All the money changes coming up in September – including Universal Credit changes and extra free childcare
THERE are lots of important money dates for your calendar this September, including a big change to benefits and the extension of free childcare.
There are also key announcements such as the setting of the Bank of England base rate and a wage growth announcement that will impact pensions.
Here we explain the key dates that need to go in your diary, as well as what you need to do to make the most of each of the changes.
September 1 – Free childcare expanded
From September 1 free childcare provision will be extended to youngsters from the age of nine months.
Eligible working parents will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare a week for children between nine months and two years for the first time.
If you wanted to access free hours from September 1, you needed to download a code and share it with your childcare provider by August 31.
If you’ve missed the deadline you can still download a code to be applied from January 1 2025.
This extension is the latest in plans to expand the provision of free childcare.
A further extension will be made in September 2025 when all working parents, who earn between the upper and lower salary limits, will get 30 funded hours of childcare from nine months to school age.
September 2 – Next round of Universal Credit migration
Those receiving income-based Jobseekers’ Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance will begin to be asked to transfer to Universal Credit from September 2.
A total of 100,000 people are expected to transfer in the latest round of the managed migration to Universal Credit.
If you’re affected it’s important to act quickly.
The Department for Work and Pensions has revealed that thousands of people on benefits lost their payments after failing to switch.
More than 800,000 migration notices have been sent out since March 2024, but 184,120 claimants didn’t complete the transfer between July 2022 and March 2024, resulting in the loss of their payments.
September 10 – Wage growth announcement
On September 10 the latest wage figures will be announced, which could impact the amount the state pension will increase by in April 2025.
The announcement by the Department for Work and Pensions and Office for National Statistics will reveal how much the average income has risen by.
Under the triple lock guarantee, the government is committed to increasing the state pension by the highest of earnings growth, inflation or two and a half per cent.
September 18 – August inflation announcement
Every month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) releases UK inflation figures based on the Consumer Price Index.
The next announcement, which will detail August’s inflation figures, comes on September 18.
These numbers will impact what happens to the base rate at the Bank of England’s September Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, which is scheduled for the following day.
September 19 – Base Rate Decision
The Bank of England’s MPC sets the base rate, which is the figure that many financial institutions, such as mortgage companies and savings accounts, use to decide whether their interest rates will rise or fall.
Products that track the base rate will automatically change when it does, which means that what the MPC does can have significant impacts for people with tracker mortgages or variable interest rates.
The MPC meets eight times each year, and the next meeting will be on September 19.
September 22 Nissan Renault dieselgate claims deadline
People who bought diesel cars made between 2009-2020 could be in line for hefty compensation worth thousands of pounds.
The issue was first uncovered when Audi and Volkswagen were accused of using illegal devices in their diesel cars to cheat emissions tests.
Since then, lawyers have started cases against several other manufacturers, including Nissan and Renault.
The law firms’ cases essentially say that the cars are more harmful than advertised and were mis-sold to consumers.
There are three reasons why you might be due some money back.
To join a claim, you needed to contact the law firms that are bringing the case against Nissan Renault.
Leigh Day was pursuing a case but the deadline for joining the claim has now passed and September 22 is the court’s cut-off date for new claims.
September 27 – Vauxhall, Audi, Porsche, Seat, Skoda, VW dieselgate claims deadline
People who bought diesel cars made between 2009-2020 could be in line for hefty compensation worth thousands of pounds.
The issue was first uncovered when Audi and Volkswagen were accused of using illegal devices in their diesel cars to cheat emissions tests.
Since then, lawyers have started cases against several other manufacturers, including Vauxhall, Audi, Porsche, Seat and Skoda.
The law firms’ cases essentially say that the cars are more harmful than advertised and were mis-sold to consumers.
There are three reasons why you might be due some money back.
To join a claim, you needed to contact the law firms that are bringing the case against the appropriate manufacturer.
September 27 is the court’s cut-off date for new claims in relation to these manufacturers.
What help is available to parents for childcare costs?
CHILDCARE can be a costly business. Here is how you can get help.
- 30 hours of free childcare – Parents of three and four-year-olds can apply for 30 hours of free childcare a week.
To qualify you must work at least 16 hours a week at the national living or minimum wage and earn less than £100,000 a year. - Tax credits – For children under 20, some families can get help with childcare costs.
- Tax-free childcare – Available to working families and the self-employed, for every £8 you put in the government will add an extra £2.
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