Martin Lewis has urged anyone earning less than £40,000 to check if they qualify for an £9,600 income boost. The Money Saving Expert and ITV Good Morning Britain regular said 1.25million people are missing out on Universal Credit every year.
Martin told viewers that 41 per cent of Universal Credit claimants work, reports Birmingham Live. He said: "If you've got a low income, whether you're working or not, you will want to check this out.
"But, if you have income stretching up to £40,000 a year, if you've got children, you're paying for childcare or rent - you could still be entitled to Universal Credit." Martin said that this is his "rule of thumb" for knowing whether people should check if they can get a handy windfall.
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Susanna Reid said: “It is wallet Wednesday, and millions of people across the UK are missing out on a share of £19 billion in unclaimed benefits. That’s according to figures from the think tank policy in Practise.”
Mr Lewis said: “The crucial thing to understand here is this is not just for people out of work. 41% of universal credit applicants people who get universal credit are in work. So first, if you’ve got a low income, whether you’re working or not, if you’ve got a low income, you will want to check this out.”
He explained that even households with income of up to £40,000 a year might get some universal credit. He said: “If you’ve got Children and you’re paying for childcare and you’re paying for rent, you could still be entitled to universal credit. So that’s my rule of thumb family income below 40 grand get yourself on an online benefits calculator. It’ll take about 10 minutes.
"Put your details in and see if you’re entitled to this. And even if you checked a year ago because the thresholds went up in April, there are a few people, not too many, but a few people who are now eligible who weren’t eligible before.”
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