Child benefit’s added bonus

If you’re entitled to receive it, a child benefit claim form should be completed for any new children, irrespective of your income. That’s because entitlement to child benefit can help you qualify for national insurance credits, which can protect entitlement to state pension and ensures that the child is automatically issued with a national insurance number prior to their 16th birthday.

People living in rural areas have to travel further to withdraw and deposit cash free of charge, says the Financial Conduct Authority. Nearly every urban resident has access to a bank, building society, post office or ATM within

2km of home – this drops to three-quarters of the rural population, it found. In rural areas, just 45% of residents have a bank branch within 5km of their home.