UNIVERSAL Credit claimants are due a £522 monthly income boost in days.
On Wednesday, June 28, 120,000 families on Universal Credit who are eligible for childcare payments will get the pay rise.
1
From this week, the amount of cash parents can claim will go up from £646 to £951 for one child, and from £1,108 to £1,630 for two.
That’s an increase of £522.
The new rates will help cover rising nursery and childminder fees.
Childcare costs for some of those on Universal Credit will also be paid upfront.
But keep in mind this isn’t the case for everybody – most won’t see their payments rise until August.
Parents who are already working and claiming childcare costs won’t get their payments upfront unless they change jobs or there is a “significant change” to their hours.
But those starting new jobs or increasing hours should be able to claim upfront costs.
At the moment, parents on Universal Credit can claim back 85% of their childcare costs – but they have to pay first before claiming the money back later on.
Most read in Money
The maximum amount of cash that parents can claim has also stayed the same for many years, despite the cost of care rising.
It has been a burden on parents who have been unable to return to work or faced debt because of it.
Who’s eligible for the pay rise?
There isn’t a minimum amount of working hours to qualify for this change, according to the DWP.
Instead, Universal Credit work coaches have been told that parents need to increase their hours by “at least a few hours more every week” to qualify for upfront cash.
Any increase in work hours would need to alter their childcare pattern by at least a few hours per week over the course of a month.
This means that parents will be expected to require more childcare hours to qualify.
It’s vital that claimants entering work or increasing their hours speak to their work coaches as soon as possible to request upfront childcare cash.
More help with childcare costs
This isn’t the only boost you could be eligible for to help with childcare costs.
There are a range of tax breaks and grants to help make it much more affordable.
You can usually use the extra cash for care like registered childminders, nannies, playschemes, nurseries, and holiday clubs.
And don’t forget to use the government’s childcare cost calculator on its website to find out which schemes can save you money.
But here’s a few to get you started just now.
Tax-free childcare
If you don’t qualify for Universal Credit you may qualify for tax-free childcare.
You can get up to £500 every three months – up to a maximum of £2,000 a year – for each of your children to help with the costs of childcare.
If your child is disabled, it’s even more – £1,000 every three months, up to £4,000 per year.
To receive the tax-free benefit you need to create an online childcare account.
For every £8 you pay into this account, the government will add £2 which you can use to pay your approved provider.
Child benefit
You can get Child Benefit if you’re responsible for a child aged under 16, or if they are under 20 and in approved education or training.
The free money is paid every four weeks, and there’s no limit to how many children you can apply for – though only one person can claim for each child.
But do note that those who earn more than £50,000 a year may need to pay back some of their Child Benefits in tax.
While this help isn’t directly for childcare, the money can help to cut costs.
15 or 30 hours of free childcare
All three to four-year-old children in England are entitled to 15 hours of free childcare – amounting to 570 hours per year – from the term after their third birthday.
The free allowance is usually taken as 15 hours per week for 38 weeks of the year, but it is possible to take it at a time that suits you.
The free early education and childcare must be with an approved childcare provider and stops when your child starts school.
Working parents may be eligible to get up to 30 hours of free childcare if they are working at least 16 hours a week on average and earning the National Minimum Wage or more.
Check out what you could get and apply online at Gov.UK.
