MILLIONS of households are missing out on cash benefits that could land in their bank accounts by Christmas.
Brand new data released by the Department for Work and Pensions shows that over 800,000 people aren’t claiming Pension Credit alone – worth around £2,100 a year.
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Some types of government support like Jobseekers Allowance could reach your pocket in just three weeksCredit: Getty
But that’s just one of several handy benefits filling Christmas stockings – if you apply fast enough.
It may be the most wonderful time of the year – but it’s expensive too.
The average UK household will spend £1,626.46 this festive season, according to MoneySuperMarket.
Carer’s Allowance is valued at £4,250 a year on average and even smaller benefits like free school meals can be a huge help.
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Analysis by Policy in Practice recently showed that over seven million families, pensioners, and working-age households are missing out on £23billion a year.
Universal Credit (UC) tops the list, with over £11billion going unclaimed, leaving 1.67million households missing out on an average £6,669 each year.
It takes roughly five weeks to get your first UC payment – so plenty of time before the Christmas break.
Nearly 1.4million people are now claiming Pension Credit – up 139,000 since last year after a big government drive.
But 2.2million are thought to be eligible – meaning over 800,000 pensioners are going empty-handed.
The most recent data show it takes 45 working days to get clearance for pension credit.
Attendance Allowance – for people over state pension age suffering with mobility issues – is being taken up by over 1.8million people.
But an estimated 20million people have arthritis or other, similar conditions which affects the joints.
People could be eligible for over £440 a month. It normally takes 30 working days to process an Attendance Allowance claim, according to nidirect.
Almost 300,000 pensioners are missing out on £1.2billion in pension age housing benefit, according to the new figures.
Claims on Housing Benefit take between 19 and 24 days to process.
The amount you get depends on how much you pay in rent and can be worked out using this calculator.
Policy in Practice estimates that over 500,000 people are missing out on Carer’s Allowance worth £4,250 a year on average.
There’s often a long wait time – between eight and twelve weeks – but that may be just long enough to beat the festive rush.
Disability Living Allowance is claimed by over 1.3 million people with nearly 60,000 people signing up in the last year.
People on the highest band can expect to receive over £440.
Claimants face a long wait for claims to be processed – between eight and 12 weeks, according to disability charity Mobilise Online.
That could leave just enough time to start receiving the money before Christmas.
The number of unemployed in the UK has hit a four-year high, with 1.7million out of work between June and August this year.
Jobseeker’s allowance can give you a helping hand while you look for that next step and can be worth over £360 per month.
Your first payment could be in your account in as little as three weeks, according to the gov.uk website.
Council tax support is administered by local councils and can mean a 100% reduction in fees.
Recent analysis shows that a total £3.3billion is going unclaimed.
The average claim for working age council tax support is £1,464, while the support for pensioners is worth an average of £1,670.
You should contact your local council to find out more and claiming can be a postcode lottery.
How much you’ll get depends on where you live, your income, dependents and other benefits.
The good news is, some councils aim to process claims in just ten days.
Child Benefit can see you get £26.05 a week for your eldest or only child and £17.25 for additional kids.
You can claim Child Benefit 48 hours after you’ve registered the birth of your child, or once a child comes to live with you.
Families can receive their first payment in just three days if they apply online.
And payments can be backdated by up to three months from the date you make the claim.
Families are even missing out on smaller benefits like free school meals (£69million unclaimed), healthy start vouchers (£55million), and warm home discounts (£722million).
They could all make a big difference at a time at the most expensive time of the year.
Meanwhile, free TV licences for older people, worth £52million, remain unclaimed by 298,000 households.
How do I check if I’m missing out on benefits?
Whether you’re on a low income, living with a disability, retired, or caring for something there is some form of support available.
But if you’re not sure where to start, try these benefits calculators.
These free online tools tell you what you could get and how much, based on your savings, income, and personal circumstances.
The government recommends Policy in Practice’s Better Off Calculator, entitledto and Turn2us.
These calculators tell you about the benefits you could get, how much you’ll get paid and how payments are affected if you start work or increase your working hours.
They can also give you a sense of how much benefit payments are impacted by your circumstances changing.
For example, having a child move in, or living with a partner, could impact payments.
Before using a calculator, ensure you’ve got information on your savings, income, existing benefits or pensions, outgoings such as rent or mortgages and your council tax bill to hand.
You may have to enter these to get an accurate indication of what you might be entitled to.
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You can also speak to independent advice organisations like Citizens Advice or Age UK.
Callers to the charity’s helpline – 0800 319 6789 – who had welfare benefits checks, found they were missing out on an average of £4,000 per year.
Tools to find out what you are entitled to
CHECK to see if you, or any of your friends or family, are missing out on any of the £23billion of unclaimed benefits using a free benefits calculator.
Options include Policy in Practice’s betteroffcalculator.co.uk, or the calculators at turntous.org.uk or entitledto.co.uk.
These will tell you the benefits you could get and how much you might receive, as well as what could happen if your circumstances change, like you start work or increase your work hours.
To get accurate advice, you’ll need to have details for you and, if necessary, your partner about your savings, income and any existing benefits or pensions.
You’ll also need to have a record of things you pay out for, such as rent, mortgage, childcare and bills.
For face-to-face help, your local Citizens Advice office advises on benefits entitlement.
If you become ill, a charity like Macmillan Cancer Care can find out what help is available.
StepChange at stepchange.org can also help you put a money plan in place and support you to apply for the benefits you are entitled to.
