Guide · Benefits · Scotland
Scottish Carer Support Payment Guide 2026/27 -- Replacing Carer's Allowance in Scotland
Carer Support Payment is Social Security Scotland's devolved replacement for Carer's Allowance. It is being introduced on an area-by-area basis, with existing Carer's Allowance recipients in Scotland transferred across automatically. The core idea of supporting people who provide substantial unpaid care is unchanged, but the Scottish Government has used its devolved powers to soften some of the rules that carers found harshest under the old system.
Key facts
- Administered by: Social Security Scotland, replacing Carer's Allowance in Scotland
- Rollout: Phased area by area, existing claimants transferred automatically
- Core condition: Substantial unpaid care to someone on a qualifying disability benefit
- Taxable: Yes, in the same way as Carer's Allowance
- Earnings rule: Softened compared with the old cliff-edge -- check current rules on mygov.scot
- Overlapping benefits: Still reduced to nil if State Pension is at least as much
Why Scotland has its own carer benefit
Carer's Allowance is one of the benefits devolved to the Scottish Parliament under the Scotland Act 2016. Rather than simply carrying on paying the DWP benefit, the Scottish Government chose to design a Scottish equivalent -- Carer Support Payment -- delivered by Social Security Scotland, using the flexibility devolution allows to change some of the underlying rules while keeping the payment broadly compatible with the rest of the UK system.
What stays the same
- You still need to provide a substantial amount of unpaid care each week to someone receiving a qualifying disability benefit -- Adult Disability Payment, Child Disability Payment, Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance or Pension Age Disability Payment.
- The payment remains taxable income.
- The overlapping benefits rule with the State Pension is unchanged in principle -- if your pension is at least as much as the weekly rate, the payment itself is reduced to nil, though underlying entitlement is preserved.
- It still interacts with Universal Credit, Pension Credit and legacy means-tested benefits through carer elements and premiums.
What has changed
The most significant changes carers have asked for relate to the earnings rule. Under Carer's Allowance, earning even £1 over the weekly net earnings limit in a single week removed the entire week's payment -- a hard cliff edge that discouraged carers from taking on extra hours. Carer Support Payment moves towards a more flexible assessment of earnings, is intended to be more forgiving of short breaks and fluctuating care needs, and simplifies some of the study-hours restrictions that applied under the old rules. Because these easements have continued to evolve during the rollout, check the current detailed rules on mygov.scot before assuming a specific figure or condition still applies.
The transfer from Carer's Allowance
If you already receive Carer's Allowance and live in Scotland, you do not need to make a new claim. Social Security Scotland writes to you ahead of your transfer date with details of what is changing, and your payment should continue without a break -- only the paying body and reference details change. If you move to Scotland while receiving Carer's Allowance from the DWP, or move away from Scotland while on Carer Support Payment, you will need to switch between the two systems, since each is only payable to Scottish or rest-of-UK residents respectively.
Interaction with Universal Credit and Pension Credit
Receiving Carer Support Payment (or having underlying entitlement to it) can trigger the Carer Element in Universal Credit or the Carer Premium in Pension Credit and legacy benefits, in the same way Carer's Allowance does elsewhere in the UK. The payment itself still counts as unearned income and reduces means-tested benefits pound for pound, so the net gain from claiming is generally the value of the carer element or premium rather than the headline weekly rate.
How to apply
Once the rollout has reached your area, you apply through Social Security Scotland -- online, by phone, by post or in person -- providing your details, the cared-for person's details and confirmation of their qualifying disability benefit. If you disagree with a decision, you can request a redetermination and, if the outcome is still unsatisfactory, appeal to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland, Social Security Chamber.