HARD-PRESSED families are missing out on billions of pounds of support.
While more than seven million households are struggling to make ends meet, exclusive figures shared with The Sun reveal that £23billion worth of means-tested benefits and social tariffs could go unclaimed this financial year.
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The average household could be £2,700 a year better off if they get all they are due, according to an analysis of official data by organisation Policy in Practice.
The £23billion includes more than £8billion Universal Credit, £3.4billion Council Tax Support, nearly £2.3billion Carer’s Allowance, more than £2billion Pension Credit and £1.7billion child benefit.
The total estimate is up by £4billion compared with last year, and is partly down to some benefits being increased in line with inflation.
If it also included unclaimed disability benefits and some other discretionary payments, it could top £30billion, according to Policy in Practice founder Deven Ghelani.
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He says: “Behind these huge figures lie individual families struggling to cope.
“This support exists for a reason and if we plug this £23billion gap and lift people out of poverty it will give them healthier lives, better educational attainment and longer life expectancy – and the costs to the NHS and social care would fall.”
How much could you be claiming? Mel Hunter has done the maths.
Universal Credit
- You could be missing out on £5,772 a year
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Policy in Practice estimates that a staggering £8.3billion of Universal Credit goes unclaimed by more than 1.4million people, who could claim an average of £5,772 a year.
Universal Credit can also open the door to other support including free school meals or social tariffs.
Ghelani says: “Universal Credit can provide a huge amount of support, but many families, especially those in work, do not believe they are eligible.
“Those with savings of under £16,000, who rent and have children should definitely be checking regardless of what their earnings are.”
Universal Credit
HERE’S everything to know about Universal Credit:
Pension credit
- You could be missing out on £2,700 a year
More than £2.1million pension credit is going unclaimed, with 808,000 older households on low incomes missing an average of £2,677 a year.
Ghelani says: “Pension credit is a vital lifeline.”
Pension credit tops up your weekly income to £218.15 if you’re single or your joint weekly income to £332.95 if you have a partner.
The threshold may rise for those getting other benefits like carer’s allowance or attendance allowance, meaning more people are eligible than they think.
Pension credit can also open the door to other support including housing benefit, cost of living payments and council tax reductions.
Pension age housing benefit
- You could be missing out on £4,300 a year
Almost 300,000 pensioners are missing out on £1.2billion in pension age housing benefit, according to the new figures, going without £4,300 a year on average.
The benefit is for pensioners who pay rent, are on a low income and have savings under £16,000.
If they get the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit, their income and savings aren’t taken into account.
Joanna Elson, chief executive of Independent Age, says: “With 2.1million older people living in poverty, it has never been more important for older people on a low income to receive everything they are entitled to.”
Callers to the charity’s helpline – 0800 319 6789 – who had welfare benefits checks, found they were missing out on an average of £4,000 per year.
Tools to find out what you are entitled to
CHECK to see if you, or any of your friends or family, are missing out on any of the £23billion of unclaimed benefits using a free benefits calculator.
Options include Policy in Practice’s betteroffcalculator.co.uk, or the calculators at turntous.org.uk or entitledto.co.uk.
These will tell you the benefits you could get and how much you might receive, as well as what could happen if your circumstances change, like you start work or increase your house.
To get accurate advice, you’ll need to have details for you and, if necessary, your partner about your savings, income and any existing benefits or pensions.
You’ll also need to have a record of things you pay out for, such as rent, mortgage, childcare and bills.
For face-to-face help, your local Citizens Advice office advises on benefits entitlement.
If you become ill, a charity like Macmillan Cancer Care can find out what help is available.
StepChange at stepchange.org can also help you put a money plan in place and support you to apply for the benefits you are entitled to.
Carer’s Allowance
- You could be missing out on £4,259 a year
Nearly £2.3billion worth of Carer’s Allowance is going unclaimed each financial year, with around 530,000 full-time, low paid carers missing out.
Carers qualify for £81.90 a week if they look after someone for at least 35 hours a week, are earning less than £151 and the person they are caring for received a qualifying sickness or disability benefit.
Claiming Carer’s Allowance (now Carer’s Support Payment in Scotland) can affect people’s entitlement to other benefits, on top of the person they care for.
Many carers are also worried about getting it wrong, with recent reports of them being taken to court where they have mistakenly gone over the earnings threshold by just a small amount.
Ghelani says: “Those entitled to Carer’s Allowance are living on a very low income.
“They should claim because not only are they caring for their loved ones, but they are also saving the taxpayer a huge amount of money.”
Unpaid carers save the NHS and social care £162billion a year with around 600 people a day giving up work to care for someone.
Find out more about support at carersuk.org.uk or call the charity’s helpline on 0808 808 7777.
Council Tax Support
- You could be missing out on £1,513 a year
Almost 2.3million people miss out on £3.4billion of Council Tax Support.
The unclaimed amount includes almost a £1million in pension age council tax support. The rest is for those of working age.
The average claim for working age council tax support is £1,464, while the support for pensioners is worth an average of £1,670.
Given out by local councils, claiming can be a postcode lottery, depending where you live, your income, dependents and other benefits.
Scotland and Wales have their own national schemes, but in England the amount differs by local authority.
Michael Clarke, head of information at the charity Turn2Us, says: “The process is more difficult because there is not one single path to claim this support. Each local authority has a different route to get to it.”
To find out if you may be entitled to Council Tax Reduction, contact your local council or put your postcode into an online benefits calculator.
Social tariffs for water and broadband
- You could be missing out on £360 a year
Social tariffs help lower-income households pay for essential water or broadband costs.
But more than nine in ten families entitled to help with their broadband costs aren’t claiming it.
Almost £1.7billion of the broadband support available isn’t claimed, with 95% of households – more than 8.4million – who may be eligible missing out on an average of £200 a year.
For water bills, only one in five households take advantage of the support available, with families missing out on an average claim of £160 a year.
People on means-tested benefits, or anyone struggling to pay their bills, should check with their water company or telecoms firm.
Funds may also be available through energy companies to help with bills.
Child benefit
- You could be missing out on £1,970 a year
One in ten of those entitled to child benefit do not claim, meaning the parents of 838,000 kids may be missing out.
Child benefit is worth £25.60 a week for the first child plus £16.95 a week for other children – with the average claim worth £1,970 a year.
Parents tend to qualify for child benefit if they live in the UK and are responsible for a child under 16, but you can also claim the help for a child under 20 if they are in approved education or training.
In the Spring Budget, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt outlined reforms to the so-called high-income child benefit charge.
Up until April 6, this charge meant if either parent or carer earned over £50,000, they would have to start repaying some of the benefit.
And when you reached a £60,000 salary, you’d have to repay the full amount of child benefit received.
However, following the changes, these thresholds have been hiked to £60,000 and £80,000, respectively.
Warm Home Discount
- You could be missing out on £150 a year
Half of people entitled to the Warm Home Discount are not claiming, meaning up to 2.5million are missing out on £150 a year.
This is largely due to eligible people not claiming Pension Credit as the “gateway” benefit.
The support is a one-off deduction off your electricity bill made between October and March each year.
The money isn’t paid to you, but is applied as credit on your bill.
In the vast majority of cases, it’s automatic, but certain households have to apply for the rebate due to the way the scheme operates.
TV licence
- You could be missing out on £170 a year
Of those eligible to claim a free TV licence – mainly people over 75 claiming Pension Credit – only one in four do so.
The remaining six in ten – up to 1.5million – miss out on a saving of £170 a year.
Free school meals
- You could be missing out on £490 a year
More than 471,000 families may be going without £490 worth of free school meals, with £231million going unclaimed.
This could be due to not claiming Universal Credit.
Eligibility criteria for free school meals varies depending on where you live.
Currently, in England, all children from reception to year two qualify for free school meals.
In Scotland, all students between reception and year five can get help regardless of their parent’s income.
In Wales, pupils in reception get free school meals.
Whether you are eligible for free school meals after that depends on whether you get certain benefits and your income.
Contact your child’s school or local council for more information.
Healthy Start vouchers
- You could be missing out on £726 during pregnancy and early years
New parents can claim an average of £726 of Healthy Start support during pregnancy and early years, with £132million going unclaimed.
Overall, 180,000 people are missing out.
Healthy Start food vouchers are for parents who are pregnant or have a child under four years old.
The vouchers are worth £4.25 a week, or £221 a year.
But those with a child under the age of one get two vouchers – so £8.50 a week – which adds up to £442 a year.
The vouchers can only be used to buy the following:
- Fresh fruit and veg
- Tinned or frozen fruit or veg
- Dried fruit
- Fresh, dried or tinned pulses
- Fresh or long-life pasteurised cow’s milk
- Baby formula made from cow’s milk
Why is so much money not being claimed?
Deven Ghelani from Policy in Practice says there are a number of reasons that benefits are going unclaimed.
“A lack of awareness and the baffling administrative complexity means this money is not going to those that need it most,” he added.
“Many people are simply unaware that they would qualify for financial support, or they don’t know about newer schemes, like social tariffs.”
He says it is also difficult to fill in all the different forms needed for the various benefits.
If people don’t claim one of the gateway benefits, like Universal Credit or Pension Credit, it then follows that they will miss out on much of the other financial help they are entitled to.
Michael Clarke adds: “There is sometimes a stigma associated with claiming benefits, which hold many people back.
“It is also hard for some to engage with the digital system, especially if they can’t afford the data or don’t have access to a computer.”
A spokesperson for Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) told The Sun: “We do not recognise these figures.”
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“Our welfare system supports millions of people every year and those eligible for a specific benefit such as Universal Credit must apply to receive their entitlement.
“We promote Universal Credit and Pension Credit through public communications campaigns and provide funding for the free Help to Claim service provided by Citizens Advice.”
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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
