Partner Article

Half of families missing out on financial support

As many families in the UK face increasing financial challenges, new research by family finance expert, OneFamily, has revealed that over half (52%) of UK adults are not taking advantage of a range of available financial support – including savings incentives and tax credits - offered to families by the Government.

When asked why they had not claimed for the different types of financial support provided, the main reason was that they were not previously aware that they could benefit.

OneFamily asked more than 2,000 adults about a range of available financial support, including Marriage Tax Allowance, Child Benefit and Junior ISAs. The aim of the research was to identify how families could benefit further from the support already available to them, and what guidance they needed to help them make the most of this.

Simon Markey, CEO, OneFamily, commented, “We know that families are under increasing financial pressure, with almost half (48%) of all adults who have provided support to a family member saying they have done so just to help them cover simple general living costs.

“We’ve looked into the options available for families and our research has discovered that many are not making the most of the potential savings already on offer, because they are simply not aware that they could benefit.”

• Less than half of those surveyed knew about childcare vouchers (48%)
• Almost half (46%) of those who are married were unaware of Marriage Tax Allowance
• 44% of people had heard of free childcare for 3-4 year olds, a scheme that the Government will be extending in 2016
• More than two thirds of people were unaware of the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit (71%).
• Only 4% had heard of Class 3 National Insurance credits

The most potentially underused money-saving policy is the more recently introduced Help to Buy scheme. Whilst 19% of respondents think that they are eligible for the scheme, less than 1% are currently benefitting. Marriage Tax Allowance was the second highest unclaimed allowance: only 3% of UK adults said that they were claiming the allowance, when 18% thought that they were eligible.

The research also found that family members are the top source of financial guidance, followed by money advice websites, cited by 17% and 15% of UK adults respectively. A financial provider is the main source of money advice for 9% of people, with even fewer (1%) using official government guidance.

Simon Markey, CEO, OneFamily, commented, “We’d encourage families, parents and grandparents to check whether they are eligible for the kinds of savings we’ve looked into. Individual families could be hundreds of pounds better off each year as a result.”

The OneFamily.com website provides a quick overview on eligibility criteria for the various financial savings outlined in the research and signposts where families need to go next to apply in order to benefit.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by John Dunn .