Spring 2013 www.traffordhousingtrust.co.uk

Essential Information About Your Money

Welfare Reform changes are HERE!

Handy Money Tips Page 14

Paying Your Rent Page 18

Your Guide To Bedroom TaxPage 10

Budgeting Your MoneyPage 2

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BudgetingWelcome to your Essential Information Money GuideThe Trust has included with this edition of Pulse an Essential Information guide about your money. This pull-out has been designed with you, our tenants, in mind.

The pull-out gives you a budgeting form, which is a useful way to help manage household budgets, regardless of whether you are affected by the benefit changes.

The budgeting form has been designed to enable you to complete yourself, however, if you want any further advice you can contact our Money Support Team who can help you manage your household budgets more effectively, as you can identify the areas that you need to cut back on.

There are also some further interesting pages that give information about what is a priority debt, which may help when looking at your budgets - what do you need to pay as a priority.

There are some pages about Welfare Reform, who it affects and when it comes into effect. There is also a personal letter from Lauretta asking for volunteers to be part of the Trust’s research project which looks at mapping the impact of the welfare reform on our tenants.

We hope that you find this pull-out useful.

Lauretta Rothery, Service Lead Delivery and Sharon White, Manager, Social Inclusion

Do you wonder where your money goes? Never quite put your finger on where you’ve spent what? If this is you, you’re not alone. Budgeting is really important to all of us as it helps us manage our money more effectively which in turn makes us happier, which can only be a good thing.

Some of our staff in the Money Support Team are able to give you support if you would like some help with budgeting – please let us know on 0300 777 7777 if you think that this would help you. We can arrange to come and see you and work through an income and expenditure form with you so you can clearly see where your money is currently going.

If you would prefer to do your own budget, please remember to be realistic with yourself. Complete an honest budget form, you may find our budget sheet useful to start you off. Remember to include everything - this will help you to see a true picture of the money you have coming in and going out and help you identify any areas where you could cut back or save money.

Having completed your budget form, you can begin to see clearly which areas you may prefer to change, or cut back on, or cut out all together! If you would like some personal information around how you might be able to make your money stretch further, if you complete the budget form on the following pages and give us a call, we will happily review this with you. We might be able to suggest some things that you haven’t yet thought of.

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All amounts detailed should be AFTER TAX.(1) What is your income?Income Weekly (After Tax) Monthly (After Tax)Wages/salary

Wages/salary (partner)

Works pension

State pension

Child benefit

Working tax credit

Child tax credit

Maintenance

ESA/JSA/IS/GPC etc

DLA/AA

Non dependant contributions

Other

Other

Other

Other

Other

Total Income

Your Personal Budget

Continued on the next page

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(2) What are your outgoings?

Expenses Weekly Monthly Arrears Notes

Rent (on your home)

Payments of any rent arrears

Council Tax

Water charges

Home contents insurance

Car insurance

Life insurance

Gas

Electricity

TV license

Magistrates court fines

Maintenance payments

Home phone

Mobile phone

Other

Other

Other

Other

Housekeeping Costs Weekly Monthly Arrears Notes

Food and milk

Cleaning and toiletries

Newspapers and magazines

Cigarettes and tobacco

Alcohol

Laundry/dry cleaning

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Travel Weekly Monthly Arrears Notes

Public transport

Taxis

Car HP

Vehicle tax

Fuel

MOT

Car maintenance

Breakdown and recovery

Parking charges

Other car costs

Other costs Weekly Monthly Arrears NotesHealth costs (prescriptions, dentist, contact lenses etc) House maintenance (including window cleaning)

Hairdressing/haircuts

Cable, satellite and internet

Appliance rental/HP (tv, sofa, fridge etc)

School meals and meals at work

Eating out

Pocket money/children’s activities/ school trips

Lottery/pools etc

Hobbies/leisure/sport

Gifts (Christmas/birthdays/charity etc)

Vet bills and pet insurance

Other

Other

Other

Total Expenditure

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(3) What else do you pay or do you owe?Creditor name(who do you owe) Amount owed Repayments

MonthlyRepaymentsWeekly Arrears

ie, car finance

ie, catalogue

Total Credit Commitments

(4) What have you got left? What is your current position?

Amount owed Monthly

Total income

Total outgoings

Total credit payments

Disposable income

Positive SolutionsIf you would like one of our staff to help you with your budgeting, or help you complete this form and give you information on how you might be able to make your money go further, please let our Positive Solutions Staff know on 0300 777 7777 or via email on customer.hub@traffordhousingtrust.co.uk. We are happy to arrange appointments for you to call to our office or we can help you in your home. Sometimes, by seeing a customer’s budget form, we are also able to identify if our Debt Advisor might be in a position to help, or our Welfare Rights Officer might be able to assist in getting more benefits.

Welfare RightsIf you would like us to assess whether you may be entitled to any extra benefits, again, please let us know. We can help to check whether there is anything else that you should claim, help you with appeals if you have been turned down, and help you to complete forms. Catherine Hardman is our Welfare Rights Officer and Catherine can be contacted via email on catherine.hardman@traffordhousingtrust.co.uk or through our Customer Hub on 0300 777 7777.

Debt AdviceIf you are finding it difficult to manage your debts, please let us know. Christina Higham is our Debt Advisor. Christina is able to speak to you in your home or at our offices about any debts you might have and about how you might be able to make these more manageable. Christina can help to give you information and advice and can deal with creditors on your behalf. If you would like to contact Christina, please do so on 0300 777 7777 or via email on christina.higham@traffordhousingtrust.co.uk

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ARE YOU PREPARED FORWELFARE REFORM?

On 1st December 1942 Sir William Beveridge published a report entitled ‘Social

Insurance and Allied Services’ and from this the UK Welfare State was created in 1945.

The Beveridge report aimed to provide a comprehensive system of social insurance from ‘cradle to grave’ and proposed that all working people should pay a weekly contribution to the state. In return, benefi ts would be paid to the unemployed, the sick, the retired and the widowed.

Sir Beveridge wanted to ensure that there was an acceptable minimum standard of living in the UK and that no one fell below that minimum standard.

In 1946, the National Insurance Act created a comprehensive system of

unemployment, sickness, maternity and pension benefi ts funded by employers, employees and the government. This meant that everyone who worked made a contribution to the government through National Insurance.

The most famous of all Welfare State changes was the National Health Service (NHS) Act which introduced a universal state health service, and came into force in July 1948, providing free diagnosis and treatment of illness at home or in hospital, including dental and ophthalmic treatment for everyone.

1942

1945

1946

1948

The history

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CHANGES IN BENEFITSARE HERE

As we move through the years, changes were made to the Welfare State, but most

importantly in Margaret Thatcher’s time as Prime Minister during 1979, a promise was made to lower taxes, less state intervention and lower levels of public spending. This involved the fi rst potential cuts in Welfare spending.

Since this time Prime Ministers have tried to reduce the Welfare State bill, which over recent years

has increased dramatically. In 2011, the current coalition Government took steps to make the most major changes to the Welfare State in over 60 years. This would have implications for many people and organisations across the UK, the fi rst major changes of which start in April 2013.

Iain Duncan Smith’s Welfare Bill has been introduced to simplify the system of subsidies covering everything from Income Support to Housing Benefi t, to sickness payments, creating a system that will encourage benefi t dependants to seek work, or see their benefi ts reduced.

1979

2011

2013

ARE YOU READY?

APRI

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OCTOBER 2013

WEL

FARE

REFORM CHANGES ARE HERE

M CH

See our Welfare Reform video on the website www.traffordhousingtrust.co.uk/your-trust/news/welfare-reform-changes-explained

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Housing Benefit – Implementation April 2013The current cost of housing benefit is £20 billion per year. The Government have stated that this is too high and a Parliamentary debate at the beginning of this year confirmed that increases in benefits will no longer be linked to inflation, but will be capped at 1%. It is estimated that 1.4 million households will receive less money. This means that although other costs such as electricity, gas, food, petrol and rent may increase above 1%, benefits payments will not.

Disability Benefits There is also a plan for a 20% cut to Disability Living Allowance (DLA), which currently pays £70 per week in care costs and £50 per week in mobility payments.

Pensioners If you are aged 61½ years or over, or are claiming pension credit then you will not be effected by the changes the Government propose to make to the Housing Benefit.

Under Occupancy – Implementation April 2013You will be aware from previous issues of Pulse that from 1st April Under Occupancy deductions, or ‘the bedroom tax’ as it has been called, came into force. This is where bedrooms that are not permanently used by members of the household will be considered a ‘spare’ room and subject to a deduction from benefit, if you are of working age.

One spare bedroom will result in a deduction of 14% while two or more will result in a deduction of 25%.

The bedroom size criteria stipulate the gender, ages and number of children who can share a bedroom, which may mean that although a bedroom is permanently used under the criteria, it is considered ‘spare’.

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EVICTION

I can’t pay, I haven’t got the

money

Ring THT for budgeting advice

I won’t pay as I don’t agree

with the reduction in my housing benefit

Account in arrears

Arrears escalating

Court case

Look at your alternatives

Look for a job

Take in a lodger

Move home

Cut back on household expenses

Get support from THT

Prioritise paying rent over holidays

and hobbies

1ST APRILSpare bedroom?You must pay the difference between your rent and the payment of Housing Benefit

Universal Credit – Implementation October 2013Universal Credit is where a single payment will replace a number of individual benefits.

Benefits will be combined into one payment and capped at £26,000 per family. This is often referred to as The Benefits Cap.

Under Universal Credit 2.7 million households will receive higher payments and 1.7 million households will receive lower payments.

In most cases the Universal Credit payment will be made directly to tenants. Only tenants living in Sheltered Schemes will be able to continue to have their Housing Benefit payments made directly to the Trust.

It is vitally important that tenants understand that this payment is to cover their rent and as such it is a priority payment. The Trust is encouraging tenants to organise Direct Debits to ensure that the money is paid to the Trust on time to avoid being in arrears and risking eviction.

If you are concerned about receiving this payment and managing your rent payments, please contact the Money Support Team.

0300 777 7777

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If you are struggling with debts, it is important that you seek advice sooner rather than later. You can contact Christina Higham, Trafford Housing Trust’s Debt Advisor on 0300 777 7777 or via email on christina.higham@traffordhousingtrust.co.uk

Priority DebtsI’ve heard the term ‘priority debt’ – what does this mean?Priority debts could be:

• Mortgage or rent arrears. If you don’t pay these, you could lose your home.

• Gas and electricity arrears. If you don’t pay these, you can have your supply disconnected.

• Council tax arrears. If you don’t pay these, the Council can enforce a liability order with the use of private bailiffs to take your goods.

• Court fines such as magistrates’ court fines for traffic offences. If you don’t pay these, the Council may enforce a liability order with the use of private bailiffs to take your goods. If, after this, you still have arrears unpaid, you can be sent to prison. Parking penalties issued by local authorities are also a priority debt and fees can escalate rapidly.

• Arrears of maintenance payable to an ex-partner or children. This includes Child Support you owe to the Child Support Agency. If you don’t pay these, a court can use bailiffs to take your goods. If, after this, you still have arrears unpaid, you can be sent to prison.

• Income tax or VAT arrears. You can be sent to prison for non-payment of income tax or VAT. Arrears are also enforced by bailiffs, and can often make people bankrupt to stop them from trading.

• TV license or TV license arrears. It’s a criminal offence to use a television without a license. You could be fined through the magistrates, and the fine could be enforced using bailiffs.

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DISCRETONARY HOUSING PAYMENTS (DHPs)You will recall from previous articles in Pulse that we have advised you about Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs). We thought however that due to the forthcoming changes to Housing Benefit – specifically the ‘under occupation rules’ which are also called ‘bedroom tax’ that this would be the ideal opportunity to remind you about them.

Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are an additional amount of money that can be paid to a tenant if the contractual rent is higher than the Housing Benefit award.

In order to be awarded a DHP you must already have some Housing Benefit – you cannot apply for one if you don’t have any entitlement at all. In addition, Trafford Council must be persuaded that you are having financial difficulties and need the extra assistance. To help them reach their decision the Council will look at factors such as:

1. Income

2. Savings

3. Who lives in the house with you

4. What outgoings you have

5. Can any outgoings (such as debts) be re-scheduled to give you more money?

A DHP is usually paid for a short period of time. You can however make multiple applications for these. You should bear in mind however that being awarded one DHP does not automatically mean that any future applications will be successful.

Due to all of the forthcoming benefit changes the Government has increased the amount of funding for DHPs. In the financial year 2013/2014 extra money has been allocated to help deal with the ‘bedroom tax’.

You can get an application form for a Discretionary Housing Payment from the Trafford Council website. If you prefer please let them know and they can post one out to you. Please call 0161 912 2220 or visit their website www.trafford.gov.uk

Whilst our money support staff are here primarily to collect your rent, we can also help to advise you with your finances. We can provide information about managing finances, understanding your welfare rights and entitlements, managing debts and employment information and support.

The next couple of pages will provide some handy hints and tips when either borrowing money, trying to cut back on spending or saving.

✓ Complete a meal planner and use a shopping list. There are lots of meal planners online on sites such as NHS or Netmums.

✓ Use comparison sites such as comparethemarket or moneysupermarket to search for the cheapest deals on your energy and insurance.

✓ If you receive certain benefits, you may be entitled to the Warm Home Discount which is a £120 a year deduction on your electricity bill.

✓ Save for events such as Christmas, MOTs, car tax, birthdays and new school uniforms so you don’t have to borrow when the time comes.

✓ If you need to purchase furniture or white goods, have a look on the Rainbow website www.rainbowfurniturecentre.weebly.com where you will find quality refurbished goods at a fraction of the original price.

✓ Other useful resources are available on the Money Advice Service website which can help you live within your means or help with your long or short term savings goals.

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What can I look for on the ‘net’ to help me with my finances?

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Borrow or save?It’s always better to save for a rainy day but sometimes we choose to borrow instead. We’ve pulled together some key considerations when borrowing money.

It stands to reason that if you do need to borrow money, you need to make sure you are getting the best deal. But what is a good deal? What do all the numbers and terms mean? Sometimes it can be a minefield to understand what you are agreeing to, so you need to be really cautious and read everything you are given and understand the details before actually agreeing to anything.

Payday loans and doorstep lenders are becoming used more and more but this comes at a price - payday loans and doorstep lenders often charge really high APR which means that the amount you have to pay back is very very high.

If you do need to borrow money, always check with mainstream lenders first (banks and building societies) to see if they can offer you credit as their rates are likely to be much cheaper. You could also try a Credit Union.

Always make sure that you can afford the repayments before you take out any credit.

Ask yourself, ‘do I need it?’ If the answer is no, you would be much better saving, rather than using credit as credit costs money!

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When borrowing money, taking out a loan, or using credit cards, always consider:

APR (Annual Percentage Rate)

Looking at what the APR lenders will charge you is a way to help you make the right choice. APR is a way of expressing charges that are added to a loan (the annual cost of the credit). The higher the APR, the higher the cost to you.

Spend time shopping around Research what’s on offer and get advice. You may think it will take too much time if you need a loan quickly but you’ll be paying the price for years to come if you don’t always look at the total amount you will have to repay when borrowing money. A shorter repayment period may be better than a slightly lower Annual Percentage Rate (APR) amount.

Understand secured and unsecured loans A secured loan means you can lose your home if

you don’t keep up the repayments.

Work out your budget Before borrowing make sure you can afford the repayments.

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More handy tips...• Never borrow money on the spur of the

moment. If you’re buying something really expensive, such as a car or furniture, think about payment options beforehand. The credit offered by the sales staff may be more expensive than other options.

• Be careful about borrowing more money to pay off existing debts. Additional borrowing can seem like a good idea and may well help in the short-term, but can too often lead to more serious longer-term problems.

• Understand payment protection insurance with a loan, make sure you really need it. Check that you’re not covered elsewhere first and check the terms of the policy carefully to see that it meets your needs. Many policies won’t cover you in certain circumstances. For example if you’re self-employed, over retirement age or have a medical condition.

• Understand interest free deals. They’re only interest free if you pay them off within a certain time period. If you don’t pay them off within this period, you will often pay a very high rate of interest.

• Beware of payment holidays on credit card and loan agreements. This is where you can stop making payments for a short time, but are usually charged extra interest once you start making them again.

• Pay at least 10% of your balance every month on your credit cards. If you only pay the minimum amount, you’ll be paying forever.

• Avoid going overdrawn on your bank account without agreement. You’ll be charged much less if you agree the overdraft beforehand.

• Don’t borrow from Loan Sharks. If you’re finding it difficult to get credit, see if there’s a Credit Union in your area instead or see if you can borrow from the Social Fund.

Join the GM Fair Energy Scheme. More than 35,000 people signed up to for the GM Fair Energy scheme when it was launched in January and it is estimated that across Greater Manchester a total of £3 million was saved. Some people reported slashing their energy bills by up to £900 per year. The details of how to join the scheme are given in the box below:

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Direct Debit - Paying by Direct Debit couldn’t be simpler. It is an easy and convenient way to

ensure that you have paid your rent on time and for the correct amount. You won’t have to worry about working out what you should pay as we will work that out for you and inform you of your payments. All you need to ensure is that the correct amount is there to be taken. Payments come out of your bank account on either 1st or 15th of each month. Please contact our Customer Hub on 0300 777 7777 if you want to set up a Direct Debit.

Standing Order - To pay your rent on a weekly or monthly basis from your bank account, you could set up a Standing Order. You are responsible for ensuring

the correct payments are made. Please contact our Customer Hub on 0300 777 7777 for a form.

Allpay - You can make payments to your rent account online via a secure payment facility via the Trafford Housing Trust website where you will be redirected to

www.allpayments.net/allpayments/. Payments made via this facility will normally be credited to your rent account within 3–4 days.

Allpay App - If you have an iPhone or an Android smartphone why not use the Allpay App. You could be making your payments at the touch of a button using

this free app. Just search for Allpay on the iTunes or Google Play (formerly the Android market), or visit www.allpay.net/app.

Post Office/Paypoint - You can pay your rent at any Post Office or PayPoint outlet via cash, credit or debit card. If you do not

have a payment card, you may use your 19 digit reference number which can be obtained from our Money Support Service on 0300 777 7777. You also have the option of paying via cheque at Post Offices - in these instances, cheques should be made payable to Post Office.

Phone - To pay your rent over the phone, you can do so through our secure phone line 0844 557 8321. You will

need to have your 19 digit reference number and a valid debit or credit card available. This facility is available 24 hours per day and can be easily accessed by you. It normally takes approximately 3 minutes to complete a transaction and a payment reference number is generated, to confirm your payment.

Paying your rent

You will shortly be receiving a letter to confirm what your new rent will be from 1st April 2013 for your property.

As you pay by Direct Debit, your payments for the 12 months from April 2013 will be calculated and you will receive a new schedule of payments shortly.

There are 53 weeks in this financial year and therefore you will be charged 49 weeks rent this year, you will still receive 4 non collection rent weeks which are 1st and 8th April 2013 and 23rd and 30th of December 2013.

You will receive your new payment schedule separately, please read this schedule carefully as there will be changes to the amounts for this year.

If you have any queries regarding this article please contact the Money Support Team via the Customer Hub on 0300 777 7777.

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DO YOU PAY YOUR RENT BY DIRECT DEBIT?

Cheque - To pay by cheque, it should be made payable to Trafford Housing Trust. You should write your

19 digit reference number on the back of your cheque, with your name and address. Send your cheque to: Trafford Housing Trust, Sale Point, 126-150 Washway Road, Sale M33 6AG. Please do not send cash or post dated cheques.

Paying your rent

Dear Tenant,

The Trust is aware that the Government is proposing many changes to

how benefi ts will be paid and the amounts that will be paid as this will

affect a large number of our tenants.

The Trust would like to hear from tenants who would like to be part

of a research project that the Trust is undertaking. The project aims to

contact tenants at agreed times throughout the changes to help the

Trust and other external organisations understand the full impact of the

Government changes.

This information may be used for radio and television interviews if the tenants

taking part in the research project are willing.

I feel that this is a really important role for the Trust and tenants to play, to

highlight the actual impacts of the Government changes and to explore

what help is available, and how the changes affect tenants’ day to day lives.

The information will also be shared in Pulse, this aims to give other tenants

who may be in a similar situation, information about how other tenants are

managing and the help that may be available to support them.

I would be really interested in hearing from any tenant who thinks that

they would want to take part in this project.

Please email lauretta.rothery@traffordhousingtrust.co.uk

or call 0300 777 7777.

Yours sincerely

LaurettaLauretta Rothery

Service Lead – Delivery

Government changes.

This information may be used for radio and television interviews if the tenants

taking part in the research project are willing.

I feel that this is a really important role for the Trust and tenants to play, to

highlight the actual impacts of the Government changes and to explore

what help is available, and how the changes affect tenants’ day to day lives.

The information will also be shared in Pulse, this aims to give other tenants

who may be in a similar situation, information about how other tenants are

managing and the help that may be available to support them.

I would be really interested in hearing from any tenant who thinks that

they would want to take part in this project.

Please email

or call

Yours sincerely

LaurettaLauretta Rothery