Latest news with #AnnaStevenson
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- General
- Scottish Sun
How you can claim up to £20K a year to help with kids during summer holidays
Do you know the Government will pay £2 for every £8 you spend on childcare HOLIDAY HELP How you can claim up to £20K a year to help with kids during summer holidays HAVING kids is expensive – and the financial pain only gets harder in the summer holidays. Summer clubs cost an average £1,075 for the six-week break, according to Coram's Holiday Childcare Report, so it's vital you claim all available support. Anna Stevenson, benefits specialist at Turn2Us, says: 'There are a lot of schemes to navigate and often people don't know where to start, but there is help there when you know where to look.' Mel Hunter considers what help you can apply for — and it's worth up to £20,247 a year. FREE CHILDCARE PLACES - up to £7,500 a year ALL families in England are entitled to 15 hours' free childcare a week for three and four-year-olds. Working families can also access some free childcare hours from when their children are nine months old. From September, eligible parents will be able to get 30 hours' free childcare a week from nine months until school age — but you need to apply by August 31. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have alternative schemes, so it's worth checking what applies for you. HOLIDAY ACTIVITY FUND - £720 THE Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme gives children from lower income families access to holiday activities, including a free meal. It is mainly for primary school children who receive free school meals. Three key benefits that YOU could be missing out on, and one even gives you a free TV Licence However, some councils keep places for other children considered in need. Anna says: 'Schemes like this, which are administered by the local authority, can go under the radar.' TAX-FREE CHILDCARE - up to £4,000 a year THE Government will pay £2 for every £8 you spend on childcare, capped at £2,000 per year per child (or £4,000 for a child with a disability). But around 825,000 of the 1.3million families who are eligible do not claim it. Anna says: 'People don't always realise that they can get help covering the cost of childcare once their kids are out of nursery, when they may be using after-school or holiday clubs.' CHILD BENEFIT - £1,355 a year THIS is paid to anyone with a child under 16, or under 20 if they are still in education. It is worth £1,354.60 per year for a family with one child and £2,251.60 per year for a family with two. It seems a no-brainer, but around £1.6billion in child benefit goes unclaimed each year. With child benefit, there is no cap so you can claim for as many children as you have. The level at which you are entitled to the full amount changed last year. Now you can get it if no one in your household earns more than £60,000, up from £50,000. If you earn between £60,000 and £80,000, you are entitled to some of it. If you earn more than £80,000, you are not entitled to any. It is still worth filling in the claim form, even if you do not want to get payments, to get National Insurance credits which count towards the state pension. UNIVERSAL CREDIT - £5,772 a year UNIVERSAL credit is the main benefit that can be claimed by families on a lower income, but the 1.4million households that don't claim could be missing out on an average of £5,772. You cannot get universal credit if you or a partner you live with have more than £16,000 in savings. But you may still be able to get it if you work. Mandy Jackson, a rights adviser with the charity Working Families, says: 'Anyone with a child should check if they are eligible.' SURE START MATERNITY GRANT - £500 THIS is a one-off payment of £500 to help with the costs of having a newborn in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. You can apply if you have no other children under 16 and you or your partner get certain benefits. If you live in Scotland, you can apply for a Best Start grant, worth up to £767.50. Designed to support families with young kids, it comes in three payments. FREE BREAKFAST CLUBS - up to £450 a year FREE breakfast clubs are being rolled out in primary schools across England. These give kids an extra 30-minute session before school where they get a free breakfast. If you are eligible for these you may be able to get help from your local authority during the summer holidays. Check to find out. My nursery costs are cut by £1,440 3 Sam Kennedy Christian is a coach who helps parents juggle work and childcare Credit: Suppleid MUM-of-two Sam Kennedy Christian is a coach who helps parents juggle work and childcare. Sam, 39, uses the tax-free childcare scheme and finds it very helpful. She explains: 'I started using it when [my daughter] Rose, who's now seven, started at nursery – and over the years it has saved us a fortune.' Currently, it cuts nursery fees for her son James, two, to £480 a month instead of £600 – saving £1,440 a year. The family has been getting 15 hours' free childcare for James each week, but that will rise to 30 hours in September. That will cut their bill by a further £240 a month. Sam, from Herne Bay, Kent, says: 'It's a lot to get your head around, but it's so worth it.' It can also be a godsend for clubs in the school holidays for Rose, Sam adds. With the average cost around £30 a day where Sam lives, she ends up paying £24 herself, with the rest covered by the govern-ment payment. Sam says: 'Saving £6 a day is very helpful. Over the summer, it will save us £60.' PENSIONS ARE TAX TARGET 3 Pensions will become subject to Inheritance Tax from April 6, 2027 Credit: Getty GRIEVING families will soon find the process of sorting out a loved one's finances much harder following a huge change to Inheritance Tax. The government has confirmed that pensions will become subject to Inheritance Tax from April 6, 2027. Currently, money left in your pension after you pass away can be passed on to a loved one without any need for them to pay Inheritance Tax. The Inheritance Tax rate is 40 per cent, and is charged on the estate – the property, possessions and money, of someone who has died – if it is worth more than £325,000. A loophole means many wealthy pensioners are using pensions as a way to pass down most of their money because they are so tax-efficient. The changes mean that this loophole will close – but experts have warned that it will pile pressure on grieving families. Inheritance Tax needs to be paid within six months, and usually before you can apply for probate. But tracking down pensions takes time, delaying the process of applying for probate. Probate is the legal process of dealing with a person's death, and it can take months to get it granted. Former pensions minister Steve Webb said: 'Life is tough enough when you have just lost a loved one without having extra layers of bureaucracy on top. 'It is hard to see how these changes will be good news for bereaved families.' ADELE COOKE STARLING ACCOUNT UPSET 3 Starling bank will no longer let its users open a second current account Credit: Reuters ONLINE bank Starling has shaken up its current accounts, causing a big stir among customers who are desperate for the change to be reversed. The bank, which has more than 4.6million UK customers, will no longer let its users open a second current account. Starling previously let customers open an extra everyday bank account, free of charge. Savers raved about the perk because it was a great way for them to manage their money. But the digital bank has told The Sun it has temporarily stopped allowing customers to open additional accounts while it 'improves our account offering'. It quietly suspended additional accounts last year, and clients have been calling on the bank to bring back the feature. One customer posted to X this week: '@StarlingBank when will additional accounts be back? I had one and would like to enable it again.' Another posted in January asking: 'Can I create a second personal account in @StarlingBank?' One customer said on Reddit: 'I'm sure it used to be a thing when I first started with Starling, but now I get 'you've reached your personal account limit' with one account, and 'you're not currently able to apply for this account' when I go to open a Personal Additional.' Starling said: 'Customers are still able to apply for a joint account, provided both are Starling customers. 'Joint accounts are limited to one per customer.' BLATHNAID CORLESS
The Sun
2 days ago
- General
- The Sun
How you can claim up to £20K a year to help with kids during summer holidays
HAVING kids is expensive – and the financial pain only gets harder in the summer holidays. Summer clubs cost an average £1,075 for the six-week break, according to Coram's Holiday Childcare Report, so it's vital you claim all available support. Anna Stevenson, benefits specialist at Turn2Us, says: 'There are a lot of schemes to navigate and often people don't know where to start, but there is help there when you know where to look.' Mel Hunter considers what help you can apply for — and it's worth up to £20,247 a year. FREE CHILDCARE PLACES - up to £7,500 a year ALL families in England are entitled to 15 hours' free childcare a week for three and four-year-olds. Working families can also access some free childcare hours from when their children are nine months old. From September, eligible parents will be able to get 30 hours' free childcare a week from nine months until school age — but you need to apply by August 31. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have alternative schemes, so it's worth checking what applies for you. THE Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme gives children from lower income families access to holiday activities, including a free meal. It is mainly for primary school children who receive free school meals. Three key benefits that YOU could be missing out on, and one even gives you a free TV Licence However, some councils keep places for other children considered in need. Anna says: 'Schemes like this, which are administered by the local authority, can go under the radar.' TAX-FREE CHILDCARE - up to £4,000 a year THE Government will pay £2 for every £8 you spend on childcare, capped at £2,000 per year per child (or £4,000 for a child with a disability). But around 825,000 of the 1.3million families who are eligible do not claim it. Anna says: 'People don't always realise that they can get help covering the cost of childcare once their kids are out of nursery, when they may be using after-school or holiday clubs.' CHILD BENEFIT - £1,355 a year THIS is paid to anyone with a child under 16, or under 20 if they are still in education. It is worth £1,354.60 per year for a family with one child and £2,251.60 per year for a family with two. It seems a no-brainer, but around £1.6billion in child benefit goes unclaimed each year. With child benefit, there is no cap so you can claim for as many children as you have. The level at which you are entitled to the full amount changed last year. Now you can get it if no one in your household earns more than £60,000, up from £50,000. If you earn between £60,000 and £80,000, you are entitled to some of it. If you earn more than £80,000, you are not entitled to any. It is still worth filling in the claim form, even if you do not want to get payments, to get National Insurance credits which count towards the state pension. UNIVERSAL credit is the main benefit that can be claimed by families on a lower income, but the 1.4million households that don't claim could be missing out on an average of £5,772. You cannot get universal credit if you or a partner you live with have more than £16,000 in savings. But you may still be able to get it if you work. Mandy Jackson, a rights adviser with the charity Working Families, says: 'Anyone with a child should check if they are eligible.' SURE START MATERNITY GRANT - £500 THIS is a one-off payment of £500 to help with the costs of having a newborn in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. You can apply if you have no other children under 16 and you or your partner get certain benefits. If you live in Scotland, you can apply for a Best Start grant, worth up to £767.50. Designed to support families with young kids, it comes in three payments. FREE breakfast clubs are being rolled out in primary schools across England. These give kids an extra 30-minute session before school where they get a free breakfast. If you are eligible for these you may be able to get help from your local authority during the summer holidays. Check to find out. My nursery costs are cut by £1,440 3 MUM-of-two Sam Kennedy Christian is a coach who helps parents juggle work and childcare. Sam, 39, uses the tax-free childcare scheme and finds it very helpful. She explains: 'I started using it when [my daughter] Rose, who's now seven, started at nursery – and over the years it has saved us a fortune.' Currently, it cuts nursery fees for her son James, two, to £480 a month instead of £600 – saving £1,440 a year. The family has been getting 15 hours' free childcare for James each week, but that will rise to 30 hours in September. That will cut their bill by a further £240 a month. Sam, from Herne Bay, Kent, says: 'It's a lot to get your head around, but it's so worth it.' It can also be a godsend for clubs in the school holidays for Rose, Sam adds. With the average cost around £30 a day where Sam lives, she ends up paying £24 herself, with the rest covered by the govern-ment payment. Sam says: 'Saving £6 a day is very helpful. Over the summer, it will save us £60.' PENSIONS ARE TAX TARGET GRIEVING families will soon find the process of sorting out a loved one's finances much harder following a huge change to Inheritance Tax. The government has confirmed that pensions will become subject to Inheritance Tax from April 6, 2027. Currently, money left in your pension after you pass away can be passed on to a loved one without any need for them to pay Inheritance Tax. The Inheritance Tax rate is 40 per cent, and is charged on the estate – the property, possessions and money, of someone who has died – if it is worth more than £325,000. A loophole means many wealthy pensioners are using pensions as a way to pass down most of their money because they are so tax-efficient. The changes mean that this loophole will close – but experts have warned that it will pile pressure on grieving families. Inheritance Tax needs to be paid within six months, and usually before you can apply for probate. But tracking down pensions takes time, delaying the process of applying for probate. Probate is the legal process of dealing with a person's death, and it can take months to get it granted. Former pensions minister Steve Webb said: 'Life is tough enough when you have just lost a loved one without having extra layers of bureaucracy on top. 'It is hard to see how these changes will be good news for bereaved families.' STARLING ACCOUNT UPSET 3 ONLINE bank Starling has shaken up its current accounts, causing a big stir among customers who are desperate for the change to be reversed. The bank, which has more than 4.6million UK customers, will no longer let its users open a second current account. Starling previously let customers open an extra everyday bank account, free of charge. Savers raved about the perk because it was a great way for them to manage their money. But the digital bank has told The Sun it has temporarily stopped allowing customers to open additional accounts while it 'improves our account offering'. It quietly suspended additional accounts last year, and clients have been calling on the bank to bring back the feature. One customer posted to X this week: '@StarlingBank when will additional accounts be back? I had one and would like to enable it again.' Another posted in January asking: 'Can I create a second personal account in @StarlingBank?' One customer said on Reddit: 'I'm sure it used to be a thing when I first started with Starling, but now I get 'you've reached your personal account limit' with one account, and 'you're not currently able to apply for this account' when I go to open a Personal Additional.' Starling said: 'Customers are still able to apply for a joint account, provided both are Starling customers. 'Joint accounts are limited to one per customer.'
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The £1,200 savings boost millions of universal credit claimants are missing out on
Millions of people could be eligible to save an extra £1,200 through a savings scheme they are currently missing out on. People who claim universal credit looking for ways to make their money stretch a little further can earn 50p for every £1 they put away for the next four years through the government's Help to Save scheme. First launched in 2018, the scheme was extended in April and will now run until April 2027. While the government estimates that around 3 million people could benefit from Help to Save, just under 517,000 accounts have been opened since its launch in 2018. Here's what you need to know about Help to Save, including who is eligible, how to join and how much you can save. Help to Save is a type of savings account set up by the government to help lower income workers to build up funds. It allows people receiving universal credit to get a bonus of 50p for every £1 they save over 4 years. Help to Save is backed by the government so all savings in the scheme are secure. The Help to Save scheme is designed to help lower income households boost their savings. To qualify for the scheme, you must: Be a UK resident If you live overseas, be posted overseas as a crown servant or with the armed forces (or be their spouse or civil partner) Receive universal credit Have earned income of £1 or more in your (or your and your partner's, if it's a joint claim) last monthly assessment period Anna Stevenson, benefit expert at Turn2us - a charity that helps people living in poverty - told Yahoo News it "regularly hears from people receiving universal credit who are going without essentials." "Saving can feel next to impossible - especially with cuts looming for many. But for those who can put a little aside, the Help to Save scheme offers a useful way to build up even a small buffer against future shocks.' People put their deposits into a government Help to Save account. Each month, you can save anywhere between £1 to £50 by paying into the account with a debit card, standing order, or bank transfer. It's worth bearing in mind that you do not have to pay money in every month. While you can make as many deposits as you like over the course of each month, those deposits in total cannot exceed £50. The bonus is paid every two years. The first 50% is paid after that two-year period, calculated on the highest balance you had during those two years. The second 50% bonus is paid after four years, based on how much your highest balance increased in years three and four compared to the initial two-year period. It's worth bearing in mind that you can only withdraw money from your Help to Save account to your bank account. You get paid bonuses from the government at the end of the second and fourth years of saving. They're based on how much you've saved. These won't be paid into your help to save account, but directly into your bank account. For example, for every £100 you deposit, you get £50 from the government. If you save the maximum amount, £50 a month for two years — totalling £1,200 — your bonus after two years would be £600. If you then save another £50 a month for the next two years — another £1,200 — your total bonus after four years would be another £600, for a total of £1,200 in government bonuses. How much you save The government bonus £100 £50 £500 £250 £1,000 £500 £2,400 (max) £1,200 (max) You'll need to sign in to set up a Help to Save account. This can be done through the government website. You'll be able to create sign in details when you log in for the first time. You'll need your National Insurance number or postcode and two of the following: A valid UK passport A UK photocard driving licence issued by the DVLA (or DVA in Northern Ireland) Details from a self assessment tax return in the last 2 years, if you made one Information held on your credit record, if you have one (such as loans, credit cards or mortgages) You'll be asked to provide your UK bank details when you apply. After you have applied, you can also sign in to your Help to Save account through the HMRC app. Whether you have a single or joint claim, universal credit claimants can save up to £6,000 without there being any impact on your benefits. After this point, for every £250 you have in savings over £6,000, you'll lose £4.35/month of universal credit and £1 of council tax reduction. For example, if your combined savings total was £7,000, you'd get £17.40/month less via universal credit and £4 less via a council tax reduction on your annual bill. It's worth double checking whether joining the scheme can take you over the limit. The benefit is, however, how much you can tailor your savings. By calculating the monthly amount you can save — with the added government bonus — you can ensure you make the most of the scheme without going over the savings threshold for universal credit.
