Benefits - Universal Credit Factsheet
If you need to make a new application for benefits, due to redundancy or reduced income you will need to apply for Universal Credit. Universal Credit has replaced all the old benefits such as Job Seekers Allowance.
Universal Credit is made up of a standard allowance and then additional elements are added on for housing, whether you have children and whether you have an illness or disability that means you have limited capability for work.
If you have savings of over £6000 and £16,000 each £250 is treated as an income of £4.35 and this could affect the amount you receive (you can find out using the benefits calculator how much will be taken off). If you are part of a couple your partner’s savings and income will be taken into account. You will not be entitled to Universal Credit if you have over £16,000 in savings.
To find out how much you are likely to receive in benefits, including how it will be affected by any savings, you can use benefits calculators on Turn2Us or on EntitledTo
Claiming as a couple – When you click to state you are claiming as a couple you will be given a code. The second person then starts their claim and inputs the code. This joins together the two applications. The benefits will be paid into one bank account so you need to decide together where this will be. Click here for more information on claiming as a couple.
Advances – There is a five-week wait before Universal Credit starts to be paid. You can get up to two advance payments for Universal Credit. This can be as high as 100% of what you are projected to get each month in UC Payments. Whilst it may be tempting to borrow as much as possible to get you through the five week wait for payments to kick in, do remember that they have to be repaid within a period of twelve months and that the repayments will be taken out of further benefits. You can ask us for help with food to try and keep the amount you need to borrow as low as possible.
How to apply: Click here. Ensure that you have the list of documents required and then click on 'Click here'. If you have any difficulties with your application, please contact us and we can help!
When you apply you will need an email address (if you do not have an email address see our fact sheet on how to set up an e-mail address) and contact number. You will need details of your last job/s, childcare provider, rent, landlord and any savings. If you are a carer for a person with a disability for over 35 hours a week you will need their details.
Redundancy and Universal Credit
You should not be sanctioned by Universal Credit if you are made redundant, or if you have taken voluntary redundancy as long as your company is going through the redundancy process.
Whilst your redundancy payment is not counted as income it will be counted as capital and could affect the level of Universal Credit that you can receive (see above about if you have savings over £6000).
Pay in lieu of notice and holiday pay are treated as earnings for Universal Credit for the assessment period in which they are paid. As Universal Credit is paid in arrears and is based on what you earned the previous month your first payment could be affected by this.