Parents have one week to act or risk losing child benefit cash
PARENTS have just one week to go to take action or they risk loosing up to £1,331 in child benefits payments.
If you are the parent of a young person who is aged 16, you must update the taxman on their plans for further education.
Payments will automatically stop on August 31 on or after the child has turned 16 unless parents renew their claim when their child is continuing in education.
This leaves just seven days before you could lose out on your payment.
Parents can continue to receive the cash boost up until their child is 19, and enrolled in an apprenticeship program or the following education schemes:
- A levels or Scottish Highers
- International Baccalaureate
- home education – if it started before their child turned 16, or after 16 if they have a statement of special educational needs and it was assessed by the local authority
- T levels
- NVQs, up to level 3.
Child benefit will also continue for children studying on one of these unpaid approved training courses:
- in Wales: Foundation Apprenticeships, Traineeships or the Jobs Growth Wales+ scheme
- in Northern Ireland: PEACEPLUS Youth Programme 3.2, Training for Success or Skills for Life and Work
- in Scotland: Employability Fund programme and No One Left Behind
The benefit works out at £25.60 per week for your first child and £16.95 for every child after that, so it is important to respond to the HMRC if you want to receive the benefit in September.
The government office sent out letters to remind parents of the change last month.
But do not worry if you did not receive one.
The HMRC said parents still extend their child benefit claim via GOV.UK or the HMRC app.
What is child benefit?
You get child benefit if you’re responsible for bringing up a child who is under 16 or under 20 if they are in approved education or training.
The payment is used to help parents cover the costs of childcare.
It is paid at two weekly rates – £25.60 for your eldest or only child and £16.95 for any additional children.
Payments are usually made every four weeks, on a Monday or Tuesday, but sometimes are made weekly.
If you are claiming child benefit for a child under 12, you also receive National Insurance (NI) credits.
NICs count towards your State Pension so claiming the benefit can be useful if you are missing any.
Are you missing out on benefits?
YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to
Charity Turn2Us’ benefits calculator works out what you could get.
Entitledto’s free calculator determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit.
MoneySavingExpert.com and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto’s data.
You can use Policy in Practice’s calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you’ll have left over each month after paying for housing costs.
Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for.
The reason NICs are so important is because you need 35 NIC years to receive a full new State Pension.
You are considered a parent, or responsible for a child if you live with them and are paying at least the same amount as the Child Benefit rates to look after them – for example for food, clothes or pocket money.
It’s important to note that eligibility changes if a child goes into hospital or care and if your child starts to live with someone else.
If you’re not sure about your eligibility, you can contact the child benefit office.
You must contact the Child Benefit Office if you think you are paid too much or too little.
What other support can I get?
The government offers a range of support for families who are raising children, so it is worth getting in touch if you would like access to the help.
Other schemes available for families include:
Universal credit childcare costs:
If you are a working parent who pays for childcare, Universal Credit will pay 85% of childcare costs back to you.
The maximum amount a month is:
- £1,014.63 for one child
- £1,739.37 for 2 or more children
To be eligible you need to be in paid work or starting a job.
To apply you must contact Universal Credit through your online account or via telephone.
Free school meals:
If you are on a low income your children may be entitled to free school meals.
For millions on Universal Credit there are income requirements though.
If you live in England or Wales, you must have an income of £7,400 a year or less, not including benefits, to qualify for free school meals.
Those on child tax credits must earn under £16,190 a year.
In Scotland, those on Universal Credit must have a monthly income of £660 or less – £7,920 a year.
Meanwhile, Scottish families must have an income of less than £17,005 if they claim child tax credits, which goes down to £7,920 if they claim this as well as working tax credits.
In some cases, children aged between 16 and 18 receiving Universal Credit themselves can be eligible for free school meals too.
Healthy start vouchers
If you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under four, you may be able to get help to buy healthy food and milk.
Families on Universal Credit can apply online if their take-home pay is £408 or less from employment.
If you get Child Tax Credit, you may be eligible for Healthy Start if:
- your family’s annual income is £16,190 or less
- you do not get Working Tax Credit