Hi John Mac
When your wife starts to receive a State Pension (SP) and the SP is more than Carer's Allowance (CA), then CA will stop due to the overlapping benefits rule, if your wife's SP is less than CA, SP is paid and topped up with CA to the basic rate of CA (£66.15 pw).
Depending on your circumstances you may be entitled to claim PC in which case you would have an underlying entitlement to CA and therefore you would get a CA premium when they worked out your entitlement.
Remember pension age is increasing, it is no longer 65, now it depends on your date of birth.
Gary
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems 
