The ITV star urged fans to claim Child Benefit if you’re responsible for bringing up a child who is under 16 or under 20 if they stay in approved education or training.

Martin Lewis has urged his ITV viewers to claim a benefit even if they earn over £60,000. The ITV star urged fans to claim Child Benefit if you’re responsible for bringing up a child who is under 16 or under 20 if they stay in approved education or training.

BBC Sounds star Martin explained: “The next mistake that people make on this is some people don’t think there’s any point claiming Child Benefit because their partner’s a higher earner and the Higher Income Child Benefit Charge would simply take it away.

“Mistake. Right, you need to claim it to trigger getting National Insurance credits. You can actually claim at the zero rate, so you actually claim it to get nothing. But you should still claim it.

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“Now, you can only backdate this one three months so it’s not really a retrospective gain but if you’re in that position right now, go and claim it at the zero rate to make sure you’re getting the National Insurance credits if you’re not working.”

Child Benefit is paid to someone who is responsible for looking after someone under the age of 16, or sometimes under the age of 20 if they’re in approved education or training. It is currently worth £25.60 a week for your first child, then £16.95 a week for any additional child you may have.

Child Benefit is paid on a Monday or Tuesday, but there is a bank holiday on Monday, April 21 to mark Easter Monday. If you’re due a Child Benefit payment on April 21, you’ll receive your money on Thursday, April 17. This is because Friday, April 18, is also a bank holiday, as this is Good Friday. Easter Sunday will fall on April 20.

In order to claim Child Benefit, you need to live in the UK and the child normally needs to live with you, or you pay at least the same amount as Child Benefit towards looking after them. There is no limit to the number of children you can claim Child Benefit for, but only one person can claim Child Benefit for each child. You can claim Child Benefit if you fostered a child, as long as the local council is not paying anything towards their accommodation or maintenance.

If your child is over the age of 16, but is still under 20, then you can only get Child Benefit if they’re in approved education or training, such as A-Levels or NVQs. Your child must be staying in approved education or training for 12 hours or more each week, and courses won’t count if they’re paid for by an employer.

If you’re a high earner, you may have to pay back some of your Child Benefit. You get the full amount of Child Benefit if you, or your partner, earn less than £60,000 per year. But if one of you earns over £60,000, you have to pay some of the benefit back at a rate of 1% for every £200 you earn over £60,000.