carer's Allowance position with the DWP — don't assume it continues automatically.