If your income is low and you need help with some important expenses, you can get an interest-free budgeting loan from Social Fund. Budgeting loans are repayable and do not affect other benefits. This loan program is very much famous in England. Most low-income persons get benefit from this scheme. This scheme is known as Social Fund.
Eligibility for Budgeting Loan
You can get a budgeting loan if you or your partner have been claiming or receiving payments for one of the following benefits for at least 26 weeks:
- For Income Support
- Income-Based Job Seeker’s Allowances
- Income Related Employment & Support Allowances
- State Pension Credit
Budgeting Loan Use For:
- Furniture or Household Goods (for example Washing Machines, Refrigerators, Air Conditioners, Kitchen Appliances, etc );
- Clothes, Shoes, and other Personal Use Items
- Advance Rent for a New Home
- Travel Expenses within the UK
- Improve and maintain your home
- Maternity Expenses
- Funeral Expenses
- Expenses for Moving Your House
- Costs for Finding a New Job
- Repayment of Hire or Purchase a Loans
How The Loans Approve
You can apply for a loan between £100 and £1,500. The final budgeting loan amount you get will depend on:
- The number of people lives with you in your House
- How it’s paid
- The loan is paid into a bank, building society, or other account provider’s account.
- Any already existing money you owe to the Social Fund
- Your ability to repay the loan (That is Repayable within 104 weeks)
- You’ll get your money within 7 days of accepting the loan offer online or when you receive the budgeting loan acceptance letter by post also.
- You’ll get your money within 21 days of your loan offer acceptance by you being received by post. When you receive the acceptance letter and send it back to the office after signing the acceptance.
How to Repay The Loan?
Your repayments, which are worked out when your loan is agreed upon, are usually taken out of your benefit automatically. If you lose your claim for benefits before paying off your debt, you must have a repayment plan.
How to apply
You can claim by printing and filling in a claim form or by asking your local Jobs and Benefits office for a hard copy. When you fill out the form you either:
- Post it to the office whose details are shown on the form, or
- Hand it to your nearest Social Security/Jobs and Benefits office.
