Universal Credit and legacy benefits may be reduced by lump sum back payments from the DWP

Legacy benefits and Universal Credit can have their payments altered by a person’s income levels and savings habits. This could be an unexpected problem for those who can receive certain entitlements from the DWP.

Currently, benefit caps can vary depending on the claimant’s circumstances and location within the Country.

Claimants outside of Greater London can receive a maximum of £384.62 per week from benefits if they’re in a couple or are a single parent.

If the claimant is single with no children, the cap will decrease to £257.69 per week.

Claimants living in the capital will have a cap of £442.31 placed on them if they’re in a couple or have children, with singletons once again seeing a decrease to £296.35

If a Universal Credit claimant has between £6,000 and £16,000 in savings their payments will also be affected.

The government will assume that if claimants have more than £6,000 in savings, it will provide the claimant with a monthly income of £4.35 for each £250 or part of £250, they will then lower the Universal Credit payments accordingly.

People who have more than £16,000 in savings, either by themselves or split with a partner, will simply not be able to claim Universal Credit at all.

Full details on Universal Credit eligibility can be found on the governments website.