State Pension needs to be reclassified.  Particularly when having worked all adult life and fully paid into.  Why is it classified a benefit ? 
 
Becoming a full time carer to my husband with Parkinson’s disease was not either of our choosing.  When Sepsis also impacted causing my husband to undergo ongoing operations for an 18 month period I was forced to leave work aged 64.  Being a 1950s born woman I also found myself  not eligible to claim my state pension until aged 66.  I also care for my 92 year old parents.  

I was able to claim carer’s allowance which helped in paying for additional care when I could not achieve everything required, for example taking parents and/or husband to conflicting appointments etc.  

How astonished I was to find the carer’s allowance was stopped once I received my state pension.  Once state pension is paid Carer’s allowance is considered an overlapping benefit.  I receive no benefits, purely my state pension.  Why is something that I’ve worked and paid into fully considered a benefit ?

I understood Carer’s allowance is given to assist in meeting costs associated with caring.  Why, once you receive state pension is it considered these costs stop or indeed that the Carer should use their own pension to meet these costs.  It feels discriminatory.  

Unpaid carer’s save the government huge amounts of money and are not respected by establishment for the work they do, why are they discriminated against in this way ?