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PLANNING FOR LATER LIFE
Are you missing out on cashing in?
Sun’s out and school holidays are upon us – and for many grandparents now’s the time they step up to take care of their grandchildren, but could they be losing out?, plus local news
both parents work outside of the home, and as families struggle to cope with the rising costs of childcare, grandparents looking after their grandchildren is the only way many families cope. And according to research,
T
grandparents put in enough work during the summer holidays to (hypothetically) earn more than £20,000. Figures reveal that during the long six-week annual school summer holidays, the average grandparent in the UK will look after their grandchildren in some capacity for more than 600 hours.
oday’s families are busier than ever before. Most children are raised in households where
• 85% of grandparents said they look after their grandchildren out of love. • 60% said they did it to make their own children’s lives easier. • 35% said they wanted to help cut childcare cost.
• 21% admitted to feeling guilty if they weren’t able to help out.
As well as being generous with their time, a third of grandparents also admit to being extremely generous with their money too – on average, they spend slightly more than £150 on their grandchildren during the holidays, with 2% confessing to spending more than £400 on activities and gifts.
Financial gains
However, millions of grandparents (under state pension age) could be missing out on up to £250 a year in tax credits for looking after their grandchildren aged under 12. These are known as “specifi ed adult childcare credits” and they count as a national insurance credit for those who don’t otherwise work. The reason this is important is because you need at least 10 years’ worth of credits to qualify for the state pension, and at least 35 years’ to get the full £8,767.20 a year.
• For more information, visit
gov.uk/.../ national-insurance.../specifi ed-adult-childcare- credits-fact-sheet or
gov.uk/government/news/ looking-after-the-grandchildren-make-sure-it- counts-towards-your-state-pension
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Local free yoga classes, plus appeal for volunteers
Paddock Wood residents are being invited to boost their strength and fl exibility at a free yoga class that has been set up for the over 55s in the village. The Royal Voluntary Service Practice
with Care Yoga group is being managed and organised by a local volunteer and set up as a part of a programme called Bring People Together, run by national volunteering charity, Royal Voluntary Service together with Prudential. The programme seeks to encourage more people to volunteer to help run, or start their own activities in communities across Kent. The group meets fortnightly on Saturday
mornings (1st and 3rd Saturday of the month) from 10am-10.45am at the Paddock Wood Day Centre TN12 6DP, opposite Dowding House on Commercial Road. It is a gentle style yoga class and no previous experience is needed. The yoga group is the idea of 42-year-old volunteer Penny Wang, who lives locally but works full-time in London during the week and is generously sharing her time to run the class. As well as recruiting new members to join the group, Penny is also hoping to attract more volunteers to help her run the sessions, so she can open the class to more
people. Penny is able to offer the sessions on a complimentary basis thanks to support from Paddock Wood Town Council who is gifting the space at the Day Centre. • Contact Penny Wang on pwcyoga@
royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk
Image licensed by Ingram Image
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