Welfare & Benefits Advice

We can provide you with specialist welfare benefit advice. We want to help you maximise your income and benefit entitlement, and ensure you are in a good position to pay your rent, charges and bills.

If you are worried about paying your bills, please Contact Us. We have staff who are here to help you to -

  • Manage your budget
  • Reduce your debts
  • Apply for grants or funding
  • Reduce your bills
  • Open a bank or Post Office account.

Try the Benefit Calculator to see what you are entitled to. We can help you to apply for all types of welfare benefit.

We can offer help and advice on the following -

 

Housing Benefit

Housing Benefit is provided by Wirral Council to help people with low income pay their rent. 

To make a claim, you need to fill in a Wirral Council Housing Benefit Form - we can help you do this. 

If any of your circumstances change, please Contact Us.

 

Universal Credit

Universal Credit is a new benefit for working aged people, which replaces six existing benefits with a single monthly payment.

It replaces -

  • Job seeker's allowance
  • Employment and support allowance
  • Income support
  • Working tax credit
  • Child tax credit
  • Housing benefit.

If you claim one of these six benefits you will continue to do so for now. If your circumstances change you may be invited to apply. To be eligible for Universal Credit, you must -

  • Be single or a member of a couple 
  • Be between 18 years old and 1 year from State Pension Credit age 
  • Be a GB national and have been resident in UK for at least 2 years 
  • Have a valid National Insurance Number 
  • Have no dependent children living with you up to the age of 20 
  • Not provide care for another person 
  • Not own your own home and not be homeless or in supported accommodation 
  • Have a bank or building society or PO account and not have more than £6000 in savings/capital 
  • Not be paying any maintenance through the CSA 
  • Not be pregnant (or had a still birth within the last 15 weeks after 24 weeks or more of pregnancy) 
  • Not have a person acting on your behalf over your claim 
  • Not be entitled to Disability Living Allowance,  Personal Independence Payments or Carers Allowance 
  • Not be self employed, a company director or in a limited liability partnership 
  • Not be in any form of education or training, or expect to commence education or training in the next month 
  • Be out of work OR in work but do not expect to have net earnings in the next month over £270 (under 25s) or £330 (25 and over) 
  • Be fit for work 
  • Not be receiving Job Seekers Allowance, Income Support or Severe Disablement Allowance, nor awaiting a decision for one of these benefits, nor appealing a decision not to award one of these

If you are not eligible to claim Universal Credit you will be advised to claim the other benefits as normal.

You will need to make your claim online. Please be aware you will not be able to save your online application and go back to it. Please allow 20 - 40 minutes to complete it.

The Universal Credit helpline is 0345 600 0743. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

 

Under Occupation

Under occupation affects housing association tenants who have more bedrooms than the Government believe they need. If you have one bedroom more than you need, your housing benefit will be reduced by about £11 a week. If you have two or more bedrooms more than you need, your housing benefit will be reduced by about £20 a week.

If you are affected, you can either -

  • Apply for Discretionary Housing Payment through Wirral Council
  • Apply for a smaller property - check our Find a Home page or Property Pool Plus
  • Apply for a Mutual Exchange

 

Non-Dependent Deduction

A non-dependent is someone over the age of 18 who lives with you, but is not dependent upon you for support. It is not your partner, joint tenant or lodger.

The Government applies a non-dependent deduction to your housing benefit for each non-dependent.

 

Benefit Cap

The amount of benefit you can receive is now capped at £20,000. The Government adds up how much money you get from benefits including Housing Benefits and if it's over £20,000 your Housing Benefit or Universal Credit could be reduced.   There are exemptions principally if there are any disabled people in the household or if the claimant works at least 16 hours per week.