MILLIONS of parents are in line for a pay boost in April when benefit payments rise.
Benefit rates will increase by 1.7%, in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation for September this year.
Of course, the exact amount your payments will rise by depends on whether you qualify for extra elements as well as your financial circumstances.
In any case, thousands of parents in receipt of benefits will see their payments rise from April. Here is how much each one will increase.
Child Benefit is designed to help cover the cost of raising a family.
It’s paid every four weeks and currently worth £1,331.20 per year for the eldest eligible child and £881.40 per year for all subsequent eligible children.
From April 6, 2025, the weekly rate will increase from £25.60 to £26.05 for the eldest child and from £16.95 to £17.25 for each extra child.
You can claim Child Benefit for any child aged under 16.
If your child stays in approved education (such as doing A-levels or Scottish Highers), you can keep claiming until your child is 20.
If they leave approved education, for instance to go to university, you stop getting the money.
While anyone can claim the benefit, if you or your partner earns £60,000 or more, you have to start paying some of the money back.
Once either of you earns over £80,000 (individually) you have to pay all of it back.
Despite that, it’s often worth claiming because it also gives you National Insurance credits if you have a child under 12.
These are important if one parent is either a stay-at-home parents, working part-time or on a low income, because it helps build up your state pension entitlement.
Child Tax Credits are due to stop from April next year, so the amount you get won’t increase.
However, you may be able to claim Universal Credit, and get the child elements outlined below, which are rising by 1.7%.
You can claim Carer’s Allowance if you care for someone at least 35 hours a week and they get certain benefits.
These include:
The weekly Carer’s Allowance rate will go up from £81.90 to £83.30 from April.
The threshold at which you become ineligible for Carer’s Allowance – known as the “cliff edge” will also rise from April.
New mums who don’t qualify for standard maternity pay could still get a payment adding up to thousands of pounds from Maternity Allowance.
This will also rise from £184.03 a week to £187.18 from April 2025.
Universal Credit can help you get by if you’re on a low income or in ill health.
Even families on higher incomes over £50,000 with childcare and rent costs could get the help, so it’s always worth checking.
Exactly how much Universal Credit you get depends on your personal circumstances.
Universal Credit is replacing six so-called legacy benefits and comes as a single payment each month, similar to a monthly salary you get from a job.
From April, this is how much rates are going up:
Standard allowance (per month)
Extra amounts for children
Working parents can claim up to 85% of childcare costs, up to a maximum of £1,014 per month for one child, or £1,739 a month for two or more children.
The government now pays parents who start work or increase their work hours up front instead of in arrears.
But the maximum you can claim for one child will rise to £1,031 and £1,768 a month for two or more children from April 2025.
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.
MoneySavingExpert.com 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.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories
