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- Welfare Rights Newsletter
08 Nov 2023
Surrey Welfare Rights Unit
The charity for your community
14-16
Your child is 14-16, and will probably be in full-time non-advanced education.
This information is about financial support available in some circumstances while your child remains part of your benefit household. If you are in receipt of Universal Credit, or Child Tax Credits (CTC) your child will continue to be part of your claim. As your child’s Carer you may be entitled to Carer’s Allowance. If you are claiming Child Benefit, this can continue. There may also be other help available to you. There are special rules if your child is in a residential school setting.
Your child will probably have a (DLA) award in place. If not, you may wish to start a claim for DLA. If your child has a DLA award, around the time they turn 16 they will be asked in a letter addressed to them, if they would like to claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP). If they do not make a claim for PIP at this stage, their DLA award will end. You can help them with the claim. You may also want to consider whether it is appropriate for you to become their appointee.
You may be thinking about the financial support they will need in the future, for example when they are no longer part of your benefit claims, or leave home. The most likely benefit they will claim, apart from PIP, is Universal Credit which has an upper capital limit of £16,000. If your child has more savings than this they will not be entitled to Universal Credit.
As your child approaches 16, if they are staying in full-time non-advanced education you will need to let HMRC know so that child benefit, and any Child Tax Credit you receive for them can continue. If you are receiving the child element of UC for your child you will need to inform the DWP through your journal that they will be continuing in non-advanced education.
If your child is likely to go into work or an apprenticeship post-16 please read this section.
https://www.swru.org/wp-content/themes/cab