Terminal illness change of circumstances

Carer or cared for person(s) are no longer terminally ill

A client may receive a change in their prognosis from a medical practitioner that they are no longer terminally ill, or this may happen to the person they care for (including any additional cared for person they have requested Carer Additional Person Payment for). If the client informs us that this is the case, this may affect their Carer Support award.

Where they have been awarded Carer Support with no past presence test and they would now fail the test if this was applied, their Carer Support will need to be ended until they have been present in the Common Travel Area for 26 of the past 52 weeks. If they were awarded Carer Support with no past presence test but now have 26 weeks of past presence in the Common Travel Area, we can continue to pay Carer Support to them.  

There is no requirement to stop paying the client weekly in advance where it is confirmed that they or the person they care for (including any additional cared for person they have requested Carer Additional Person Payment for) is no longer terminally ill. They can continue to receive weekly in advance payments.

Carer or cared for person dies

Normal processes apply where a terminally ill Carer Support client dies during an ongoing award. Where the person being cared for dies, Carer Support can continue to be paid for up to 8 weeks in the normal way, or up to 12 weeks if the cared for person dies after 15 March 2026. Death of an individual guidance.