Help with your finances

It is estimated that up to £20 billion of welfare benefits go unclaimed every year in the UK. This means that you and your family may not be getting the support that you are entitled to. Use our benefits calculator to find out what benefits and other sources of financial help you may be entitled to. It takes around 10 minutes to complete and is a starting point to understanding what additional support you may be missing out on.

The best way to manage your finances is to first know your income and outgoings to understand what you can and cannot afford. Use our budgeting tool see how you can effectively manage your finances. This can also assist us when it comes to helping you set up any payment arrangement if you were to find yourself in arrears of your rent account.

You can access fast, free, confidential debt advice through Money Helper. Submit your details here and you will receive a call back from an adviser who can then help you with a tailored solution, based on your personal circumstances.

You can find more information about this service here.

One of the biggest household costs are food bills. There will be information about support on your local council’s website, but there are also other places you can seek help:

Local food banks are community organisations that can help if you can't afford the food you need. Food banks work with frontline professionals (like doctors, social workers and Citizens Advice) to make referrals and provide food bank vouchers. You can contact your local food bank and ask for additional advice using the searchable map on the Trussel Trust website.

Healthy Start vouchers - If you’re pregnant or have a child under 4, the Healthy Start scheme can help you buy basic foods like milk or fruit. Find out more on the NHS website

Apply for free school meals - Check if your child can get free school meals in England and find out how to apply on your local authority’s website. Find out how to apply for free school meals.

Also, your local authority may offer a welfare assistance scheme. To check whether this is available in your area please visit this website: Local welfare assistance finder: End Furniture Poverty

It’s important to prioritise paying gas and electricity bills because if you don’t pay them there is a risk of being cut off by your gas or electricity supplier. If you use a prepayment meter you should contact your energy supplier if you are struggling - they may be able to provide short-term emergency top-ups. Find out more on the Fuel Bank advice page. 

AgilityEco provides practical help with energy efficiency, utility bills, household finances and vulnerability. Visit their website here.

Government heating discounts:

• Warm Home Discount - you could get £150 off your electricity bill for winter 2022 to 2023. Check whether you are are eligible for the Warm Home Discount Scheme.
• Winter fuel payments - if you were born on or before 26 September 1955 you could get between £250 and £600 to help you pay your heating bills. Find out more about the 'Winter Fuel Payment’.
• Cold weather payments - if you’re getting certain benefits and the temperature in your area is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0^oC or below for 7 consecutive days then you may qualify for Cold weather payments.

You can also find useful tips on the Money Saving Expert website to counter the cost of soaring gas and electricity bills.

If you claim Universal Credit, Pension Credit and some other benefits you may qualify for cheaper broadband and phone packages. If your provider offers a social tariff you can switch for free and the price of the contract should not increase mid-contract. To find if your provider offers a social tariff and for more information visit Ofcom’s webpage.

You could be eligible for assistance with white goods and/or food and energy from your local authority if you are in hardship. Use the local authority finder below by typing in your postcode and searching for ‘Local Welfare Provision’ or the ‘Household Support Fund’.

Find your local council - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk

Money issues can lead to mental health issues but when you already suffer from mental health and have money issues on top, it can be very detrimental. Do not suffer in silence. People with mental health problems are three and a half times as likely to be in problem debt. Mind has a wealth of experience in helping people to manage their mental health, but specific advice on money worries  too.

Universal Credit is a payment to help with your living costs. It’s normally paid monthly but some claimants can have it paid more frequently.

You may be able to get it if you’re on a low income, out of work or you cannot work.

If you already get other benefits
Universal Credit will replace the following benefits by the end of 2024:

• Child Tax Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Working Tax Credit

If you currently get any of these benefits, you do not need to do anything at the moment unless:

• you have a change of circumstance that you need to report
• you get a letter entitled ‘Migration Notice’ telling you that you must start to claim Universal Credit (see the Managed Migration section).

If you get tax credits, they will stop when you or your partner applies for Universal Credit.

If you have a change of circumstances that means you have to move to Universal Credit, this is called ‘Natural Migration’.

As has been the case since the start of Universal Credit, when a claimant experiences a change in circumstances (for example, a change in employment status or family situation), they need to make a new claim for a benefit that Universal Credit has replaced and they will “naturally” migrate onto Universal Credit.

You may be able to get Universal Credit if you’re on a low income or need help with your living costs. You could be working (including self-employed or part time) or be out of work.

To claim you must:

• live in the UK
• be aged 18 or over (there are some exceptions if you’re 16 to 17)
• be under State Pension Age
• have £16,000 or less in money, savings and investments

Claimants moving to Universal Credit will receive a two-week run-on of their Income Support, Income-Based Jobseeker’s Allowance, or Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance. Those moving from Housing Benefit will receive a two-week Transition to Universal Credit Housing Payment.

You can find lots more information about Universal Credit here - Universal Credit: What Universal Credit is - GOV.UK
 

All benefit claimants will be moved over to Universal Credit by the end of 2024. The process was temporarily halted due to COVID-19 but resumed from 9 May 2022 and will be a gradual process to start with. Claimants will be notified of when they will be asked to move to Universal Credit so as to complete the process by 2024.

Everyone moving over from legacy benefits will have their entitlement to Universal Credit assessed against their current claims, with top up payments available for eligible claimants whose entitlement would have been reduced because of the change – ensuring they receive the same entitlement as on a legacy system. These will continue unless their circumstances alter.

Although notifications will be gradually sent out across the country, people who are currently claiming legacy benefits do not have to wait to be moved to Universal Credit. Anyone who thinks they will be better off can move straight away, however, we strongly recommend that any of our customers that are thinking of moving over voluntarily seek specialist welfare benefit advice before doing so, as although many people will be better off, there are still some who may lose money or their right to transitional protection (see separate section below). This process is called Voluntary Migration.

Have you received your Universal Credit (UC) migration letter?

The starting point for the managed migration process will be when the DWP issues you with a migration notice to inform you that legacy benefits will terminate and that you need to claim UC. The notice specifies a day by which the UC claim must be made.

How to claim: Universal Credit - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk

Parliament has committed to providing transitional financial protection for those who are moved onto Universal Credit but only through the managed migration process. Transitional protection does not apply to those who naturally or voluntarily migrate.

This means those eligible households with a lower calculated award in Universal Credit than their legacy benefits awards will see no difference in their entitlement at the point they are moved to Universal Credit, provided there is no change in their circumstances during the migration process. The transitional protection element will decrease over time with increases in Universal Credit elements - excluding the childcare costs element - and will stop with certain changes of circumstances.

The Government has also provided additional protection for those who had a change in circumstance and have been receiving Severe Disability Premium.

In addition, all new claimants and those migrating from tax credits who are gainfully self-employed will be eligible for a 12-month start-up grace period before the Minimum Income Floor applies, to help them grow their business.

It is important to remember that once a new claim to Universal Credit is made, households cannot go back to their previous benefits. If an individual’s circumstances would mean their Universal Credit payments would be less than what they currently receive in benefits, they should wait to be moved through Managed Migration. This is because transitional protection is only available through that process.

You can find further information about this process along with some examples of who may be better off on Universal Credit here - Completing the move to Universal Credit - GOV.UK.

Please remember that anyone who thinks they will be better off can move straight away, however, we strongly recommend that any of our customers that are thinking of moving over voluntarily seek specialist welfare benefit advice before doing so, as although many people will be better off, there are still some who may lose money or their right to transitional protection

Log onto UC journal. Check messages to see if you have one waiting to ask you to confirm rent change.  If so, you should click onto this and report the increase.

If you don’t have a message, you should click onto ‘report a change of circumstances’ and choose the rent increase option.

You can find out more here: 
https://www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/already-claimed/if-you-have-an-online-account/