THOUSANDS on benefits including Universal Credit will see payments land in their accounts early today.
Several government benefits are paid into accounts earlier than usual if your usual payment date lands on a bank holiday.
May is a bumper month for bank holidays and the next one is on the 27th.
That means if you are expecting money in your account on Monday. you will get it today instead.
Anyone who usually gets paid on 25 and 26 of each month will also see any benefit payments land in their accounts today.
Date millions on Universal Credit and benefits will get a pay rise this year
The official Government guidance states: "Benefits are usually paid straight into your bank, building society or credit union account.
"If your payment date is on a weekend or a bank holiday you’ll usually be paid on the working day before."
If you claim any of the following benefits, you could see payments land in your account early this week:
- Attendance Allowance
- Carer's Allowance
- Child Benefit
- Disability Living Allowance
- Income Support
- Jobseekers Allowance
- Pension Credit
- Personal Independence Payment
- State pension
- Tax credits (such as Working Tax Credit)
- Universal Credit
Your National Insurance number dictates the day on which you receive your state pension.
If you're due cash on May 27, you should get paid today too.
If you don't receive your benefit payment one working day before the bank holiday, contact the DWP directly.
You can also submit a complaint to them to get a problem sorted if your payment is wrong.
Your benefit amount won't change if it is paid early unless there's been a change in circumstances which impacts how much you are due.
If you do get paid early today, make sure you budget accordingly as the wait between that payment and the next one will be longer than usual.
What are the payment dates for other bank holidays in 2024?
There are three bank holidays before the end of the year which could impact when you receive your benefits.
I'm a benefits expert - five tips to help if you're on Universal Credit
Here's when the DWP or HMRC will make your payments if you're expecting them on a public holiday:
- August 26 - payments will be made on August 23 instead
- December 25 - payments will be made on December 24 instead
- December 26 - payments will be made on December 24 instead
Other benefit changes this month
Benefits have also risen for millions of households, with the first boosts applied to many accounts this month.
The vast majority have risen by 6.7%, in line with the consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation from last September.
Others are rising by 8.5%, such as the state pension and Pension Credit.
Of course, how much your benefit payment will rise by depends on the amount you were receiving before.
For example, someone receiving £292.11 a month in Universal Credit the last financial year will now start receiving £311.68.
One other change has hit tens of thousands on Universal Credit this month.
The DWP has increased the Administrative Earnings Threshold (AET), which means 180,000 on the benefit will now have to step up their search for work or risk having payments stopped.
The AET threshold was previously 15 hours, but this has been upped to 18 hours.
The change means anyone working fewer than 18 hours a week and earning less than £892 a month, or £1,437 for couples, will have fresh requirements to meet with DWP officials.
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