People earning under £40,000 urged to check if they're…

People earning under £40,000 urged to check if they're missing out on benefits

Households are being urged to check if they could claim benefits, with around seven million people said to be among those who could be missing out.

In their 'Money Tips Email' for the week the first week in January, the financial gurus from Money Saving Expert (MSE) explain that if you have a household income of below £40,000, it could be worth checking.

They explain that Martin Lewis' rule of thumb said that if you are earning less than this amount annually, then you should check although it's not a guarantee that you will get anything, but that doesn't mean it's not worth it.

Their urgent reminder comes as one money saver, according to MSE, has said that he discovered he was entitled to an extra £500 a month after checking.

They said: "Thanks to a link I spotted in one of Martin's weekly emails, I discovered I was entitled to some universal credit to boost my income. I'm now receiving over £500/month extra - which is helping me a great deal."

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Benefits calculator

You can use the Government's benefits calculator to see if you could get nay additional help - especially with the current cost of living crisis.

This will give you an estimate of:

What benefits you could get
How much your benefit payments could be
How your benefits will be affected if you start work or increase your hours
How your benefits will be affected if your circumstances change - for example, if you have a child or move in with your partner