An in-depth discussion on budgeting advance
Budgeting advance is a useful and crucial component of the United Kingdom’s social security system as it provides additional help to an individual to pay for certain essentials. You can receive the facility of budgeting advance along with your other benefits and most importantly, it is interest free in nature. With the help of budgeting advance, you can pay your house rent, buy necessary things, or clear your previous debts as well.
Claiming process of budgeting advance
To claim your budgeting advance benefits, you do not have to specify for what reason you are claiming, instead, you need to just mention your category of expenses and the amount you required. Depending on your region, you can either start your claiming process by downloading the application form directly from the DWP ( Department of Work and Pensions) website or contact your nearby local social security and benefits office to get a claim form. After that, your claiming procedure will start and one mandatory thing that you need to submit is your national insurance number. Along with it, you also have to state who else lives with you and your current savings and debts details. The claiming process begins from the day you submit your application form and it generally takes 5-6 weeks to process your claim. If you are expecting a child and need financial assistance, you can also apply for a SureStart Maternity grant through budgeting advance, within which you can avail £500 and you do not even have to pay it back.
However, you cannot claim an amount of your wish for budgeting advance. The minimum amount you have to claim is £100, and the maximum amount varies as per your circumstances. If you are single, you can claim up to £384. If you are married or part of a couple, you claim up to £464, and if you have children, the highest amount you can claim is £812. The things that can influence your budgeting advance amount are:
- If you have any prevailing social fund loan.
- If you have saved more than £1,000 as savings (for people aged more than 63, this amount rises to £2,000).
Challenge a budgeting advance decision
If you think the decision made on your budgeting advance application is unsatisfactory, you can ask for a review by contacting the Jobcentre Plus portal within 28 days. You also have to provide reasons on behalf of your dissatisfaction. If the review decision cannot make you happy, you can request the office of the Independent Case Examiner to re-examine your decision within 21 days of the preliminary review date.
Repayment of budgeting advance amount
The process of repayment for budgeting advance is quite simple. You can start repaying the loan right after getting your benefits. However, you have to pay back the full amount within two years. After the loan approval, if you cannot repay it as per the discussed repayment method, then you can contact the respected office that sanctioned your loan to find out any other way of repayment.