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Government benefits – bringing up a family
There’s a wide range of government benefits to support you as you bring
up your family if you’re on a low income and need assistance. This is
a brief guide to some of the key benefits that you may be eligible to
receive.
Child benefit – almost everyone who has a child under 16 (or
under 19 and still in full-time secondary education) qualifies to receive
child benefit as it’s not means-tested. You’ll be given a form from
the hospital when your child is born, or you can make your application
online on the Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) website. You’ll
receive an amount for every child you have – a larger sum for the first
child and a reduced sum for each additional child. It’s normally paid
every four weeks, but you can arrange to receive it weekly if you’re
on a low income and receive other benefits. It can be paid directly
into your bank account or posted to you as a cheque, which you can cash
at any post office. The benefits don’t count as income so they won’t
be taxed and won’t affect any other benefits you receive.
Child tax credits – if you have children under 16 and your family
income is less than £58,175 per annum (or £66,350 if you have a child
under one), you may apply for child tax credits, a regular payment which
is means-tested, i.e. based on you and your partner’s annual income.
There are two parts to the payments – a family element, paid to any
family with children, and a child element, an additional sum for each
child in the family. If you have a disabled child or a child under one,
you may receive more money. Child tax credits are handled by HMRC, so
to apply you’ll need to phone or write to them. Online applications
are not available at present.
Child maintenance – if you have a child whose other parent doesn’t
live with you, the non-resident parent is obliged to give you money
to help you bring up the child. A government body called the Child Support
Agency (CSA) will collect and make the payments on your behalf. The
amount that you’ll be given will depend on the non-resident parent’s
income, how many children you have who qualify for maintenance, and
how many children the non-resident parent has living with them. Either
the non-resident parent will pay you directly or you can arrange for
the payments to be made to you through the CSA. Any amount that you
receive in child maintenance won’t affect any child tax credits that
you receive. For information on how to apply, contact the CSA.
Statutory maternity pay – women who are in work are entitled
to maternity pay to allow them to take time off work when their baby
is born. To qualify, you must have been working with the same employer
for at least 26 weeks by the 15th week before the estimated date of
delivery, and have earned at least £84 per week. You’ll get 90% of your
average weekly earnings for the first six weeks, followed by a further
20 weeks at £108.85 or 90% of your average earnings, whichever is less.
You’ll receive your maternity pay through your employer’s payroll, and
tax and national insurance will be deducted as they would from your
normal pay. To claim statutory maternity pay, you should speak to your
employer at least 28 days before you plan to stop work. Note that some
employers have their own maternity policy instead of statutory maternity
pay, which will pay you more money.
Statutory paternity pay – new fathers are also now entitled to
paid time off by the government. To qualify, you must be the father
of your wife or partner’s baby, or the adoptive father of the child,
or the husband or partner of the adoptive mother of the child, or have
responsibility for bringing up the child. To qualify, you must have
been working with the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the 15th
week before the estimated date of delivery, or employed up to the week
when you or your wife/partner were matched with an adoptive child, and
be earning at least £85 per week. You’ll be paid £108.85 for two weeks,
or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is less. As with statutory
maternity pay, you’ll receive it through your employer and national
insurance and tax will be deducted. To apply for statutory paternity
pay, you’ll need to inform your employer at least 15 weeks before the
baby is due, or within a week of being informed that youv’e been matched
with an adoptive child, and you’ll need to take the leave within eight
weeks of the adoption or birth of the child.
Welfare food scheme – the government can help you buy baby formula,
milk, fruit and vegetables and vitamins if you’re on a low income and
receiving other benefits such as income support, jobseeker’s allowance
or child tax credit if you and your partner earn less than £14,155 per
annum. If you’re pregnant, you’ll receive vouchers for seven pints (four
litres) of cow’s milk a week. If you have children, you’ll get the same
amount of milk for each child aged between one and five. You can exchange
the vouchers for milk at any shop that accepts them. You’ll also receive
free vitamins and tokens for 900 grams of infant formula per week for
children under one, which you can collect at your local health centre
or NHS clinic. To apply for free milk when you’re pregnant, let your
midwife or healthcare practitioner know. To apply for the free food
for children, you’ll need to apply for child tax credit as soon as your
child is born. A new programme called Healthy Start is currently being
trialled in Devon and Cornwall, in which vouchers worth £2.80 can be
exchanged for milk, baby formula, vitamins and fresh fruit and vegetables
in any shop that accepts them.
Author: Benedict Rohan
Recomended reading: Welfare
Benefits and Tax Credits
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