Life after caring

Life after caring

The end of your caring role may take some time to adjust to. Having more time to yourself may give you the opportunity for a much needed rest, but it can also leave you with a lot of time to fill. If you are used to always having things to do, it can be hard to stop and think about what you would like to do, and to be able to make choices for yourself. Some carers find that once they are no longer caring, exhaustion – both physical and emotional – catches up with them and they feel unwell for a while. Having spent time caring for someone else and putting their needs first, it is really important to look after yourself and let other people look after you.

When caring ends, some practical matters will have to be dealt with fairly quickly, for example, benefits and housing, but you do not need to rush into making decisions about what you do next straight away. The following information outlines some of the issues you may need or want to think about.

Benefits

If you are under pension age and not able to work because of illness or disability, you may be able to claim Incapacity Benefit. In order to qualify for Incapacity Benefit, you need to be incapable of work and have paid enough National Insurance Contributions through work.

National Insurance Contributions usually have to be paid in one of the three most recent tax years. However, when Carer’s Allowance has been paid immediately prior to a claim for Incapacity Benefit, the rules are relaxed to allow any year’s contributions to count.

You may also be entitled to Disability Living Allowance (if under 65) or Attendance Allowance (if 65 or over) if you need help to look after yourself or with getting around. Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance are not means tested and you do not need to have paid National Insurance Contributions to qualify. They can be paid in addition to other benefits/income, and can sometimes increase the amount of help you get from other benefits.

Other benefits
If your income is relatively low, you may be able to claim one or more of the following means tested benefits. For most means tested benefits the savings limit is £16,000 but can be higher for Pension Credit:

• Income Support – for people aged under 60 who do not have to look for work e.g. single parents or those who are unable to work because of illness/disability
• Jobseeker's Allowance – for people aged under 60 who are available for and actively seeking work. It is important to sign on if you want to continue to get National Insurance Contribution Credits
• Pension Credit – for people aged 60 or over
• Housing Benefit – help to pay the rent
• Council Tax Benefit – help to pay your Council Tax

NB: If you were getting a Council Tax discount because of your caring responsibilities, remember to let your local council know that your caring responsibilities have ended. If you are living alone, you may still be entitled to a single occupant's discount (25%) on your bill.

For more information about any of these benefits and how to claim them, contact CarersLine on 0808 808 7777.

Finding new challenges

It can take time to come to terms with the loss of your caring role, but there will come a time when you are ready to think about what to do next. Keeping in touch with friends, family and your local community can be difficult when you do not have much time for yourself. You may feel isolated after many years of caring and you may feel that this has knocked your confidence. You could start by finding out what help or services your local carers’ centre or group offers to former carers. Listed below are some other suggestions to help you get started.

Volunteering
If you have time to spare, you could consider volunteering. As well as offering much needed help to local people or organisations, volunteering can be a very social activity, and can be a good way to meet new people. Volunteering opportunities can range from befriending older or disabled people, offering your skills (e.g. administration, fundraising, legal advice, etc) to a local charity, to helping out on a local conservation project.

There are many ways to find out about volunteering:

• Contact your local volunteer bureau – details will be in your phone directory, or in England, search for it on www.volunteering.org.uk
• ’Do-it’ www.do-it.org.uk or 020 7226 8008
• Community Service Volunteers www.csv.org.uk or 020 7278 6601

Learn something new
You may feel that you would like to refresh skills that you have not used for a while, or learn something completely new. You might have gained new skills or interests from your caring role that you also want to pursue. Taking a course can also be a great way to meet new people.

Contact your local library or adult education centres to find out about courses in your area. You may also find the following websites helpful:

• Learndirect www.learndirect-advice.co.uk or 0800 100 900
  For impartial information and advice on courses (including funding) and careers.
• Direct Gov www.direct.gov.uk/AdultLearning
  To find a course and for information about financial support, training and workplace learning.
• nextstep www.nextstep.org.uk
  Funded by the Learning and Skills Council, nextstep offers face-to-face information and advice services to adults over 20 years of age wanting to learn new skills, retrain or gain new qualifications and improve their career prospects.

Returning to work

If you have given up work (or not worked at all) because of your caring responsibilities, you may want to work or return to work once your caring role ends. If you are not sure what you would like to do, start by recognising the skills and interests you have. Think about what you have learned from:

• any paid work that you have done
• tasks and responsibilities involved in your role as a carer or parent, or in running a home
• other activities that you do, for example voluntary work, committees, etc.

Then identify your interests. Think about:

• what you enjoy doing
• how you would like to use your skills
• things you miss doing that you once did e.g. previous work

Think about how you can gain confidence to use your skills in new ways.

You may want to find a personal development training course, for example confidence building, assertiveness training or managing stress.

City & Guilds, the leading provider of vocational qualifications, has developed a learning programme specifically for carers and former carers. For more information go to www.learning-for-living.co.uk or telephone 01455 201020.

Think about what employers want:

• Make the time you have spent caring and your caring role a positive feature of your CV and job application.
• Identify the transferable skills you have gained through caring that fit with employers needs.

Think about short and long term goals and make a plan of what you would like to do. Make sure the plan is achievable – include small steps as well as your long term goals. Once you know what you want to do, you can look for the right kind of support to help you.

Support to get back into training and work
Jobcentre Plus (or JobCentre in Northern Ireland) can tell you about the range of help they offer, both to find work and to help you out when you start work. This could be:

• training programmes to learn new skills or refresh existing skills
• support in writing job applications or your CV, and in preparing for interviews
• financial help when you move into work e.g. Tax Credits, Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit (including a 4-week run on when you start work) or Job Grant

When you make a claim for Jobseeker's Allowance, you will have a jobseeker's interview that looks at your skills and qualifications, the type of work you want and the steps you will take to find work. When you are asked about your job skills and experience, make sure that you include the skills you have gained and used as a carer as well as those you may have from previous employment.

Learndirect can also offer careers advice, including signposting to training opportunities. Call them on 0800 100 900

Helping to improve support for carers

Many former carers go on to become great campaigners. They have the experience of knowing what it is like to be at the sharp end of caring and they often have more time than those who are still caring. As a result, you will find that many local services for carers were set up as a result of the hard work and campaigning of former carers.

To find out about how you could get involved:

• Contact your local carers’ centre or branch to find out if you can help out.
• Contact your local council to find out about opportunities to get involved in the planning and development of services for carers in your area.
• If there is no carers’ support service in your area, contact Carers UK to find out about setting up a group.