How Much Do Foster Parents Get Paid?
• What does our financial package look like for foster parents?
• What allowances do we offer?
• Can you still claim benefits or your pension as a foster carer?
At Changing Futures Fostering, our aim is to provide unmatched support, guidance and advice to our foster carers. This includes the financial support that you can expect to receive for looking after a child or young person. This money will go towards creating a safe, loving and fun environment for the child in your care. It will pay for food, clothes and other necessities whilst also providing you with an income to support the running of the home. To help you understand a bit about how much a foster carer is paid, we thought we’d answer a few of our most asked questions. For a more detailed breakdown of our fees and allowances, as well as what you might be paid after tax and tax relief, please feel free to visit our Fostering Fees and Allowances page.
What Does Our Financial Package Look Like?
Typically, our financial package is worth:
- £445.748 per child per week placed aged under 11
- £491.50 per child per week placed aged 11 or over
This package is made up of the foster parent fee, the foster parent allowance and additional holiday payments.
What Allowances Do We Offer For Foster Carers?
We also offer other allowances, including 18 days of short break care, to give you the option of a period of respite and birthday and school summer holiday payments, which will amount to £560 to £620 a year. Usually, you won’t pay tax on this income, so you will need to register as self-employed! You can also claim qualifying care relief, which includes certain tax exemptions, as well as National Insurance Credits, which will count towards your state pension.
Can You Claim Benefits As A Foster Carer?
The ability to claim benefits as a foster carer largely depends on your particular circumstances. You may be able to claim some benefits, such as disability benefits, but fostering may affect some benefits you are already on. This question is best answered through a discussion with your social worker or with one of our expert team!
Regarding universal credit, fostering won’t impact your eligibility for universal credit. Fostering payments aren’t considered income, so it won’t affect your housing benefits either.
Can You Still Claim A Pension As A Foster Parent?
Becoming a foster parent doesn’t affect your ability to claim state or private pensions, with a large number of foster carers being retired or of pensionable age. If you are younger, you will earn Class 2 or 4 national insurance credits, which will count towards your state pension. One of our team can discuss with you the required forms and paperwork that allows you to claim these credits!
At Changing Futures Fostering, we’re all about providing our foster parents with the support they need to really make a difference in a vulnerable child’s life. If you need any more information on the financial support we offer or about fostering in general, please click here to contact us. Or, please feel free to email us at admin@changingfuturesne.co.uk or give us a call on 01429 363 127 to speak to our brilliant fostering team!