When payment can be stopped

Payments of Carer Support Payment should stop after an individual’s entitlement to the benefit ends.  

Individuals have a right to request payments to stop. In these cases, managers should cancel an award. Individuals can request that payments stop either:  

• with immediate effect  
• on a specific date (Social Security (Scotland Act) 2018, s 26(2))

Where an individual has requested that payments stop, the case manager or client adviser should ensure that the individual or their representative is clear about the impact that the decision to stop payment of Carer Support Payment could potentially have.

It could mean other benefits in payment because of entitlement to Carer Support Payment may be affected. For more information, see passporting benefits, operational guidance and an individual’s right to stop receiving assistance chapter. 

When a case manager is notified that a client who is entitled to Carer Support Payment has died, they must make a determination without application (Carer Support Payment Regulations, Regulation 36(c)). Please refer to the Death of an individual chapter for more information. 

When the cared for person dies, the individual’s Carer Support Payment will continue to be paid either:  

• until the first day of the award week following the award week in which the individual ceases to satisfy any other eligibility requirement set out in Part 3 of the Carer’s Assistance (Carer Support Payment) (Scotland) Regulations 2023
• for a period of 8 award weeks after the first day of the award week following the award week in which the cared for person died, whichever occurs first (Carer Support Payment Regulations, Regulation 16 (4))

Please refer to the Death of an individual chapter for more information. 

When someone receiving Carer Support Payment moves out of Scotland to somewhere elsewhere in the UK, Carer Support Payment can continue to be paid for 13 weeks from the date of their move outside of Scotland. For more information see the moving out of Scotland chapter.  

An overpayment can occur when Social Security Scotland is not informed immediately of the death of an individual who is entitled to Carer Support Payment.

If this happens, an individual’s estate is liable to Social Security Scotland for any sums paid after death. The value of the overpayment is the amount of assistance paid since the day following the date of death. Social Security Scotland will contact the individual’s next of kin, or the person who registered the death, to make further enquiries if this happens.