How We Calculate Your Results
Every figure our free benefits check shows you traces back to a real, published source. Here’s exactly how it works — including how our 20% + VAT success fee is calculated, and what you keep.
What Silverwings Benefits Does
Silverwings Benefits helps people in the UK find out what they may be entitled to and, if they want it, get help applying. Our free benefits check covers a wide range of support — Attendance Allowance, Pension Credit, Carer’s Allowance, Universal Credit, Council Tax discounts and more — at no cost, whether or not you ever use us for anything else. For Attendance Allowance, Pension Credit, Council Tax Reduction, Housing Benefit and PIP, we also offer a paid-for application service (no win, no fee) for anyone who’d rather have someone else handle the form-filling and follow-up. Where we charge a fee, it is 20% of the first year’s award or saving, plus VAT (24% inclusive) — payable only if the application succeeds. Everything below explains the methodology behind the free check itself — where the numbers come from and how results are worked out.
1. We only use published, current DWP/HMRC/gov.uk rates
Every rate figure (Attendance Allowance, Pension Credit, Carer’s Allowance, Child Benefit, Universal Credit elements, DLA for children and more) comes directly from the current published rate tables — the same ones DWP and HMRC publish each April. When rates change at the start of a new tax year, we update the calculator’s figures before publishing anything based on them. Rates shown always state which tax year they’re current for.
2. An estimate is always a range, never a guess dressed up as a number
Where a benefit has a fixed weekly or annual rate (like Attendance Allowance or Carer’s Allowance), we show the real floor-to-ceiling range — the lowest rate alone through to the highest combination possible — rather than picking a single figure that could mislead you either way. Where a benefit is means-tested and genuinely different for every household (Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction), we deliberately do not show a numeric estimate at all — we tell you it’s worth checking, and point you to a real calculation with a real adviser or the correct official tool, rather than inventing a plausible-sounding number we can’t stand behind.
3. Your age and nation change which benefit you’re even asked about
The calculator asks for your date of birth and postcode right at the start specifically so it can route you correctly — for example, showing Pension Age Disability Payment instead of Attendance Allowance if you live in Scotland (Social Security Scotland replaced AA with PADP), or routing under-67s into the Universal Credit path instead of the Pension Credit/Attendance Allowance path. Getting this branching right before any question about money is asked is, in our view, more important than a generic one-size-fits-all form.
4. A conservative ‘maybe’ instead of a false ‘yes’ or ‘no’
For benefits where the real decision depends on evidence and assessment that a two-minute online form simply cannot establish (Attendance Allowance/PADP, PIP, Carer’s Allowance, DLA for children), a “yes” to our questions produces a cautious “worth checking” result, never a confident guarantee. We would rather under-promise and let a real adviser (ours or anyone else’s) confirm the details than tell someone they definitely qualify for something that later turns out not to be the case.
5. We show you more than we charge you for
Our free calculator checks a wide range of entitlements — Universal Credit, Child Benefit, Carer’s Allowance, DLA for children, Warm Home Discount, a free TV Licence, single-person Council Tax discount, and broadband/water social tariffs — none of which we charge a penny for, whether or not you ever use Silverwings for anything else. Where we do charge a fee (and only if successful) for helping with Attendance Allowance, Pension Credit, Council Tax Reduction, Housing Benefit or PIP applications, the fee is 20% + VAT of the first year’s award or saving (24% inclusive), taken once, with no ongoing or monthly deductions. Housing Benefit and PIP paid services are being built out; until they launch, checking them costs nothing either way.
What is included in the Silverwings fee
One-off fee only
The Silverwings fee is a single, one-off payment. It is not recurring, not ongoing, and never deducted monthly from your benefit. It is only payable if and when your claim is successful, and only from the first year's award or saving.
Free 6-month benefit review
Every client receives a completely free benefit review every 6 months. Personal circumstances can change, and we check whether you now qualify for further support such as Pension Credit, Council Tax Reduction, Housing Benefit or an Attendance Allowance rate change.
Spread your fee over 6 months at 0% interest
Silverwings Easy6 uses the credit card you already have. No new account, no credit check, no interest from us.
One-off fee only — not a monthly deduction from your benefit.
6. Nothing here is an award decision
However confident a result looks, it is an indication based on the information you gave us — not a decision by DWP, HMRC, Social Security Scotland or your local council. Real entitlement, especially for anything involving a health condition or care need, depends on a fuller assessment than any calculator can perform. We say this plainly on every results screen, not just here.
See our full Transparency Centre for our published success rates, fees and company details, or start the free benefits guide itself.
5-year example
One Award Often Unlocks Several
This example shows how a single Attendance Allowance claim can cascade into Pension Credit, Council Tax Reduction and Housing Benefit — and what the Silverwings fee looks like across the whole journey.
| Benefit | Annual award / saving | 5-year total | One-off Silverwings fee (20% + VAT) | Fee as % of 5-year value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance Allowance (higher rate) | £5,644.60 | £28,223.00 | £1,354.70 | 4.8% |
| Pension Credit (highest award) | £12,376.00 | £61,880.00 | £2,970.24 | 4.8% |
| Council Tax Reduction | £2,000.00 | £10,000.00 | £480.00 | 4.8% |
| Housing Benefit | £15,600.00 | £78,000.00 | £3,744.00 | 4.8% |
| Combined journey total | — | £178,103.00 | £8,548.94 | 4.8% |
Total 5-year value found
£178,103.00
Total one-off Silverwings fees
£8,548.94
You receive after fees
£169,554.06
20% + VAT = 24% inclusive of VAT. The fee is calculated on the first year's award or saving only, and is payable only once per successful benefit. Expressed against the full 5-year value in this example, the combined one-off fee represents about 4.8% — meaning you keep roughly 95.2% of the support found.
Figures are illustrative examples using 2026/27 rates; your own award and savings will be different and only the DWP, HMRC or your council can decide the final amount.
Why the Fee Represents Real Value
We invest heavily in people, process and technology so that more claims succeed first time — and so you do not miss support you are entitled to.
Same-day submissions
Applications are submitted the day they are completed, so your claim reaches the DWP or council without delay.
Technology ensures nothing is missed
AI-assisted call capture records every detail from your consultation, so nothing gets lost or forgotten before submission.
Two-stage accuracy & quality control
Every application passes through two independent accuracy and QC checks before it is sent to the DWP or council.
You said it, we submit it
We never add information you did not provide yourself. Your application reflects exactly what you told us.
Automatic benefit detection
Our systems detect further entitlements such as Pension Credit and Council Tax Reduction automatically once an award lands.
One-off fee
No ongoing charges. The fee is only taken if and when the benefit is awarded, and only from the first year's award or saving.
Comparing Silverwings to Lower-Fee Competitors
We know some competitors advertise lower headline fees. That is a fair consideration, and we encourage you to compare services carefully.
What Silverwings delivers
- Same-day submission to the DWP or council
- AI-assisted call capture so no detail is lost
- Two independent accuracy and QC checks before submission
- Automatic detection of linked benefits (Pension Credit, Council Tax Reduction, Housing Benefit)
- Full support, including free Mandatory Reconsideration if needed
- Free 6-month benefit review to catch changing circumstances
The real question to ask
A lower headline fee is only a saving if it delivers the same outcome. If a cheaper service misses a linked benefit, submits a weaker application, or leaves you to chase the DWP yourself, the net result can be far less money in your pocket.
In our 5-year example, Silverwings finds a combined £172,942 of support. Even after our one-off fees of £8,301, you keep £164,641 — support you may not have claimed alone, delivered with same-day submission, AI-assisted capture and two-stage quality checks.
The headline 20% + VAT rate applies to the first year’s award or saving only. Over five years, that one-off fee works out at roughly 4.8% of the total value found.
Figures are illustrative examples. We never guarantee an award. The DWP, HMRC or your local council decides the final amount.