Over 1.3 million people eligible for Universal Credit missing out on payments worth £7,300 per year – how to check

OVER 1.3million people are missing out on benefits they are entitled to.

And the Universal Credit payments could be worth £7,300 a year on average, new research shows.

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According to analysis by the New Economics Foundation that number could hit 2.3million by 2027 when the Universal Credit system is fully rolled out.

The think tank is suggesting that claiming the benefit should become automatic in the same way as paying tax to stop millions of Brits missing out on the cash.

Around half a million Brits have become eligible for Universal Credit after a change to rules a the end of last year.

The taper rate has been lowered meaning more people can now earn from work and be eligible for the cash.

But many may not be aware of the change and Martin Lewis has urged those earning as much as £30,000 to check what they can get.

Even without the change to rules there are still millions of Brits who are not claiming all the benefits they are entitled to.

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Figures from charity Turn2Us suggest these are worth a whopping £15billion a year.

The cost of living is rocketing including food and energy bills, putting hard-up Brits under more financial pressure.

It’s worth checking now how to claim extra cash that you’re entitled to give your purse a boost.

Tom Pollard, independent policy expert and co-author of the report, said that being auto-enrolled on to Universal Credit would help solve the issues currently facing the government, which is struggling to get extra help to those most in need of energy bill support.

Unfortunately you don’t always get what you’re entitled to automatically, and you need to apply.

But there are loads of useful tools to help you see what cash you might be able to get.

How to check your Universal Credit and benefit entitlement

There are several free online benefit calculators that will break down your payments and what you’re entitled to.

You’ll typically need to answer information about your living situation and employment to get an accurate figure.

If you live with someone else, you’ll also need to answer questions about them.

This is because how much you’re entitled to will depend on your total household income and how much you have in savings.

If you’re eligible and how much you can get depends on your circumstances.

If you find you’re eligible, you can apply for Universal Credit online by creating a gov.uk account, or logging into your old one if you’ve accessed benefits in the past.

If you’re not eligible for Universal Credit you could still claim other benefits, and a calculator can tell you this too.

Can I get benefits backdated if I missed out?

It is possible to get some benefits backdated if you found out you’ve missed out on claiming for them.

But it depends on which benefit you’re making a claim for, as different benefits have different rules for back payment.

For example, new claims for Universal Credit, income support and housing benefit can be backdated for a maximum of one month.

You can get child benefit, pension credit backdated for up to three months. 

But in most cases, you’ll have to provide evidence to show a good reason why you were not able to make a claim earlier.

This could be because:

• You have a disability
• You’re unwell 
• The online claims system was down
• You’re making a new claim after breaking up with your partner

You can apply to backdate your benefit payments when applying for the benefit.

How to do this will vary depending on which benefit you’re claiming for, so it’s worth checking in for more information from the government before putting in your application.

Turn2us also recommends requesting your benefits to be backdated in writing to the Department for Work and Pensions, HMRC or your local council.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk