DWP to make big changes to means-tested benefits including Universal Credit within DAYS
TO YOUR BENEFIT DWP to make big changes to means-tested benefits including Universal Credit within DAYS
HOUSEHOLDS should be aware of a big change to means-tested benefits which is due to come into force in days.
Payments received through the miscarriage of justice compensation scheme will no longer count as income when determining eligibility for support such as Housing Benefit and Universal Credit.
Advertisement
1
The DWP said the payments re
Credit: Getty
The government-funded programme gives payouts to those who have been wrongly convicted of a crime or had their conviction overturned.
Under current rules, people who receive this reward may not be able to claim means-tested benefits as it can push their income above the eligibility threshold.
But come Tuesday July 22, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said it is no longer counting this compensation as capital when calculating these types of benefits.
The new rules apply across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Advertisement
It means individuals who have been awarded compensation for a miscarriage of justice will not have this payment included when assessing their eligibility for means-tested support.
And if you previously could not claim the support because of the compensation payout, you could reapply.
The DWP said: "Any compensation payments you received will not be taken into account as capital when calculating entitlement to these benefits.
"You will need to provide a copy of your compensation award as part of the application process."
Advertisement
If you are already claiming means-tested benefits but have received a payment, you should also report this as a change of circumstance.
The department will be able to consider your benefits to ensure you are receiving the correct amount.
Cost of Living payment updates — Thousands have just days to claim free £300 DWP cash
You can report a change in your circumstances by visiting www.gov.uk.
What are means-tested benefits?
Means-tested benefits are awarded based on a person's financial situation.
Advertisement
The types of means-tested benefits include:
Pension Credit
Universal Credit
Housing Benefit
income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Income Support
The support is only available to those who can prove that their income is under a certain amount.
Plus, exactly how much you are entitled to can vary from person to person.
For example, every £1 you earn from working, your Universal Credit payment goes down by 55p.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, the maximum amount of savings you can have to qualify for Universal Credit is £16,000.
Therefore, if you receive a sum of money that takes you over this threshold, you are likely to see your benefits stopped completely.
If you have £6,000 or less in your bank account, this will not affect your Universal Credit claim.
To qualify for Pension Credit, you must have less than £10,000 in savings.
Advertisement
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
14 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Labour revives Pensions Commission amid fears workers are saving too little
Experts have warned that people looking to retire in 2050 are on course to receive £800 per year less than current pensioners. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said 45% of working-age adults were putting nothing into their pensions. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said she was turning to the Pensions Commission, which last met in 2006, to 'tackle the barriers that stop too many saving in the first place'. The previous commission recommended automatically enrolling people in workplace pensions, which has seen the number of eligible employees saving rise from 55% in 2012 to 88%. DWP analysis suggested 15 million people were undersaving for retirement, with the self-employed, low paid and some ethnic minorities particularly affected. Around three million self-employed people are said to be saving nothing for their retirement, while only a quarter of people on low pay in the private sector and the same proportion from Pakistani or Bangladeshi backgrounds are saving. Women face a significant gender pensions gap, with those approaching retirement in line to receive barely half the income that men can expect. Pensions minister Torsten Bell said: 'The original Pensions Commission helped get pension saving up and pensioner poverty down. 'But if we carry on as we are, tomorrow's retirees risk being poorer than today's. So we are reviving the Pensions Commission to finish the job and give today's workers secure retirements to look forward to.' The commission will be led by Baroness Jeannie Drake, a member of the previous commission, and report in 2027 with proposals that stretch beyond the next election. Ms Kendall's decision to revive the Pensions Commission has been broadly welcomed by the pensions industry. Kate Smith, head of pensions at Aegon, urged the commission to make 'bold, brave and possibly unpalatable recommendations', including 'significant increases' to auto-enrolment contributions after 2029. She also called on the commission to look at wider issues, saying: 'Sources of inequality and affordability are often linked to the way the labour market works, the housing market and societal norms, such as women taking on most of the caring responsibilities. 'These are not issues that can be addressed by pensions policy alone.' AgeUK's Caroline Abrahams said the commission needed to address the state pension, which provides the bulk of retirement income for most pensioners. She said: 'If we're to avoid future generations of pensioners experiencing financial hardship, we need reforms that enable more people to build a decent standard of living, and we need them sooner rather than later to maximise the numbers who can be helped.' Ministers hope the Pensions Commission will build a consensus around changes, as its predecessor did, working with businesses and trade unions. Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry, said the 'only route' to higher living standards in retirement was through 'higher growth, productivity and better savings'. She added: 'Taking the time to review the best pathway to achieve this, whilst pursuing broader measures to support growth, will be needed to make it affordable for employers and workers and crucial to the aim of rising living standards, now and in retirement.' Paul Nowak, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said: 'Far too many people won't have enough pension for a decent retirement, and too many – especially women, BME (black and minority ethnic) and disabled workers and the self-employed – are shut out of the workplace pension system altogether. 'That's why this Pensions Commission – which will bring together unions, employers and independent experts – is a vital step forward.' But shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride accused Labour of pushing the issue 'into the long grass'. The MP said: 'The reality is they have piled up burdens on employers and workers, and that is why they have launched a pensions commission which will take years to report back and will only look at changes beyond the end of this decade. 'Conservatives in government introduced automatic enrolment which has revolutionised our pensions landscape. We should be building on that success, but now businesses and savers cannot afford to put more into pension pots thanks to Labour's reckless policies. 'Under Labour, pensioners are regarded as cash cows. Which is why it has come as little surprise that Rachel Reeves is looking to raise taxes on pensioners to plug the black hole she has dug herself.'
Glasgow Times
14 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Labour revives Pensions Commission amid fears workers are saving too little
Experts have warned that people looking to retire in 2050 are on course to receive £800 per year less than current pensioners. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said 45% of working-age adults were putting nothing into their pensions. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said she was turning to the Pensions Commission, which last met in 2006, to 'tackle the barriers that stop too many saving in the first place'. Liz Kendall's decision to revive the Pensions Commission has been broadly welcomed by the pensions industry (Gareth Fuller/PA) The previous commission recommended automatically enrolling people in workplace pensions, which has seen the number of eligible employees saving rise from 55% in 2012 to 88%. DWP analysis suggested 15 million people were undersaving for retirement, with the self-employed, low paid and some ethnic minorities particularly affected. Around three million self-employed people are said to be saving nothing for their retirement, while only a quarter of people on low pay in the private sector and the same proportion from Pakistani or Bangladeshi backgrounds are saving. Women face a significant gender pensions gap, with those approaching retirement in line to receive barely half the income that men can expect. Pensions minister Torsten Bell said: 'The original Pensions Commission helped get pension saving up and pensioner poverty down. 'But if we carry on as we are, tomorrow's retirees risk being poorer than today's. So we are reviving the Pensions Commission to finish the job and give today's workers secure retirements to look forward to.' The commission will be led by Baroness Jeannie Drake, a member of the previous commission, and report in 2027 with proposals that stretch beyond the next election. Ms Kendall's decision to revive the Pensions Commission has been broadly welcomed by the pensions industry. Kate Smith, head of pensions at Aegon, urged the commission to make 'bold, brave and possibly unpalatable recommendations', including 'significant increases' to auto-enrolment contributions after 2029. She also called on the commission to look at wider issues, saying: 'Sources of inequality and affordability are often linked to the way the labour market works, the housing market and societal norms, such as women taking on most of the caring responsibilities. 'These are not issues that can be addressed by pensions policy alone.' AgeUK's Caroline Abrahams said the commission needed to address the state pension, which provides the bulk of retirement income for most pensioners. She said: 'If we're to avoid future generations of pensioners experiencing financial hardship, we need reforms that enable more people to build a decent standard of living, and we need them sooner rather than later to maximise the numbers who can be helped.' Ministers hope the Pensions Commission will build a consensus around changes, as its predecessor did, working with businesses and trade unions. Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry, said the 'only route' to higher living standards in retirement was through 'higher growth, productivity and better savings'. She added: 'Taking the time to review the best pathway to achieve this, whilst pursuing broader measures to support growth, will be needed to make it affordable for employers and workers and crucial to the aim of rising living standards, now and in retirement.' Paul Nowak, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said: 'Far too many people won't have enough pension for a decent retirement, and too many – especially women, BME (black and minority ethnic) and disabled workers and the self-employed – are shut out of the workplace pension system altogether. 'That's why this Pensions Commission – which will bring together unions, employers and independent experts – is a vital step forward.' But shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride accused Labour of pushing the issue 'into the long grass'. The MP said: 'The reality is they have piled up burdens on employers and workers, and that is why they have launched a pensions commission which will take years to report back and will only look at changes beyond the end of this decade. 'Conservatives in government introduced automatic enrolment which has revolutionised our pensions landscape. We should be building on that success, but now businesses and savers cannot afford to put more into pension pots thanks to Labour's reckless policies. 'Under Labour, pensioners are regarded as cash cows. Which is why it has come as little surprise that Rachel Reeves is looking to raise taxes on pensioners to plug the black hole she has dug herself.'
BBC News
44 minutes ago
- BBC News
Pension Commission to look at why four-in-ten fail to save enough
People retiring in 2050 will be worse off than pensioners today, the government has warned, unless action is taken to boost retirement Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is reviving the Pensions Commission, which first reported nearly 20 years ago, to look at how to tackle the half of working-age adults are not putting any money into a private pension at all, with low earners and the self-employed less likely to be pension saving, the DWP shortfall is also worse among women and some ethnic groups, with only one-in-four people of Pakistani or Bangladeshi background saving in a private pension. People drawing their pension 25 years from now are set to be £800 or 8% worse off per year than their counterparts today, the department said, with four in 10 people currently not saving enough for their than launching a new commission from scratch, the government said it was reviving the "landmark" Turner Pension Commission which reported in 2006, under the last Labour government, and led to the roll-out of automatic enrolment into pension saving. As a result 88% of eligible employees are now saving, up from 55% in 2012, the DWP that progress, the DWP said new analysis revealed "stark" findings including that:more than three million self-employed workers are not saving into a pensiononly one-in-four low earners in the private sector are saving into a pensiononly one-in-four of people of Pakistani or Bangladeshi heritage are savingThe analysis also found a 48% gender gap in private pension wealth among people currently retiring, with a typical woman receiving just over £100 a week and a man receiving £200 from private pension income. The commission is not designed to directly address issues around the cost of the state reports have raised questions over the affordability of the "triple lock", introduced in 2010, which guarantees that state pensions will rise every year by the same amount as average wages, inflation, or 2.5%, whichever is the population ages, and people live longer, the cost of that policy is set to grow cost is forecast to be three times higher by the end of the decade than was original estimated, after successive years of high inflation, followed by strong wage growth. Instead, the relaunched Commission, which will report in 2027, will look at savings in private sector will bring together trades unions, employers and independent experts, some of whom also took part in the original Commission. It will look at what is preventing people from putting more into their retirement pots and will aim to build a national consensus around future Smith, head of pensions at pension firm Aegon, urged the Commission to make "bold, brave and possibly unpalatable recommendations", including "significant increases" to auto-enrolment contributions after Nowak, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress described it as "a vital step forward"."Everyone deserves dignity and security in retirement, but right now many workers – especially those in the private sector – will find themselves without enough to get by on," he said. Caroline Abrahams, charity director of Age UK said that while the state pension provided the bulk of income for most pensioners, it was "hugely important" to consider the role of private savings, as the current system was leaving many pensioners struggling to make ends meet."Hopefully this can be avoided in future and particularly disadvantaged groups, including low-paid women and self-employed people on low incomes, can be helped to put money aside when appropriate for them to do so," she said. Catherine Foot, director of the think tank Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement, said that 17 million people were not saving enough to achieve the retirement they wished to have."The next two decades is when the effects of the savings crisis will really start to bite," she was crucial that the Commission was able to take a step back and view the system in its entirety," she added."There's an opportunity to examine how different elements of the system are working together."
