Raising children on your own brings particular financial pressures, but there is a range of benefits and support that can help single parents manage. There is no single benefit just for lone parents, but several work together to support your family. This guide explains the main benefits and help available for single parents, and how to make sure you are getting everything you are entitled to.

Universal Credit for single parents

The main benefit for most single parents on a low income is Universal Credit, which can include amounts for you, for each of your children, for childcare, and for help with your rent. Because the two-child limit has been removed, you can now get a child element for every child you are responsible for. Universal Credit is means-tested, so it depends on your income and savings, but it is the backbone of support for many lone parent families.

Child Benefit and other family help

As a single parent, you should also make sure you are claiming Child Benefit for each of your children, which is mostly not means-tested, and you can ask to be paid weekly. Depending on your situation, you may also be able to get help such as free school meals, Healthy Start, free childcare hours, and the Sure Start Maternity Grant for a new baby. Each of these is worth claiming in its own right, and together they add up.

Help with childcare costs

Childcare is a major issue for single parents who work or want to work. As well as the free childcare hours available in England, Universal Credit can refund a large part of your childcare costs, and there is help to pay childcare upfront when you start work. Getting childcare support right can be the difference between work paying and not paying, so it is worth understanding all the schemes and how they fit together for your family.

Work and your Universal Credit

If you work, Universal Credit is designed so that you keep more of your earnings than under older benefits, through a work allowance and a taper rather than a sudden cut-off. As a single parent with children, you usually qualify for a work allowance, meaning you can earn a certain amount before your Universal Credit reduces. This makes combining work and benefits more worthwhile, although the demands of working while parenting alone are real.

What is expected of you

As a single parent on Universal Credit, what is expected of you in terms of looking for or preparing for work depends mainly on the age of your youngest child. Parents of very young children have few or no work-related requirements, with expectations increasing as children get older. If you are a lone parent, make sure your work coach understands your childcare responsibilities, as your commitments should be reasonable and take account of your situation.

Child maintenance

If your child's other parent does not live with you, they are usually expected to contribute to the cost of raising your child through child maintenance. Importantly, child maintenance does not count as income for your benefits, so receiving it does not reduce your Universal Credit. This means maintenance is genuinely extra money for your family on top of your benefits, which is an important point many single parents do not realise.

Help in a crisis

If you hit a financial crisis as a single parent, there is emergency help available. You may be able to get a Budgeting Advance from Universal Credit for a one-off cost, apply to your local welfare assistance scheme or the Household Support Fund through your council, or get help from charities. Do not struggle alone if money runs out, as there is short-term help designed for exactly these situations, and an adviser can point you to it.

If your relationship has recently ended

If you have recently separated and are adjusting to being a single parent, it is worth getting a fresh benefits check as soon as you can, because your entitlements often change significantly when you become responsible for your children on your own. You may newly qualify for Universal Credit, or for more of it, and for help you did not get as a couple. Sorting this out early helps you manage the financial side of a difficult time.

Housing as a single parent

Universal Credit can include help with your rent through the housing element, and as a single parent you are entitled to a bedroom for yourself and rooms for your children according to their ages and genders. If you are struggling with housing costs, or facing a shortfall between your rent and your support, it is worth getting advice about Discretionary Housing Payments and your options, so you can keep a stable home for your children.

Building towards work

Many single parents want to work, but worry about childcare and losing benefits. Universal Credit is designed to make work pay through the work allowance and taper, and the free childcare hours and childcare costs support can make working possible. If you are thinking about starting or increasing work, a benefits check can show how you would be better off, taking childcare into account, so you can plan a move into work with confidence.

Do not miss what you are owed

Single parents are among the most likely to miss out on help they are entitled to, simply because there is so much to manage alone. Take the time, with an adviser if you can, to check you are claiming Universal Credit correctly, getting Child Benefit, free school meals, childcare help and any other support, and arranging child maintenance. Pulling all of this together can make a real difference to your family's finances.

Childcare while you study

Some single parents are studying rather than working, and there is specific help with childcare costs for student parents, separate from the benefits system, such as grants through your college or university. If you are a lone parent in education, ask your institution's student support team what help is available, as you may be able to get assistance with childcare and other costs that makes studying possible while raising your children alone.

In short

There is no single lone parent benefit, but Universal Credit, Child Benefit, childcare help, free school meals and Healthy Start work together to support single parents. Child maintenance does not reduce your benefits, so it is extra. Make sure your work commitments reflect your childcare responsibilities, and get a benefits check so you claim everything you are entitled to.

Support for your own wellbeing

Parenting alone is rewarding but can be exhausting and isolating, and your own wellbeing matters as much as the practical and financial side. Local single parent groups, charities such as Gingerbread, and your wider network can offer support, advice and a sense that you are not on your own. Looking after yourself, and accepting help when it is offered, makes you better able to look after your children, so it is not a luxury but a necessity for the whole family.

Where to get help

Gingerbread, Citizens Advice and your council can help single parents claim. See our guides to help with childcare costs and child maintenance and benefits.