Benefits and cost of living
Walsall Council launches Benefits Calculator to support residents to access benefits
Published on
Walsall Council is launching a new Benefits Calculator to help residents in the borough to identify benefits that they are entitled to. The new Benefits Calculator, developed by Entitledto Ltd, will go live on Friday 21 July.
With around £19 billion of benefits remaining unclaimed in the UK each year, some households are missing out on the benefits they are entitled to. This calculator has been developed to make sure the borough’s residents are not missing out on support and financial assistance that can in turn help with the increasing cost of living.
The launch of the benefits calculator is part of the changes that the council is making to improve the customer experience for residents in the Borough.
“ I am pleased to announce the launch of our benefits calculator at a time when the cost of living is increasing. With the rising cost of food, heating and bills, this will help residents to identify benefits and to find out about any financial assistance that they may not currently have access to “
The resident will be able to input such as income, savings, pension and existing benefits into the calculator to see what they could also be eligible to claim in addition to what they already receive. Once the information has been provided, the calculator will check to see what benefits residents can claim.
The calculator is free to use and open to residents in the borough who are British citizens and above the age of 18 and should only take around 10 minutes to complete. The information provided will be kept anonymous and is protected and will only be used to calculate the benefits the resident is able to claim.
To access the calculator visit Walsall Council’s website. Any resident that needs support with accessing the calculator can visit one of our Walsall Connected Hubs.
The benefits calculator is an initiative introduced as part of the Adult Social Care Continuous Improvement programme of work in collaboration with Customer Access Management (CAM); delivered by the council designed to improve and deliver consistently high levels of customer care across all its services.
Ends
Notes to the Editor
Further Q&As
What will you need to complete the benefits calculator?
To get the most accurate results, residents will need the following information to hand:
· Details of what you spend each month, such as mortgage, rent or childcare payments.
· Existing benefits and pensions, including anyone living with you.
· Savings
· Household income, including your partner’s, if you have one. For example, recent payslips.
If you run out of time or need to take a break, you can save your answers and come back to it later.
What benefits does the benefits calculator check?
The calculator will show the benefits and financial support residents are eligible for, such as:
· Attendance Allowance
· Council tax support
· Carer's Allowance
· Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
· Housing Benefit
· Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
· Pension Credit
· Universal Credit
How accurate is the benefits calculator?
The calculator estimates which benefits you could be entitled to and is based on the answers you provide about your income and savings.
Residents are reminded that the calculator cannot guarantee that you are able to receive benefits, for example, if your circumstances change, this could affect the outcome (moving in with a partner or start working).
