Benefits and government support

Please make sure you are claiming all government support you can. It's worth checking even if you are already getting benefits like Universal Credit or Pension Credit. 

• Use a benefits calculator on the government website to check if you can access more benefits. You can use the Citizens Advice benefits calculator or contact Isle of Wight Citizens Advice. 
• You may be able to get Pension Credit if you are single with a weekly income of less than £182.60 or £278.70. Get more information and use the online calculator on the government website. 
• More information about all the government support with the cost of living is on their Help for Households website. 

• If you are eligible, you can apply for Housing Benefit or Council Tax reduction.
• If you are struggling because your Housing Benefit or Universal Credit housing costs do not cover your full rent, you might be eligible for a Discretionary Housing Payment.  
• If you are struggling to pay your council tax because you are experiencing financial hardship, you might be eligible for a hardship fund payment.

You could save up to £2,000 a year towards your childcare costs to help pay for holiday clubs and wraparound care during the school terms. Don't miss out on the chance to save up to £500 every 3 months, or £1,000 if your child is disabled.

Families can sign up to Tax-Free Childcare to help pay for holiday clubs, before and after-school clubs, childminders and nurseries, and other approved childcare schemes. It is available to families with children up to the age of 11, or 17 if their child has a disability.

The government will pay 20% of childcare costs by topping up the money paid into a Tax-Free Childcare account. This means for every £8 paid into the online account, families will automatically receive an additional £2 in government top-up.

You can apply on the Tax-Free Childcare web pages.

The Energy Bills Support Scheme is a government scheme. It provides a £400 non-repayable discount to households to help with their energy bills. It is running over winter 2022 to 2023. You don't have to pay it back. 

The Energy Price Guarantee is different to the Energy Bills Support Scheme. It will reduce the unit cost of electricity and gas for UK households until April 2023. This is automatic and applies to all households. Beware of scams – there is no need to apply and you will never be asked for bank details.