From 2015, mothers and carers who choose to stay at home instead of going out to work will receive a full state pension when they retire, Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, has announced.

As part of reforms of the UK's retirement system, mothers and carers who retire from 2015 will be treated as if they had worked throughout their lives. This will mean that they qualify for a flat rate pension payment worth at least £140 a week - leaving them £2,000 better off a year on average.

Under the current system, people who do not work for a full 30 years receive a reduced pension entitlement for each year out of employment.

Source: Guardian news item (link opens in a new window)

Shaping the Future of Benevolence Conference report

Elizabeth Finn Care jointly hosted a conference with other leaders in the sector (Association of Charitable Organisations, Directory of Social Change and nfpSynergy) entitled Shaping the Future of Benevolence in October 2011. The event was chaired by Dame Diana Brittan, Chairman of Independent Age.

A report on the conference is now available on the Turn2us website.

Read the Shaping the Future of Benevolence Conference report (PDF file size 1,114kb)

New research launched by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) reveals the expected impact of changes in the structure of employment, skills and pay on income inequality and poverty by 2020.

The report, The impact of employment changes on poverty in 2020, published this week:

• Forecasts a rise in income inequality and poverty levels
• Cites expected cuts in benefits and tax credits as a major cause of these rises
• Suggests the impact on the overall level of relative poverty and inequality forecast for 2020/21 made by changes imposed on employment and pay structures will be small.

Conducted at a time when the role of skills development in a reformed welfare-to-work policy environment is high on the policy agenda, and when job prospects for less qualified workers look likely to remain poor, this research is a timely contribution to a growing debate.

Find out more about this Joseph Rowntree Foundation report (link opens in a new window)

The Department for Work and Pensions is starting to send out letters this week to households that may be affected by the benefit cap which comes into effect in April 2013. This will limit the amount of benefit couples and lone parent households can receive to around £500 a week or £26,000 a year.

For more information, read our benefit cap information sheet

Source: Department for Work and Pensions press release (link opens in a new window)

New guidance for banks covering best practice when providing services to blind and partially customers has been published.

The Banking Experience has been produced by the banks and the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).  It helps bank staff understand the difficulties people with sight loss face by giving clear examples from the perspective of both banks and consumers. It offers advice on how the banking industry can make the full range of retail services more accessible and achieve a greater sense of financial inclusion. New technologies in banking that are especially useful for blind and partially sighted individuals are also discussed.

Find out more about The Banking Experience (link opens in a new window)

Phase 2 of the Renewable Heat Premium Payment initiative starts today.

This Government scheme, which runs from 1 May 2012 to 31 March 2013, is designed to help you afford renewable technologies for your home, such as:

• Solar thermal panels
• Heat pumps (air to water source, ground source or water source but excluding exhaust air heat pumps)
• Biomass boilers.

The amount received depends on which technology you are applying for.

Who can apply?

As part of Benefits Awareness Month, we invited questions on benefits in general for this month's Ask an Expert session.

Our experts included Advice Derbyshire and Ilana Jacoby from Brent Citizens Advice. Their answers are published today.

Topics covered include:

• Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Eligibility for a Sure Start Maternity Grant for second child
• Help with childcare costs
• Disability Living Allowance tribunals
• Income Support and the youngest child turning five
• Working Tax Credit and disability element
• Pension Credit and part-time work
• Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) 
• Effect on benefits when a non dependant moves in

Browse our Ask an Expert Benefits Awareness session

Turn2us has been awarded a major new three-year contract by Money Advice Service - the UK's free, independence and impartial source of money advice.

Money Advice Service currently receives an average of 7,000 calls per month. From 1 July 2012, Turn2us will handle these calls using its contact centre in South Wales. A new webchat service will also be developed.

Find out more about this contract

From 1 May, the following changes will be made to the rules about claiming Contributory Employment and Support Allowance:

People in the Work Related Activity Group of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) will have their claims limited to one year. They will have their family income and savings assessed to see if they qualify for the means-tested version of the benefit (income-related Employment and Support Allowance). Any time already spent in receipt of contributory ESA whilst in the Work Related Activity Group will count towards the one year time limit so some claims will end on 30 April.

Change: Contributory ESA in youth to be abolished. Existing claimants will have their entitlement limited to one year from the time their entitlement began, disregarding time in the Support Group so some claims will end immediately once this change comes in.

If you are claiming Employment and Support Allowance and are worried about how these changes might affect you, you should discuss your situation with a benefits adviser. You can use our Find an Adviser tool to find a local one.

Read our information sheet on Employment and Support Allowance

The Trussell Trust, which provides a foodbank network to provide emergency food to people in crisis, has seen a huge increase in demand for its services.

The charity says that the numbers of people that it has given food parcels to has doubled in the past 12 months - from 61,468 in the 2010-2011 financial year to 128,697 in 2011-2012. It is opening two new UK foodbanks every week to meet the growing demand. These figures are likely to increase further.

Reasons why people are referred

For many foodbank clients, the rising cost of food and fuel combined with static incomes, high unemployment and changes to benefits have forced them into a crisis where they cannot afford to eat. This includes many families in work.

The reasons that people were referred to foodbanks include:

• Benefit delay
• Low income
• Delayed wages,
• Domestic violence,
• Sickness
• Unemployment
• Debt
• Benefit changes
• Refused Crisis Loans
• Homelessness
• Absence of Free School Meals during school holidays.

How foodbanks work

Foodbanks are run by groups of churches in partnership with local communities supported by volunteers. All food given out is donated by the public. Everyone who received emergency food were referred by care professionals such as doctors, social workers and Citizens Advice. Clients can receive up to nine vouchers per year, although longer term support is available in exceptional circumstances. Foodbanks signpost clients to other charities and agencies that may be able to help them.

Turn2us Benefits Calculator and Grants Search database

If you are struggling to make ends meet, you could use the Turn2us Benefits Calculator to check your entitlement to benefits and the Turn2us Grants Search database to see if you are eligible for help from a charitable fund, depending on your personal circumstances, background and needs.

Read the Trussell Trust press release (link opens in a new window PDF file size 273kb)

Source: Guardian news article (link opens in a new window)