Guardian's Allowance

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1. Overview

You could get Guardian鈥檚 Allowance if you鈥檙e bringing up a child whose parents have died. You may also be eligible if there鈥檚 one surviving parent.

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

The Guardian鈥檚 Allowance rate is 拢21.75 a week. You get it on top of Child Benefit and it鈥檚 tax-free.

You must tell the Guardian鈥檚 Allowance Unit about certain changes to your circumstances.

2. What you'll get

The Guardian Allowance rate is:

  • 拢21.75 a week per child
  • tax-free
  • paid on top of your Child Benefit payments

How the money is paid

Usually, the money is paid into a bank account every 4 weeks. It can be paid weekly if you鈥檙e a single parent or getting certain other benefits, such as Income Support.

You can get the money paid into any account, apart from a Nationwide Building Society account in someone else鈥檚 name.

Effect on other benefits

Guardian鈥檚 Allowance does not count as income if you鈥檙e claiming tax credits, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker鈥檚 Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance.

Guardian鈥檚 Allowance is not affected by the High Income Child Benefit charge. If you decide not to be paid Child Benefit your Guardian鈥檚 Allowance can continue.

Guardian鈥檚 Allowance does not count towards the benefit cap.

Use a benefits calculator to work out what benefits you can get.

3. Eligibility

To get Guardian鈥檚 Allowance all of the following must apply:

  • you鈥檙e bringing up someone else鈥檚 child
  • the child鈥檚 parents are dead (see conditions for one surviving parent below)
  • you qualify for Child Benefit

One of the parents must also have been either:

  • born in the UK or a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland
  • living in the UK since the age of 16 for at least 52 weeks in any 2-year period

If you adopt a child you may still get Guardian鈥檚 Allowance as long as you were getting it before you adopted the child.

If there is one surviving parent

You could get Guardian鈥檚 Allowance if one of the following is true:

  • you do not know where the surviving parent is and you鈥檝e made a reasonable effort to contact them
  • the parents were divorced or their civil partnership had ended (鈥榙issolved鈥�), the surviving parent does not have custody and is not maintaining the child and there is not a court order in place saying they should
  • the parents were not married, the mother has died and the father is unknown
  • the surviving parent will be in prison for at least 2 years from the date of death of the other parent
  • the surviving parent is in a hospital by court order

Use a benefits calculator to check the benefits you鈥檙e entitled to.

4. How to claim

To avoid losing money, claim Guardian鈥檚 Allowance as soon as the child comes to live with you.

  1. Fill in the claim form (BG1).

  2. Send it to the Guardian鈥檚 Allowance Unit with the child鈥檚 full birth certificate and the parents鈥� death certificates (or certificate if one parent has died) - send originals.

You should also claim Child Benefit as soon as possible.

Guardian鈥檚 Allowance can be backdated for up to 3 months.

You can also call the Guardian鈥檚 Allowance Unit and ask for a claim pack.

If you disagree with a decision

You can challenge a decision about your claim. This is called asking for mandatory reconsideration.

5. Changes to your circumstances

If your circumstances change, your entitlement to Guardian鈥檚 Allowance could be affected or your payments could stop.

You must report the following changes straight away:

  • the child goes to live with someone else
  • you go abroad, either temporarily (for more than 8 weeks) or permanently (for more than 1 year)
  • the child leaves full-time education or approved training
  • your bank or contact details change
  • you find out where the surviving parent is
  • the surviving parent comes out of hospital or prison (or has their sentence shortened)
  • the surviving parent makes a payment towards their child鈥檚 upkeep

You can report these changes by phone or post.