All the help YOU could be missing out on based on your age – including £13,158 mum cash and £7,100 grandparents perk

YOU could be missing out on thousands of pounds of cash and help at different stages of your life – and claiming it could take just a few clicks. From savings bonuses and tax breaks to cheaper childcare and National Insurance credits, plenty of schemes are designed to give you a boost. You could be missing out on thousands of pounds of free cash no matter your age Credit: Alamy We explain the perks you can claim – and some take just 5 minutes Credit: Getty The average UK household spends more than £1,400 a month on essential bills, according to MoneySuperMarket’s July Household Money Index. At the same time, take-home pay has fallen, leaving people with less money at the end of the month once their bills are paid. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! But you don’t need to be unemployed or on the breadline to get financial help. What is available will depend on your age and circumstances, whether you are single, buying a home with a partner, raising children or caring for grandchildren. Here we explain 14 key schemes, discounts and payments that could leave YOU hundreds of pounds better off. Singles under 40 1. Bag a savings bonus – £1,000 You can open a lifetime Isa before your 40th birthday Credit: Alamy Anyone aged between 18 and 39 can open a Lifetime ISA, known as a LISA, and earn a generous Government bonus. A LISA is a type of savings account that can help you save up to £4,000 a year for your first home or retirement. The Government gives you a 25% bonus for any cash you save into the account, up to a maximum of £1,000 a year. Most read in Money Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at AJ Bell, said: “Up until your 40th birthday, you’re eligible to open a Lifetime ISA, which you can use for buying a first home or after the age of 60. “The days of the Lifetime ISA are numbered, but if you open one before any changes are made, the Government has said you can continue to use it as usual for as long as you need it.” But there are some catches you need to watch out for. Taking money out of the account for any reason but to buy a home or for retirement triggers a 25% withdrawal charge. In some cases this could leave you with less cash than you put in. If you want to use the money to buy your first home without being hit with the withdrawal charge then the property must cost £450,000 or less and the account must have been open for at least 12 months. If you want to use the cash for retirement then you can’t touch your pot until you turn 60. 2. Check for a student finance refund – £240 In the last tax year, more than one million student loan overpayments were made Credit: Alamy Millions of graduates are eligible for a refund of around £240 each after accidentally overpaying their student loan. Overpayments can happen when deductions continue after you have fully repaid your loan or your employer uses the wrong repayment plan. You may also be entitled to cash if the repayments were taken during months when you earned extra cash, but your annual income was below the repayment threshold. Check your payslips and online student loan account before contacting the Student Loans Company directly. You can claim a refund yourself for free, so there is no need to use a third-party company. However, remember that if you claim a refund it will be taken from what you have already repaid so your debt balance will likely rise. 3. Knock 25% off Council Tax – £598 If you live alone, you can usually claim a 25% single-person discount Credit: Alamy If you live alone, you can claim a 25% single-person discount on your Council Tax bill. On an average Band D Council Tax bill in England of £2,392 this could save you £598 a year. You might also qualify if you live with someone who is disregarded for Council Tax purposes. This means they’re not counted when the local council works out how many adults live in your property. People who may not be counted include full-time students, some apprentices, student nurses, live-in carers and those classed as severely mentally impaired. For example, if you live with somebody who is severely mentally impaired, then you may be able to get 25% off your Council Tax bill. A home occupied entirely by full-time students is normally exempt from Council Tax. To find out which local council is yours visit gov.uk/apply-council-tax-discount. You then need to apply for the discount directly from your local council. 4. Track down lost childhood cash – £2,200 There are hundreds of thousands of unclaimed Child Trust Funds Credit: Getty Around 750,000 young people have money sitting in Child Trust Funds that have not yet been claimed, according to Government data. The average unclaimed pot is worth a substantial £2,200. Child Trust Funds were given to children born between September 1, 2002 and January 2, 2011. Many Child Trust Funds have been lost as they are difficult to track down or account holders forget they have them. Once you turn 18, the money is yours to withdraw or transfer to another savings account. You can trace a missing Child Trust Fund free through GOV.UK, and enter your National Insurance number and date of birth. Avoid using a third-party website to track down your cash as they will often charge you a hefty fee to do so. Couples under 40 5. Cut your tax bill with Marriage Allowance – £252 a year Married couples could save up to £252 a year through Marriage Allowance Credit: PA Married couples and civil partners could save up to £252 a year through Marriage Allowance. The scheme lets someone who earns less than the £12,570 Personal Allowance transfer £1,260 of it to their husband, wife or civil partner. The higher earner must usually be a basic-rate taxpayer, earning between £12,571 and £50,270 in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. Different tax bands apply in Scotland. Transferring the allowance could cut the couple’s combined tax bill by £252. Claims can normally be backdated by up to four tax years, which means eligible couples could receive more than £1,000. You can apply free through GOV.UK. 6. Double your first-home bonus – £2,000 a year A first-time buyer couple can each open a LISA – bagging two bonuses Credit: Alamy First-time buyers who want to get on the property ladder with a partner can double their Government bonus by each opening a LISA. If both partners save the maximum £4,000 a year, they could receive a combined Government bonus of up to £2,000 each tax year. Both people must meet the rules to use their accounts towards the property without facing a withdrawal charge. Parents 7. Claim Child Benefit – £1,400 a year Lots of parents who are eligible for Child Benefit aren’t claiming it Credit: Alamy Child Benefit is a tax-free government payment that is given to anyone who is responsible for bringing up a child. It is worth £27.05 a week for an eldest or only child and £17.90 for every additional child. That adds up to £1,406.60 a year for the eldest child and £930.80 for each additional child. You can usually claim if you are responsible for a child under 16, or under 20 if they remain in approved education or training. Sarah said: “Lots of parents who are eligible for Child Benefit aren’t claiming it. “Parents should check whether they can claim. It won’t pay for all your child-related costs, but it’s a welcome boost to family finances.” But it’s important to know the rules to avoid being caught out. The High Income Child Benefit Charge is a tax charge that claws back Child Benefit from households where one parent earns more than £60,000 a year. You must pay back 1% of your total Child Benefit for every £200 of income you earn between £60,000 and £80,000. Once you earn £80,000 or more then you need to pay back all of the Child Benefit you receive. 8. Tax-Free Childcare – £2,000 a year Tax-free childcare can be put towards care and holiday clubs for kids aged 11 and under Credit: Alamy Tax-Free Childcare is available to help working families pay for the cost of childcare. The scheme can pay towards nurseries and childminders as well as breakfast, after-school and holiday clubs. Sarah said: “Tax-Free Childcare can be put towards registered wraparound care and holiday clubs for children aged 11 and under. “For every £100 paid into a specific online account, the Government will add £25. “Families can claim up to £2,000 a year per child towards childcare costs, split into £500 per quarter.” Each parent usually needs to earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the applicable minimum wage. The support is not available if either parent has an adjusted net income above £100,000. For a disabled child, the maximum Government top-up rises to £4,000 a year and the age limit increases to 16. 9. Claim up to 30 funded childcare hours – £13,158 a year Eligible parents can claim up to 30 funded childcare hours a week Credit: Alamy Eligible working parents in England can claim up to 30 funded childcare hours a week during term time for children aged from nine months until they start school. This was worth up to £13,158 a year for a child under 2 last year, according to AJ Bell. Sarah said: “They must usually earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the minimum wage and no more than £100,000 a year.” The hours may be stretched across more weeks of the year, although this means using fewer hours each week. “Funded” doesn’t necessarily mean your entire bill will be wiped out. Providers may charge for meals, nappies, trips and additional hours. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run separate childcare schemes. 10. Get NHS and maternity freebies – £238 New mums can cut their medical costs with a maternity exemption certificate Credit: Alamy New mums can cut medical costs by using a maternity exemption certificate from pregnancy until their baby turns one. The certificate provides free NHS prescriptions and dental treatment. If you used it to get two NHS prescriptions a month for a year then you would save roughly £238 a year. Ask your midwife, doctor or health visitor to help you apply as soon as possible. Grandparents and retirees 11. Turn babysitting into National Insurance credits – £358 a year Grandparents can boost their State Pension using Specified Adult Childcare Credits Credit: Alamy Grandparents caring for children under 12 may be able to boost their State Pension by applying for Specified Adult Childcare Credits. These credits allow a relative to plug gaps in their National Insurance record by receiving credits from another family member. A working parent who claims Child Benefit may already build up a year of National Insurance credits through their job. In some circumstances, their unused Child Benefit-linked credit can be transferred to a grandparent or another eligible relative providing childcare. There is no set number of hours of childcare grandparents need to provide and claims can potentially be backdated to the 2011/12 tax year. The parent must agree to the transfer, while the carer must have been under State Pension age when the care was provided. Every year of transferred credits boosts your State Pension by up to £358 a year, which could add nearly £7,160 to the value of your pension over a 20 year retirement. 12. Check your State Pension record – £7,160 Check your National Insurance records through the government website Credit: Getty Sarah said: “The State Pension you’re entitled to depends partly on when you were born. “Most men born after April 1951 and women born after April 1953 will be on the new State Pension. “If you have at least ten years’ worth of National Insurance contributions or credits, you will usually get at least some State Pension. “If you have 35 years’ worth, you will normally get the full amount.” Ten years of National Insurance credits would qualify you for the minimum State Pension, which is £68.90 a week. Meanwhile, the full payment is worth £241 a week. Check your National Insurance record and State Pension forecast through GOV.UK to see whether you have gaps. You can make voluntary National Insurance contributions to plug any gaps in your record. It costs around £957 to fill a whole year but doing so could boost your State Pension by around £358. But over the course of a 20 year retirement this could add up to more than £7,160. Don’t rush into buying voluntary National Insurance contributions, as filling a gap will not always increase your pension. Check with the Future Pension Centre or Pension Service first. 13. Pension Credit – up to £12,376 per person a year Around 880,000 eligible households don’t claim pension credit Credit: Alamy Pension Credit tops up the income of low earners over State Pension age. If you’re single it can increase your weekly income to £238, or £12,376 a year, or £363.25 if you have a partner, although some claimants could receive more. Sarah said: “It’s means-tested, and yet around 880,000 eligible households don’t claim it. “It’s not just a valuable benefit in itself. It also opens the door to other support, including the Winter Fuel Payment, maximum Council Tax Reduction, free TV licences for the over-75s, and help with NHS dental and eyecare costs.” You could still qualify if you own your home, have savings or receive a workplace or private pension. 14. Claim pensioner discounts – £300 Pensioners could be eligible for a variety of discounts, including the Winter Fuel Payment Credit: Alamy The Winter Fuel Payment is a lump sum that is paid to older people in England and Wales to help cover the cost of their heating bills. Sarah said: “If you were born on or before June 27, 1960, you should automatically get the Winter Fuel Payment, worth between £100 and £300, to help pay your heating bills. “However, if your total income is over £35,000, HMRC will claw it back.” But there are other discounts you could be missing out on as a pensioner. Sarah explains: “In England, anyone over 60 receives their prescriptions free of charge. “If you live in London, from the age of 60 you can apply for a pass giving you free travel. Elsewhere in England, you can get an older person’s bus pass at State Pension age for free off-peak bus travel.” Retirees should also check whether they can claim Council Tax Reduction, the Warm Home Discount and help with other NHS costs. Comment now