Are you the DWP, or part of the government?
No. Silverwings Benefits Ltd is an independent company and has no affiliation with the DWP, HMRC, your local council, or any government department. You can apply for Attendance Allowance, Pension Credit, or any other benefit yourself, completely free, or with free help from Citizens Advice or Turn2us. We offer a paid-for alternative, and every advice call we have with you is recorded with your consent and available to you as a transcript on request.
What is Attendance Allowance?
Attendance Allowance is a tax-free benefit from the DWP for people aged 67 or over who have a physical or mental condition that means they need help with daily tasks or supervision. It's worth up to £114.60 per week (£5,959 per year) and is not means-tested - your income and savings don't affect your eligibility.
How much does your service cost?
Our eligibility check is always free. If you choose our optional assisted-application service and it succeeds, our success-based fee is 20% of your first year's award plus VAT (24% inclusive); if it's unsuccessful, you pay nothing. Higher rate: £1,430.21. Lower rate: £957.22. We offer a pay-in-full option or a 3 or 6-month payment plan. If you proceed to a full application, you'll be told clearly, more than once, that this fee applies before anything is submitted — and you have 14 days from signing to cancel at no cost.
Do you help with other benefits too?
Yes. We offer the same success-based assisted-application service for Pension Credit and Carer's Allowance as we do for Attendance Allowance — you only pay if your claim is successful. The fee is 20% of the first year's award or saving plus VAT (24% inclusive), agreed with you in writing before any application is submitted. As with our other services, you're always free to apply for any of these yourself, completely free, directly through GOV.UK or your council, or with free help from Citizens Advice or Turn2us.
Why do 83% of your successful clients get the higher rate?
Our rigorous quality control systems ensure what we submit to the DWP matches exactly what you tell us. We have multiple verification checks in place before any application is submitted. This attention to detail and accuracy is why we have an 81% success rate overall, with 83% of successful clients receiving the higher rate award.
Can I apply myself?
You absolutely can, and it's free: you can apply directly with the DWP. If you'd rather not do it yourself, we can do it for you on a no win, no fee basis.
How long does the process take?
On average, the DWP issues a decision within 54 days of us submitting your application. We complete and submit your application within 24 hours of your phone consultation, and our attention to detail means fewer queries and faster decisions.
What if I've already been rejected, or my application gets rejected?
Don’t worry - many of our clients come to us after being rejected when they applied on their own. If an application we submit is refused, we provide a full Mandatory Reconsideration service at no extra cost - including those reconsiderations, 81% of the applications we submit are successful. We believe every application we submit is genuinely deserving, which is why we keep working the case rather than walking away.
Do you take your fee out of my benefit payment?
No - we never take payment upfront, and we cannot and would not deduct our fee directly from your benefit. It's simply not possible for us to do that. The DWP or Social Security Scotland pay your award directly to you, and our fee is always billed to you separately, only after a successful outcome.
Do you check for other benefits after my claim is settled?
Yes - every client gets a free benefit review every 6 months, checking for any change in circumstances and any further benefits or social tariffs you may have become eligible for since your last award. Around 60-70% of clients awarded Attendance Allowance also turn out to be eligible for Pension Credit (often secured within 20 days, averaging an extra £5,000/year), and around 90% of those are then eligible for a Council Tax reduction, averaging a further £2,000/year.
Can I just apply for free myself instead?
Yes, absolutely - every benefit we help with can be applied for yourself, completely free, directly through GOV.UK, or with free one-to-one help from Citizens Advice or Turn2us. Nobody has to pay to claim what they're entitled to. We offer a paid-for, success-based service as an alternative for people who'd rather have someone handle the process, the quality checks, and any Mandatory Reconsideration for them - the choice is entirely yours.
Why use Silverwings when applying for benefits is free?
Government benefit applications can be detailed and difficult to complete, particularly when applicants need to explain medical conditions, care requirements or financial circumstances.Some people choose to apply independently. Others prefer professional help.Silverwings provides structured assistance with understanding the application, collecting relevant information, explaining circumstances accurately and completing the necessary paperwork.Our fees pay for the professional assistance and administration we provide — not for access to government benefits.Using Silverwings is entirely optional and does not guarantee an award.
Do you cold-call people?
No, never. We advertise across a variety of media, and we only ever call someone who has actively requested a callback and given their consent for us to contact them. If you haven't asked us to call you, we won't.
Are your staff vetted?
Yes - all of our staff are DBS-checked. We handle sensitive health and financial information, and we take that responsibility seriously.
How many complaints have you had?
Since we began in October 2023, we've received fewer than 10 formal complaints across 2,600+ clients - a rate of under 1%. We publish this because we'd rather you know the real number than assume the worst. Full details of our complaints process are on our Complaints page.
How do you calculate your success rate and £7m figure?
Our 81% success rate and £7m+ released figures cover applications we've submitted since September 2024, based on our own internal case records - "successful" means the DWP awarded the benefit following an application we prepared and submitted. These are currently self-reported internal statistics, not independently audited, and we're open to independent verification of them.
Do I have to be disabled to apply?
Not necessarily. Attendance Allowance is for anyone who needs help with daily tasks due to a physical or mental health condition. This includes conditions like arthritis, COPD, dementia, heart conditions, diabetes, and many others. Even if you've never considered yourself "disabled," you may still qualify.
Will applying affect my other benefits?
Attendance Allowance doesn't affect most benefits - in fact, it can qualify your carer for Carer's Allowance. It's also tax-free and doesn't count towards the benefit cap.