Benefits and payments
Our foster carers receive a fortnightly payment made up of:
- a fostering fee (Skill level 1-4)
- age-related allowance for each child in their care
Fostering fees and skill levels
The fostering fee reflects the carers experience, availability and amount of training they have completed.
All new carers complete their mandatory training during the approval process and start their fostering career at a skill level 2. Payments can increase as carers progress or care for young people with more complex needs.
If you foster with us you will receive an allowance to support your day to day costs of caring for a child. This can include food, clothing, and activities. The amount varies depending on the child’s age and individual needs.
An example of an allowance would be:
Chris has completed all mandatory training and receives a skill level 2 fee of £100. He is caring for a 15 year old child. The fostering allowance for a child in the age group from 11 to 15 years old is £212.69.
As a result, his fostering fee and allowance amounts to £312.69 per week
- birthdays and religious festivals
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holiday contributions
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excess mileage and travel expenses
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clothing allowances for young people
As a foster carer, you are classed as self-employed for tax and national insurance purposes. This means you may be entitled to tax relief and exemptions designed specifically for foster carers.
As a foster carer, you would likely retain more of your fostering income compared to other jobs with a similar salary.
To find out more, visit GOV.UK
Do foster carers get a state pension?
As a foster carer, you are eligible for National Insurance (NI) credits, which counts towards the basic and additional state pension. You can apply for an NI credit for each week that you are approved as a foster carer. You only need to do this once a year retrospectively.
To apply, you will need to fill in a CF411A form and submit a letter from the National Fostering Group that confirms you were approved to be a foster carer for the tax year.
