Latest news with #childbenefit
The Sun
2 days ago
- General
- The Sun
You could be handed up to £2,600 in compensation following child benefit error – check if you'll get the cash
HUNDREDS of families could be in line for thousands of pounds in compensation after a 2014 error in child benefit rules. HMRC has announced a major effort to correct the mistake, which left around 500 families without payments they were entitled to. 1 The error mostly affects parents of 16 to 19-year-olds who continued their education or training outside of regular schools between April 2014 and August 2025. Due to the blunder, these families were improperly denied child benefit. Now, HMRC is launching a 'correction exercise' to identify affected families and ensure they receive the money they're owed. The compensation process is expected to cost £1million and will wrap up by October 2026. This means that if each of the 500 affected families has one child impacted, they could be entitled to payouts of up to £2,600 per family. To track down those impacted, HMRC will work alongside local authorities, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and other stakeholders. A communications campaign will also be rolled out to raise awareness and help families come forward. The error is set to be officially reversed in new amendments to child benefit regulations, which will take effect from September 2025. These changes will restore eligibility for young people in certain educational settings, ensuring no one else misses out in the future. If you think you might be affected, keep an eye out for updates from HMRC or reach out to your local authority for guidance. All the freebies you can get on Universal Credit Families who qualify could see significant payouts, so it's worth checking your eligibility. An HMRC spokesperson said: "About seven million families received child benefit last year. "We have identified that a very small number, about 500 over 10 years, may not have been paid their correct entitlement. "We are working with stakeholders to help reach them and will share details on how they can claim soon." What is the child benefit payment? Every parent in the UK can apply for child benefit to help with the costs of raising their child. You can get it if you're responsible for bringing up a child who is under 16 or under 20 and in approved education or training. The benefit is worth £26.05 a week for your eldest child, and then £17.25 a week for any subsequent children. For a family with two children who qualify, this adds up to £2251.60 a year. For just one child, you get £1354.60 a year. While child benefit is available for all to apply, there is a caveat for higher earners. If one parent in the household earns over £60,000 per year, a portion of the benefit must be repaid, this triggers the so-called high income child benefit charge. This means a portion of the benefit must be repaid. Once an individual's income exceeds £80,000, the entire benefit must be repaid. What is the high income child benefit charge? IF you apply for child benefit but earn over £60,000 or live with a partner who does, you'll have to pay the high income benefit charge. This is calculated as 1% of your child benefit payment for every £200 you earn over the threshold. The calculation is done based on your adjusted net income, which is the money you earn after paying things like pension contributions. However, if you earn slightly over the threshold, you can increase your retirement savings to put you back under the limit and continue to claim. If you do have to pay the charge, the money is paid back via the higher earner's self-assessment tax return. Once either you or your partner earns £80,000 you will have to repay all of the child benefit money. What other childcare help is available? Up to 30 free childcare hours You may be able to get free childcare for your child aged nine months to four years old if you live in England. The number of hours working parents can claim depends on the age of their child. If your child is: Nine months to two years old, you can get 15 hours per week of free childcare Three to four years old, you can get 30 hours per week of free childcare From September 2025, children aged nine months to two years old will qualify for 30 hours per week of free childcare To qualify, you'll need to earn at least the equivalent of the national minimum wage for 16 hours a week. Both parents will need to earn the equivalent of at least £166 per week, each with a taxable income of no more than £100,000. Your two-year-old can also get free childcare if you live in England and get any of the following benefits: Income support income-based jobseeker's allowance (JSA) income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) Universal Credit and your household income is £15,400 a year or less after tax, not including benefit payments The guaranteed element of pension credit Child tax credit, working tax credit (or both), and your household income is £16,190 a year or less before tax Universal Credit childcare costs Parents on Universal Credit and in a paid job can have up to 85% of their childcare costs covered, up to £1,031.88 a month for one child and £1,768.94 a month for two or more children. It doesn't matter how many hours you work. If you live with a partner, you both need to work to qualify. You usually have to pay for the childcare and claim back the costs, but if you go back to work or increase your hours you can request for the money to be paid upfront. 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. 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.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Second tier child benefit could leave up to 100,000 worse off, tax strategy paper suggests
The introduction of a second tier, means-tested child benefit payment would involve the replacement of some existing supports and could lead to some lower-income households losing out financially, the Tax Strategy Group (TSG) papers suggest. According to TSG, based on some estimates, up to 100,000 children could end up being worse off. The TSG, which prepares a range of papers for the Government in advance of the budget being framed, paper on social protection notes that it has been suggested that to address deprivation experienced by children most effectively would require putting in place a second tier, means-tested, child benefit payment. However, t argues that public discourse on this suggestion does not generally recognise that it involves the replacement of the second tier of child payments that already exists in the form of the Child Support Payment (a means-tested payment to families in receipt of weekly social welfare payments) and the Working Family Payment (aweekly tax-free payment for employees on low pay with children). READ MORE 'Most recently the ESRI has proposed the replacement of these payments with a single second tier payment and modelled an option costing over €700 million annually over and above the existing payments,' the paper notes. 'In doing this, it acknowledges that its proposal is in outline form would require substantial work to refine and cost fully. 'It also acknowledges that some lower income households would lose income – with payments reducing in respect of approximately 100,000 children. This is a complex issue that would need to be fully understood before any new second tier payment is introduced.' The paper notes that the programme for government contained a commitment to developing a proposal for a Working Age Payment, which would be given to low-income households based on their pay levels rather than their employment status and involve a child-related element. 'Accordingly, any new second tier payment would have to be considered in the context of how it would interact with this payment – a consultation on which is due to issue later this year,' the paper added. The paper said that pending these developments, 'it remains clear that it is important to target welfare increases to the households with children where the risk of poverty is greatest and that such an approach favours investment in targeted rather than universal benefits'. The paper says that Child Support Payment (CSP), currently paid at €50 for children under 12 years and at €62 for children 12 years and over, is one such targeted measure. It estimates that a €1 increase in the payment for both age cohorts would cost about €15.45 million in a year. 'Annual increases in the Child Support Payment mitigate the risk of poverty for families with children. There was a proportionately larger increase in the rate in respect of children 12 years and over in Budget 2025. 'One advantage to adjusting the rate of the Child Support Payment rather than the personal rate is that it equally benefits lone parents and couples with children, without an adjustment to the personal rate of each scheme. 'Other targeted measures that would directly reduce child poverty, include increasing the weekly income thresholds for the Working Family Payment and increasing the Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance. Households with children that receive other supplementary welfare supports such as Fuel Allowance would also benefit from increases in this payment. 'The support of the Public Employment Service delivered by the Department's Intreo Centres is also important in assisting parents, particularly lone parents in transitioning from welfare to employment and will have a material impact on the income levels of these households.' The paper also highlights that when one-off payments in recent budgets are excluded, increases in core social welfare payment rates between 2019 and 2025 lagged behind price inflation by between 2.5 to 5.5 per cent and lagged wage growth by between 9 and 13 per cent. 'Accordingly, as the use of 'one-off' payments is ceased, it will be important to ensure that other rate measures are effective in targeting the reduction in poverty among those most at risk of poverty,' it stated.
CTV News
16-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Canada Child Benefit payments are increasing starting Friday
Eligible Canadian families will see an increase in federal child benefit payments starting Friday. The maximum amount for the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) payment, which covers the period from July 2025 to June 2026, is increasing by $210 to $7,997 for each child under six years of age, and by $178 to $6,748 for each child between the ages of six and 17, compared to the last benefit year, according to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on its website. The maximum amounts apply to those with an adjusted family net income of less than $37,487. The payments are recalculated every July and gradually decrease when the adjusted family net income is more than $37,487. The amounts for July 2024 to June 2025 were $7,787 for each child under six and $6,570 for each child six to 17 years old. How are payments calculated? The benefit year runs from July to June of the following year, with payments adjusted every month based on the number of eligible children under a parent's care, the children's age and the adjusted family net income reported in last year's tax return. The CCB is also indexed to inflation, according to the CRA. Each parent with shared custody of the child will get half of the amount they would've received if they had full custody. CCB payments have risen since July 2022, according to information provided on the CRA's website.
Telegraph
14-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
DWP pockets £1bn from ‘giving up' on mothers' state pensions
The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) is set to save £1bn from its failure to track down mothers who were underpaid on the state pension. Hundreds of thousands of women who claimed child benefit missed out on National Insurance top ups because of DWP administrative errors dating as far back as 1978. In an attempt to rectify the failures, the DWP started writing to women last year, however, it has now admitted it may not be able to track down all of the women affected. Industry experts said the Government had 'all but given up' on mothers, and that retirees would suffer because of its 'dismal failure' to track them down. Home responsibilities protection (HRP) should have been granted automatically to anyone who took time off work to care for family and who also claimed child benefit between April 6 1978 and April 5 2010. The DWP initially set aside £1.2bn to top up these state pensions. The department's latest annual report shows that it has so far corrected the records of just 12,379 pensioners, paying out £104m. The average HRP arrears paid by the DWP was £8,377 between January 2024 and March 2025. But the report also shows the department now expects to spend just £29.8m on future corrections – a reduction of over £1bn. The DWP had previously estimated the state pensions of 90pc of eligible people would be corrected. This has fallen to just 8pc. It means the Government now expects more than nine in 10 of those who are thought to be eligible will not get what they are entitled to. This is primarily due to the failure of the Government's own letter-writing campaign to 370,000 taxpayers to raise awareness last year, which had an 'extremely poor response', according to pension consultancy firm LCP. Sir Steve Webb, a former pensions minister, now a partner at LCP, said it was 'totally unacceptable' that the Government had 'all but given up' on underpaid mothers. He added: 'The DWP's latest report is a hammer blow to over 100,000 mothers who are receiving reduced state pensions because of errors on their National Insurance record. 'The Government's letter-writing campaign has been a dismal failure, and this was entirely predictable given its reliance on a complicated online claims process. 'Although there will still be some ongoing publicity, the figures in the annual report are an admission that the Government itself does not expect these efforts to have much impact.' Rachel Vahey, head of public policy at AJ Bell, urged the DWP not to 'give up' on contacting those affected. She added: 'The DWP has mis-managed state pension payments for thousands of people, and should be doing its level best to put the situation right. 'But relying on people self-claiming is a dangerous route to take – some may not understand the letter they have received, or be nervous about self-checking, maybe thinking that the letter is a scam. 'The state pension can be fiendishly complicated to understand. Lots of people might not realise they're not getting the full amount. 'If anyone has received a letter, or knows someone who has received a letter, then they should call the National Insurance helpline on 0300 200 3500 who will be able to support them in making a claim.' For those reaching state pension age before April 6 2010, HRP reduced the number of qualifying years you needed to get the full basic (old) state pension by up to 22 years. Otherwise, women needed 39 qualifying years, while men required 44 qualifying years. A qualifying year is one in which you have paid sufficient National Insurance contributions – usually through working – or received National Insurance credits. If you reached state pension age between April 6 2010 and April 5 2016, you needed 30 qualifying years on your NI record to get the full basic state pension. Those reaching state pension age after this will receive the new state pension, and usually require 35 qualifying years to get the full amount. A DWP spokesman said: 'We are determined to help people who have been left out of pocket as a result of historical errors which are no fault of their own. 'That's why we wrote directly to over 370,000 of those who were potentially affected and launched an online tool to help people check if they needed to claim. 'We carried out an extensive campaign to raise awareness of the issue and will continue regular communications to get people to check their National Insurance record.'
The Guardian
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Brutal' two-child benefit cap affecting 1.7m children, shows data
A further 37,000 children were affected by the two-child benefit limit in the year to April, with 1.7 million now living in households affected by the policy, according to new figures described as 'devastating and shameful' by charities. Data released by the Department for Work and Pensions on Thursday shows that one in nine children are now affected by the policy, while 62% of affected families have three children and 59% are in work. Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) described it as a 'brutal policy' that was making children's 'lives hard and their futures bleak'. 'Giving all kids the best start in life will be impossible until government scraps this brutal policy, and a year after the election families can't wait any longer for the help they desperately need,' said the charity's chief executive, Alison Garnham. The new data shows that 469,780 households on universal credit were affected by the two-child limit in April 2025, meaning their access to certain benefitswas restricted for a third or subsequent child born after the rule was introduced in 2017. This is an increase of 13,520 (3%) on the previous year. There are now 1,665,540 children living in affected households, an increase of 37,150 (2%) on the previous year. Dan Paskins, the executive director of policy, advocacy and campaigns at Save the Children UK, said the figures were 'devastating and shameful in equal measure'. 'Almost 40,000 more children are now being punished just for having siblings,' he said. 'Behind every number is a child missing out on essentials like food, clothing and a decent home, through no fault of their own. The government must do the right thing and abolish the two-child limit, or risk being the first Labour government to oversee a significant rise in child poverty.' CPAG said it estimated the policy had pushed 350,000 children into poverty, as well as 700,000 children into deeper poverty, since 2017. It says 109 children are being pushed into poverty each day by the policy. Lord John Bird, the founder of the Big Issue and a crossbench peer, said: 'We must call this what it is: a poverty crisis. And government policy that creates this crisis cannot be tolerated. 'It is both a moral and a political necessity that this government ends the two-child benefit cap at the autumn budget. The public will not stomach any more inaction from Labour.' He added that any savings the two-child benefit cap brought 'will create far more expense for our society now and down the line'. 'Its consequences will be felt in our schools, our NHS, our prisons, and one day, in the same social security system that fails these children,' he said. Earlier this week, the children's commissioner said young people were living in 'almost Dickensian levels of poverty' as pressure ramps on the government to scrap the controversial policy. But the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has warned the government's U-turn on welfare cuts last week may make scrapping the policy more difficult. The DWP has been contacted for comment.
