Female workers disproportionately affected with 138,000 of 224,000 workers paid below the Real Living Wage. £47 million boost for the NI economy if a quarter of low paid workers were paid Real Living Wage.
In 2023/24, Advice NI and the independent advice network, a 66-member organisation, helped over 270,000 individuals access more than £107million in additional income, providing a crucial lifeline for those facing poverty and complex legal challenges.
HMRC urges customers to file their Self Assessment tax returns ahead of the 31 January 2025 deadline to avoid a £100 late filing penalty. More than 7.4 million Self Assessment customers have already filed their tax return for the 2023 to 2024 tax year.
Advice NI is urging older people to check their eligibility for Pension Credit and ensure they protect entitlement to their Winter Fuel Payment by claiming by 21st December, which is the last date for making a successful backdated claim for Pension Credit in order to receive a Winter Fuel Payment.
1 in 5 employees in NI are paid below the Real Living Wage, the highest across the UK.
Advice NI is concerned that the first phase of 'Move to UC' affecting tax credits-only cases may see a significantly higher ‘drop-out’ rate than expected, and is worried about how these households will cope without income from either Tax Credits or Universal Credit.
Over half of NI households rely on credit cards and overdrafts to cover childcare during school holiday expenses. The budget allocation for childcare is only 6 per cent of the £400m required.
Leading debt charity Advice NI has partnered with Relate NI to warn against romance scams.
With the Department for Communities currently issuing thousands of Migration Notice letters each month to people on Tax Credits as part of its ‘Move to UC’ programme, we want to make sure that those affected get the right advice about the timing of their claim in order to maximise their entitlement to the 6.7% benefit uprating from April.
