The UK government has announced several changes to Universal Credit and other benefits for 2025. These changes will mean more money for some claimants.
Benefits including Child Benefits, Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments (PIP) will rise by 1.7% next April, in line with inflation figures from September. All disability benefits and the Carer’s Allowance will go up by the same rate.
Universal Credit is usually paid monthly – or twice a month for some people in Scotland – and is to help those on low incomes with living costs. For money-saving tips, sign up to our Money newsletter here.
It is gradually replacing the following benefits and that roll out will be complete by the end of this year:
- Child Tax Credit
- Housing Benefit
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Working Tax Credit
This is how much payments will rise by from April:
Universal Credit, single, aged 25+ with limited capability for work and work-related activity
Rises from £393.45 a month to £400.14.
Universal Credit, single, aged 25+ with limited capability for work and work-related activity
Rises from £809.64 to £823.41.
Universal Credit, single, aged 25+ with one child, born on or after April 6 2017
Rises from £681.37 to £692.95 a month..
Universal Credit, couple, at least one adult 25+ with two children, born on or after April 6 2017
Rises from £1,193.44 to £1,213.72 a month.
Minimum Wage
From April the National Minimum Wage will also rise by 6%. The increase will make an estimated 1.2 million Universal Credit claimants better off by £420 each year according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
The following rates of National Minimum Wage will apply from April:
- For people aged 21 and over it will rise to £12.21 per hour.
- For 18- to 20-year-olds it will rise to £10.00 per hour.
- For apprentices and those under 18 it will rise to £6.40
Carer’s Allowance
Changes to benefits for carers means that 60,000 more carers will have access to the Carer’s Allowance, which will increase by £45 a week. In April the earnings threshold for the Carer’s Allowance will increase from £151 to £196.
The rise, announced in Labour’s Autumn Budget, allows allow carers to work an additional 16 hours a week at the minimum wage or £45 a week, raising the limit to £196 a week. Currently, Carer’s Allowance is claimed by approximately 1.4 million people in the UK.
Carer’s Allowance,is awarded if you care for someone for at least 35 hours a week. Currently you can work alongside it, but you cannot earn over £151 a week after tax National Insurance, pension contributions, and allowable expenses.
From April that rises to being allowed to earn £196 a week after tax, NI pensions and allowed expenses, and still claim. If you earn even £1 over, then you lose your entire entitlement for the benefit.
Legacy benefits transition to Universal Credit
In December 2025 legacy benefits will end and people getting benefits under the old system will all have been moved to Universal Credit. All managed migration notices are expected to be sent by the end of December 2025 and across the UK, the transfer of people on income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) to Universal Credit is expected to be complete.
This process, known as managed migration, has been gradually implemented in parts of Wales and the UK already and will be complete by the end of this year. According to DWP instructions: “On universal credit, most people will be entitled to the same amount they received from their previous benefits or more. If the amount you are entitled to on your existing benefits is more than you will get on universal credit, a top-up is available. This is called transitional protection.”
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