Getting to grips with Quick Benefits Calculator

The calculations start simple, with each calculation introducing one or two different benefit rules or functions of the calculator.

The first day is focused on claimant’s under the Universal Credit system it includes:

• The amount of the standard allowance, couples, and age-rules
• The children screen, the different rates of the child responsibility element and the two-child limit
• Identifying the appropriate LHA rate
• Identifying when the bedroom tax applies
• Entering earnings and childcare costs the work screen
• Treatment of earned income and the income taper, including the amount of the work allowance (and who gets one)
• Savings/capital, the calculation of tariff income, and capital disregards
• An introduction to the CTR screen, setting the local authority, finding information about your client’s CT band and the rates in your local area
• How to enter the information including applying the council tax discounts

There is a homework exercise which involves comparing QBC to other commonly use benefit calculators. This exercise also demonstrates QBC’s essential functionality with regards to weekly, fortnightly, and four-weekly paid claimants. We also see the benefit cap in action.

The second day builds on the learning from day one, it covers:

• Mixed age couples
• ESA and LCW/LCWRA
• Calculating pension age benefits
• Overlapping benefit rules and underlying entitlement to carers allowance
• Using the print preview function to check the information you’ve entered
• Entering non-dependents, exemptions from non-dependent deductions and how these differ between UC & legacy benefits
• Comparing UC calculations and legacy benefit calculations

Note. previous versions of this course have covered tax credit calculations in detail. However, the need for these calculations is increasingly rare. If you are looking for a course covering tax credits in more detail I can highly recommend CPAG’s excellent “QBC – making the most of your calculator” course.