THOUSANDS of households on Universal Credit and benefits will receive their payments earlier than usual today.
As the Easter bank holidays fall across both March and April, many have seen a shift in their payment dates.
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Good Friday lands on March 29 and Easter Monday lands on April 1.
HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) do not pay benefits on bank holidays, so if you are due to be paid on any of these days, you will be paid today.
Here is a full list of benefits that will be affected by the bank holidays:
- Attendance Allowance
- Carer’s Allowance
- Child Benefit
- Disability Living Allowance
- Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Income Support
- Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Pension Credit
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- State Pension
- Tax credits
- Universal Credit
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YOUR PAYMENT WON’T CHANGE
The amount you get paid this month shouldn’t change, it will be the same as in previous months unless your circumstances have changed.
If you get paid early you’ll have extra days to wait till your next payment so you should factor that into your monthly budgeting.
There is one change anyone benefits will see this month regardless of their payment dates.
Benefits will increase next month by 6.7% but some will go up even more.
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For example, if you are a single person over the age of 25, your universal credit payment will increase from £368.74 to £393.45 per month.
The State Pension will be increased by 8.5% in April, according to the rules of the triple lock.
The full rate of the new state pension will go up from £203.85 a week to £221.20.
For the basic part of the old state pension, the rate will increase from £156.20 to £169.50.
You can find the full list of planned increases to all benefits here.
If you don’t receive your payment on time, double-check the date you normally get paid and reach out to your bank.
Your next step should be to contact the DWP, can also submit a complaint to the DWP over any unpaid benefits.
How much Universal Credit can you get?
TRYING to work out how much Universal Credit you can get can be overwhelming.
There are so many different elements that can affect your claim and it makes the whole process even more complicated.
There are several free calculators that you can use to help you get an estimate, such as Gov.UK, Citizen’s Advice, MoneySavingExpert, StepChange and Turn2Us.
You will need:
- Details of all your income, such as existing benefits, tax credits, earnings from employment and your pensions,
- Details of your partner’s income if you’re married, in a civil partnership or living with someone as a couple. You will be assessed as a couple
- Information on any savings you have,
- How much you pay in council tax per year, and whether you get any discounts, reductions or exemptions,
- Details of your rent or mortgage payments,
- Employment and income information about anyone else living with you, such as grown-up children,
- Details about your carer’s allowance if you receive it.
You’ll need to make sure that the information provided is as accurate as possible to get the truest estimate.
SUPPORT AVAILABLE
Councils in England are still rolling out support through the Household Support Fund.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt extended the Household Support Fund (HSF) earlier this month – adding a further £500million to the pot.
What you are entitled to will vary depending on where you live as each local authority sets specific eligibility criteria.
Struggling households can also search for free cash grants to help with the cost of living by visiting www.grants-search.turn2us.org.uk.
It contains a database of around 1,400 grants and support schemes and simplifies the process of checking if you are eligible for one.
Are you missing out on benefits?
YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to
Charity Turn2Us’ benefits calculator works out what you could get.
Entitledto’s free calculator determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit.
MoneySavingExpert.com and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto’s data.
You can use Policy in Practice’s calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you’ll have left over each month after paying for housing costs.
Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
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