As all parents know raising a child is expensive and can put a lot of pressure on family budgets, all the more so if you are a single parent. However there is help available so we’ve compiled some different types of financial aid for parents.
Government help
First off it’s worth looking into what financial help you can claim from the government. There are a number of different types of financial aid from Child Benefit to free school dinners. We give a little more detail into some of the options available:
Child Benefit is money paid to a parent or someone else who is responsible for bringing up a child that is under the age of 16 (or under 20 if they stay in approved education or training). It is an allowance to help a parent with the costs of bringing up a child but can be saved for the child if you’re in the position to do so. The amount you will receive depends on how many children you have and your income, you can find out what you will receive on the government website.
Universal Credit is money paid monthly (or can be twice monthly if you live in Scotland), and is to help with the cost of living. To be eligible for Universal Credit you need to be on a low income, out of work or unable to work. Universal Credit was brought in to replace a number of other benefits and tax credits e.g. Housing Benefit. As a parent you can claim an extra amount for your children if they live with you or if your child has a disability. You can also claim back up to 85% of childcare costs, if you’re working. Find out more about Universal Credit eligibility on the government website.
Disability Living Allowance is paid every 4 weeks to parents who have a child with a disability and may need extra help with costs to care for them. The child needs to be under the age of 16 and have difficulties walking or they need more looking after than a child of the same age who does not have a disability. The financial help you can get varies depending on the level of help that your child needs.
Parents' Learning Allowance and Childcare Grant are both paid to parents on top of their student finances if they’re in full-time education, and both don’t have to be paid back (unless they’ve been overpaid). The Parents Learning Allowance helps with learning costs and can be between £50 and £1,963 a year and the Childcare Grant covers the cost of childcare, up to £193.62 a week for 1 child and up to £331.95 a week for 2 or more children. Eligibility depends on your household's income.
Financial support at school can include free school transport and free school meals. As like the other forms of financial help eligibility can depend on different factors including distance of school for transport and household income for meals. For both you will need to see what your local council offers and we’ve added the links for both, free school transport and free school meals.
Grants from charities
If you’re a parent and on a low income or struggling for money you can apply for charity grants. They don’t have to be paid back or affect any benefits you’re on. Often they’re paid to help with one-off things like school uniforms and white goods. The grants you’re eligible for will depend on the charity as they each have different rules.
Gingerbread, a charity that helps single parent families, has a tool on their website powered by Turn2Us (a charity that helps those in financial need) where you can enter your details and it’ll give you an idea of the grants you could apply for.
Beanstalk - saving for their future
We’ve tried to make saving with Beanstalk as flexible as possible, meaning you don’t have to commit to monthly contributions, and you can save when it works for you. With Beanstalk you can earn free cashback on your online shopping to top up your child’s savings automatically and you can also invite family and friends to link so they can save for your children. Please note as money is locked up until the child is 18, you should never put money into a Junior ISA that you might need immediately and you should only put money into child savings if you can afford to.