Attendance Allowance › Visual Impairment
Attendance Allowance and Visual Impairment: Do You Qualify?
Last updated: April 2026 · Reviewed by: Silverwings Benefits Team · Source: DWP
Losing some or all of your sight changes the risk involved in tasks most people take for granted — reading a medicine label, crossing a room safely, or telling whether the hob is still on. Attendance Allowance recognises that extra care and supervision need, whatever the specific eye condition behind it, and you do not need to be registered blind or partially sighted to claim.
Important: there\u2019s no list of qualifying conditions
Attendance Allowance isn\u2019t awarded because of a diagnosis \u2014 it\u2019s awarded based on the help and supervision you need day-to-day because of your health. Two people with visual impairment can have very different levels of need, and both routes below start with a free, no-obligation check.
Check If You're Eligible — Free, 60 Seconds
Check If You’re Likely to Qualify
A few quick questions about the help you need day-to-day — no jargon, no medical terms. Takes about 2 minutes.
No obligation · No cost to check
How Visual Impairment Can Affect Daily Life
These are the kinds of everyday difficulties that can be relevant to an Attendance Allowance claim. Not everyone with visual impairment experiences all of these, and some people experience difficulties not listed here \u2014 this is general context, not a checklist to copy onto a form.
Navigating the home safely
Bumping into furniture, misjudging steps, or struggling to move confidently around rooms without someone checking the layout is unchanged or guiding them.
Reading correspondence and medication labels
Struggling to read letters, bills, or crucially the dosage and timing information on medication packaging, creating real safety risks if taken incorrectly.
Preparing food safely
Difficulty seeing whether food is cooked properly, judging hot surfaces, using sharp knives safely, or reading use-by dates and packaging.
Risk of falls and injury
Reduced depth perception and difficulty spotting trip hazards significantly increases fall risk, both at home and outdoors.
Managing money and paperwork
Difficulty seeing and counting cash, reading bank statements, or filling in forms without help.
Recognising people and social confidence
Difficulty recognising faces or expressions can affect social confidence and communication, sometimes making someone more reliant on others.
How Much Could You Get?
£76.70/wk
Lower Rate
Help needed by day or night
£114.60/wk
Higher Rate
Help needed by day and night
Tax-free, not means-tested \u2014 see full details on our main Attendance Allowance page.
Why Not Apply Alone?
Sight-loss claims are often under-assessed because vision loss is gradual, and people describe how things used to be, or how they manage once adapted, rather than the real ongoing risk. Getting this right matters — which is exactly the kind of detail our team focuses on.
DWP figures show 59% of new disability benefit claims are disallowed nationally. We\u2019ve helped hundreds of people apply successfully since October 2023, on a success-based fee basis \u2014 you only pay if your application succeeds.
Check If You're Eligible
Our free eligibility check takes just a couple of minutes. No obligation, no pressure.
Not sure Attendance Allowance is the right fit? Check everything you could be owed, free.