Mum of four relieved to find she can boost income by extra £11,000 a year - millions missing out as £23bn goes unclaimed
Mum of four relieved to find she can boost income by extra £11,000 a year
GETTY
As the cost of living crisis continues, many families are boosting their income by claiming benefits they never knew they were entitled to – with one family of six even claiming an extra £11,000 a year.
Universal Credit, council tax reductions, Pension Credit and Carer's Allowance are some of the top benefits going unclaimed across the UK – to the tune of £23 billion worth each year.
Although each individual has different circumstances, research has found lack of uptake in benefits is due to a lack of awareness about available benefits, complex eligibility criteria, and the stigma attached to the benefits system.
However, Greater Manchester Poverty Action group provide a programe called Money Matters, which offers debt and benefits advice in schools to help increase household incomes.
Cherrelle, a mother of four, was advised by a teacher to contact Money Matters.
She was living in a private rented property with her partner and four children aged six, four and three (twins).
A benefit check found that Cherrelle was not getting the correct entitlements
GETTYSpeaking with the advisers, Cherrelle said: “I think I am on the right benefits and I don’t really want to waste your time”.
A benefit check found that Cherrelle was not getting the correct entitlements.
She was supported to apply for changes to her benefits and these were successful, resulting in a total gain of £11,297.40 per year.
The trial service saw a full-time Financial Inclusion Officer (FIO) introduced into seven schools in low-income areas in Greater Manchester.
And over the course of the 12-month long scheme, families helped claimed a total of £160,000.
Cherrelle said: “The financial help was very significant to me but it also reduced stress, which improved my mental health.
"When you are cold, sick, in debt and don’t have money, life is very tough.
"Money Matters helped a lot; having someone to talk to and help you really helped.”
Families who benefited from Money Matters with ongoing income gains worth approximately £1,992 per year.
Policy in Practice’s latest annual analysis found that £22.7billion in support goes unclaimed every year across the UK.
Their Missing Out report revealed 8.4 million people could be missing out on an average of £2,700 per year in rights based benefits.
This is an increase of £4billion on earlier estimates which found £19billion was going unclaimed.
The increase is caused by the uprating of benefits, the rollout of Universal Credit and newly released DWP figures.
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This amount of support going unclaimed at any time is extraordinary let alone during a cost of living crisis.
This is against a backdrop of more households in negative budgets and rising inequalities in health and educational outcomes.
Deven Ghelani, founder and director of Policy in Practice said: "This is not just about the money, it’s about the profound impact on people’s lives.
“Support from the social security system is a right. The failure to deliver support to people who are entitled to it directly affects education, health outcomes and social participation for millions of people. If we don’t address issues now for people in need we will just see costs further rising.
"We can’t afford not to close the unclaimed support gap."