Start off the new year with a spring clean of your family finances!

Start as you mean to go on with your first new year’s resolution – find out what financial support your family may be entitled to. We know that Christmas will have been an expensive time for parents, with presents to buy and Covid-safe family celebrations to plan. For some families, this may have been even more challenging than usual due to a reduction in household income as a result of Covid-19.

Financial support with registered childcare costs

Now is the time to check the support you are getting with registered childcare costs. There are four main types of support with registered childcare costs – Tax Credits, Universal Credit, Childcare Vouchers and Tax-Free Childcare. Due to changes in the way some benefits are now calculated the support that was best for you last year may no longer be your best option this year. Added to this, if you’ve had any change in your household circumstances it is important that you make sure you are receiving the best and most appropriate form of support for your family.

Extra childcare support when starting work

If you are in receipt of benefits, such as Universal Credit or Tax Credits, and are considering moving into employment or increasing your working hours, and feel that the costs of registered childcare are a barrier to doing so, then you may be entitled to additional support. Talk to your work coach about the Advisor Discretion Fund as you may be entitled to receive a grant to pay up to £1,500 of your first month’s upfront childcare costs.

Childcare Vouchers

If you are a member of the Childcare Voucher scheme have you made sure to make at least one payment from your salary into your account within the last 52 weeks? If you’ve paused  your Childcare Voucher payments or been unable to sacrifice into your account have you looked into backdating your payments to make the most of your annual allowance? Find out more about what backdating means and how to do it here.

We are here to answer your questions

Give Employers For Childcare’s Family Benefits Advice Service a call on 028 9267 8200 and one of our trained advisors will be able to calculate exactly what support you may be entitled to. We provide advice and guidance on a wide range of support including help towards registered childcare costs, but can also look at other support such as with school uniforms, free school meals, disability benefits and housing costs.

So ahead of the long wait until January’s pay day, give our team a call. We will be delighted to hear from you, and to help you get 2022 off to a good start!