Guardian's Allowance
Printable version
1. Overview
You could get Guardian바카라 사이트™s Allowance if you바카라 사이트™re bringing up a child whose parents have died. You may also be eligible if there바카라 사이트™s one surviving parent.
This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).
The Guardian바카라 사이트™s Allowance rate is £22.10 a week. You get it on top of Child Benefit and it바카라 사이트™s tax-free.
You must tell the Guardian바카라 사이트™s Allowance Unit about certain changes to your circumstances.
2. What you'll get
The Guardian Allowance rate is:
- £22.10 a week per child
- tax-free
- paid on top of your Child Benefit payments
How the money is paid
Usually, the money is paid into a bank account every 4 weeks. It can be paid weekly if you바카라 사이트™re a single parent or getting certain other benefits, such as Income Support.
You can get the money paid into any account, apart from a Nationwide Building Society account in someone else바카라 사이트™s name.
Effect on other benefits
Guardian바카라 사이트™s Allowance does not count as income if you바카라 사이트™re claiming tax credits, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker바카라 사이트™s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance.
Guardian바카라 사이트™s Allowance is not affected by the High Income Child Benefit charge. If you decide not to be paid Child Benefit your Guardian바카라 사이트™s Allowance can continue.
Guardian바카라 사이트™s Allowance does not count towards the benefit cap.
Use a benefits calculator to work out what benefits you can get.
3. Eligibility
To get Guardian바카라 사이트™s Allowance all of the following must apply:
- you바카라 사이트™re bringing up someone else바카라 사이트™s child
- the child바카라 사이트™s parents are dead (see conditions for one surviving parent below)
- you qualify for Child Benefit
One of the parents must also have been either:
- born in the UK or a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland
- living in the UK since the age of 16 for at least 52 weeks in any 2-year period
If you adopt a child you may still get Guardian바카라 사이트™s Allowance as long as you were getting it before you adopted the child.
If there is one surviving parent
You could get Guardian바카라 사이트™s Allowance if one of the following is true:
- you do not know where the surviving parent is and you바카라 사이트™ve made a reasonable effort to contact them
- the surviving parent will be in prison for at least 2 years from the date of death of the other parent
- the surviving parent is in a hospital by court order
Use a benefits calculator to check the benefits you바카라 사이트™re entitled to.
4. How to claim
To avoid losing money, claim Guardian바카라 사이트™s Allowance as soon as the child comes to live with you.
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Fill in the claim form (BG1).
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Send it to the Guardian바카라 사이트™s Allowance Unit with the child바카라 사이트™s full birth certificate and the parents바카라 사이트™ death certificates (or certificate if one parent has died) - send originals.
You should also claim Child Benefit as soon as possible.
Guardian바카라 사이트™s Allowance can be backdated for up to 3 months.
You can also call the Guardian바카라 사이트™s Allowance Unit and ask for a claim pack.
If you disagree with a decision
You can challenge a decision about your claim. This is called asking for mandatory reconsideration.
5. Changes to your circumstances
If your circumstances change, your entitlement to Guardian바카라 사이트™s Allowance could be affected or your payments could stop.
You must report the following changes straight away:
- the child goes to live with someone else
- you go abroad, either temporarily (for more than 8 weeks) or permanently (for more than 1 year)
- the child leaves full-time education or approved training
- your bank or contact details change
- you find out where the surviving parent is
- the surviving parent comes out of hospital or prison (or has their sentence shortened)
- the surviving parent makes a payment towards their child바카라 사이트™s upkeep