When payments can be made

Carers must be paid Carer Support Payment to receive Scottish Carer Supplement and Carer Additional Person Payment.

Scottish Carer Supplement and Carer Additional Person Payment will always be paid at the same time as Carer Support Payment.

Current and previous rates of each component are shown in the Rates of Carer Benefits section of this guidance.

Current and previous rates of each component are available at Disability, winter heating and carers benefit payment amounts.

Carer Support should be paid every four weeks, in arrears. (Carer Support Regulations, regulation 22)

This applies to all carers who make new applications for Carer Support, except those who will receive Carer Support under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness (SRTI), who should be offered the choice of being paid either every four weeks in arrears or weekly in advance. These rules apply to carers who are terminally ill or caring for someone who is terminally ill and getting a disability benefit under SRTI.

Carer Support can also be paid weekly in advance to carers whose benefits have transferred from Carer’s Allowance and who were paid weekly in advance by the DWP. Some carers who were paid by the DWP on a ‘3+1’ payment cycle, where they were paid one week in advance and three weeks in arrears, may also be paid Carer Support Payment weekly in advance where they chose this option before their benefits are transferred. (Carer Support Payment Regulations, Schedule 1, Part 2, paragraph 7 (in force prior to 06 November 2025, revoked from 06 November 2025 following completion of case transfer but saved for any individual who had received a case transfer notice prior to this date under paragraph 4 of Schedule 1)