Universal Credit claimants may be eligible for an extra £400 in October
Those receiving Universal Credit could see a boost of up to £405 this October, after previously losing out when being moved from other benefits to the new system.
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The upcoming rise is in order to bridge the gap between the old benefits system and Universal Credit, reports Birmingham Live.
Rise in October payments
Those who are eligible will see a payment rise of £120, £285 or £405 in October. The amount they receive will depend on whether they were claiming as a single person or a couple, and whether or not they were expected to be looking for work.
These payments are to be issued after those who switched to Universal Credit from other benefits experienced a payment drop.
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This includes those who moved from Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Housing Benefit or Pension Credit, if they were also receiving a top-up allowance called Severe Disability Premium (SDP).
Campaigners fought to get back the lost money, with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) agreeing to give "transitional payments" in order to make up the difference.
Payments to be added to regular Universal Credit payout
Justin Tomlinson, a Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions, has confirmed that these transitional sums will be added to a person's regular Universal Credit payout, starting from 8 October 2020.
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Mr Tomlinson said the DWP had already paid out over £50 million to around 15,000 people who lost out when they switched to Universal Credit.
“On July 22 2019, we laid legislation to provide additional financial support for former SDP recipients who had moved to Universal Credit on account of a change of circumstances,” he explained.
"As at January 17 2020, we had already paid over 15,000 people, totalling more than £51.5 million.
“Payments will be made through the UC system rather than manually, and all transitional protection will be subject to the same rules.”