How to check if you’re missing out on benefits like Universal Credit

WITH the cost of living soaring, it is a good time to make sure that you are getting all of the benefits you’re entitled to.

Struggling Brits could be missing out on thousands of pounds a year by not claiming the benefits they’re entitled to.

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It’s easy to miss out on payments you never knew existed as you have to be specific when you apply.

How to check what benefits you could be entitled to

The quickest way to see what benefits you may be able to claim is to use one of the three benefit calculators recommended by Gov.uk.

Each one is free to use. They are: 

Before using the tools, make sure you have key financial information to hand, such as bank and savings statements, and information on pensions and existing benefits.

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If you live with a partner or family, get their basic financial information together too as this could affect your claim.

For each of these, you’ll be asked information about your circumstances, such as your current employment and income.

You’ll also need to give information about yourself, including your age and who you live with.

You can then use the contact information on Gov.uk to get the ball rolling and apply for what you’re owed.

Of course, the tools only provide an indicator of what benefits you can claim – and usually don’t include means tested benefits, so you may be entitled to even more.

What might you be missing out on?

Some of the benefits that people regularly don’t claim include Universal Credit, pensions credit and child credit.

At least seven million people in the UK are missing out on a whopping £15billion worth of benefits, according to the latest figures from Turn2us.

For example, it estimates 2,770,000 people are missing out on council tax support.

You can apply for a council tax reduction if you’re on a low income or claim other benefits.

Depending on your circumstances, you could get your bill reduced by up to 100%, although this depends on factors including where you live and your household income.

Around 1,000,000 people might be missing out on Universal Credit, Turn2Us suggested.

The benefit is a payment designed to help people on lower incomes or who are out of work with their living costs.

You may be able to get Universal Credit if:

• You’re on a low income or out of work
• You’re 18 or over (there are some exceptions if you’re 16 to 17)
• You’re under State Pension age (or your partner is)
• You and your partner have £16,000 or less in savings between you
• You live in the UK

How much you can get varies substantially depending on your living circumstances.

And almost a million pensioners are missing out on Pension Credit, so many that the Department for Work and Pensions launched a campaign to try and improve uptake.

Typically, it is worth around £3,000 a year on average, and you can get extra help if you’re a carer, disabled, or responsible for a child.

Read our guide to understand how much you can get depending on your circumstances.

You’ll qualify if you’re over state pension age and you get less than £177.10 a week if you’re single or £270.30 if you have a partner.

Even if you’re income is higher you might be eligible for savings credit depending on your circumstances.

You can apply online as long as you’ve claimed state pension and there are no children in the application.

Otherwise, you’ll have to use the Pension Credit claim line on 0800 99 1234 or apply by post by printing out and filling in the Pension Credit claim form.

It is also worth checking if you could be entitled to housing benefit, which helps you pay your rent if you’re unemployed, on a low income or claiming other benefits.

It’s being replaced by Universal Credit, which means you can only make a new claim if:

• you have reached State Pension age (or a partner you live with has)
• you’re in supported, sheltered or temporary housing

Exactly how much you can get depends on a range of factors depending on whether you’re renting privately or from the council and whether you have spare rooms (which means a reduction).

You can either apply:

Meanwhile child benefit, which helps families with the cost of raising children, is available if you are responsible for bringing up a child who is under 16, or under 20 and still in approved education or training.

It’s paid every four weeks and there’s no limit to how many children you can claim for.

If either you or your partner/husband earns more than £50,000 individually, your entitlement to child benefit drops and you will have to pay some back via a tax return.

If either person earns over £60,000 you’re not eligible for any of the benefit.

You may also be able to claim Child Tax Credit if you already get Working Tax Credit, otherwise, you need to apply for Universal Credit.

The rules have changed, so how much exactly you can get depends on when your children were born and how many you have.

There are also work-related benefits, including income support or employee support allowance, working tax credit, and jobseekers’ allowance.

How to check what grants you could be entitled to

Debt charity Turn2Us told The Sun in 2020 that there were 8,000 charities and organisations in the UK that offer cash to help struggling families.

Most of the time, you won’t need to pay a grant back – but do check this is the case before you apply.

If you’re successful, you’ll usually be allowed to spend the money on whatever you need to, but the money is usually provided to help pay bills or buy household essentials like food.

How much a grant is worth depends on the charity or organisation.

Turn2Us has a free grants search tool so you can find out what help is available to you.

You’ll need to search for what’s available specifically in your area by entering your postcode.

Next, you’ll be asked to give details about yourself, such as your name and gender.

You can also go into more depth by telling Turn2Us about your current health and employment situation.

Once you’ve found a grant you think you’re eligible for, you can put in an inquiry through Turn2Us.

You’ll need to be logged into your Turn2Us account to apply – if you don’t have one it’s free to sign up.

The amount of time it takes to get a response depends on the charity. For some, it says they’ll reply within five days while others can take 12 weeks.

Your local council could have schemes in place for you to use to get grants to help you pay your way.

For example, £500million has been given to councils to help hard-up Brits with food, clothes and energy bills under the Household Support Fund.

And a Sun investigation found that you can get up to £1,000 in help for bills, furniture are more if you apply to your local authority’s Welfare Assistance Scheme.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk