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 — no black box, nothing hidden.
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, Blue Badge, 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, Blue Badge, 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. Today, Silverwings only charges a fee (and only if successful) for helping with Attendance Allowance/PADP and Pension Credit applications. Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction and PIP are being built out as paid services and, until they launch, checking them costs nothing either way.
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 calculator itself.