All posts tagged: DWP

Labour could pay parents already on benefits extra cash | Politics | News

Labour could pay parents already on benefits extra cash | Politics | News

Published by Sam Flores

The Labour leadership have allowed benefits to get out of hand (Image: Getty) The Labour Party is considering paying families on benefits hundreds of pounds-a-month to urge their children to start apprenticeships. It comes as the Government’s work tsar Alan Milburn has warned that the benefits system is holding back teenagers from working because of perverse incentives. Mr Milburn revealed that almost one million young people are not in education, employment or training (Neets), making a reset “absolutely essential”. He also shockingly revealed: “For every £25 that we spend keeping young people on benefits, we spend only £1 helping them get into work through employment support.” Ministers fear families on welfare were discouraging their teenage children from leaving full-time education and taking up apprenticeship courses because they would lose handouts such as child benefit and parts of universal credit. In the worst-case hypothetical scenario found by the social security advisory committee, a single parent whose disabled child was the last person on the benefit claim would receive £339 a week less if the teenager started …

PIP applicant ‘not willing’ to send DWP passport or driving licence in the post

PIP applicant ‘not willing’ to send DWP passport or driving licence in the post

Published by Sam Flores

A potential benefit claimant was asked to send their passport and driving licence to the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) – but they said they were ‘not willing to do’ so. Their reluctance was due to fear their documents would get lost in the post, however they were told their Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claim would not be viewed until they did. They took to Reddit to question whether this was ‘normal’ as they looked for other ways to ‘speed things up’. READ MORE: DVLA cancels licences for drivers aged 70 to 79 with 10,700 affected so far Their post read: “Applied for PIP. And it said I need to provide two forms of ID. “Tried to do this process online but it said for all new applicants, you have to call. So I did. “And then they said they couldn’t verify my ID as they don’t have enough information. And that I now need to wait 14 days for a letter in the post with a code to verify my ID. “They said …

DWP handing state pensioners £1,045 which is separate from regular payments

DWP handing state pensioners £1,045 which is separate from regular payments

Published by Sam Flores

The Department for Work and Pensions is adding £17.96 onto older state pensioners’ incomes – thanks to Pension Credit. Savings Credit is the secondary part of Pension Credit, alongside Guarantee Credit. Pension Credit tops up your weekly income to £238 if you’re single and your joint weekly income to £363.25 if you have a partner. You may get extra amounts if you have other responsibilities and costs. The top up and extra amounts are known as ‘Guarantee Credit’. You could get the ‘Savings Credit’ part of Pension Credit if both of the following apply: you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 and you saved some money for retirement, for example a personal or workplace pension. READ MORE Three groups of UK households being handed council tax refund – full list You’ll get up to £17.96 Savings Credit a week if you’re single. If you have a partner, you’ll get up to £20.10 a week. At the upper end, for couples, it is worth £1,045. You might still get some Savings Credit even if …

DWP told to scrap benefit claimed by 1.4 million people entirely

DWP told to scrap benefit claimed by 1.4 million people entirely

Published by Sam Flores

The Department for Work and Pensions has been told to scrap a benefit claimed by 1.4 million people. The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) think tank has urged the DWP to scrap pension credit and remove the state retirement age. Under the TBI’s Lifespan Fund, there would be no official retirement age. People could instead choose when to take their pension, which would remain guaranteed for life and be provided by the state. The amount they receive would vary based on their contributions, age, health and life expectancy, similar to the way pension savers are offered an annuity. READ MORE Foreign Office issues warning for UK tourists who face ‘increased risk’ But the triple lock would be removed and pensions would only rise by the median level of earnings. Tom McPhail, a freelance pensions expert and scheme trustee, said: “These proposals are a good start and a flexible state pension that helps meet people’s needs before retirement, and encourages later working, is a good idea in principle. “However, we can’t think about the state pension in …

State pension move could knock £77,000 off older people’s DWP payments

State pension move could knock £77,000 off older people’s DWP payments

Published by Sam Flores

State pensioners are being issued a £77,000 warning as one move could slash their Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) payments. State pensioners retire overseas during this tax year are being warned they could miss out on over £77,000 in state pension income over 20 years. According to new analysis by Rathbones, pensioners who move to countries including New Zealand, Canada and Australia will have state pension payments are frozen at the rate they first received them. There are no future increases. Olly Cheng, a financial planning divisional lead, at Rathbones, says: “We often speak to people hoping to retire overseas, many of whom don’t realise that this decision could significantly affect their state pension entitlement.” READ MORE Major European airline cancels 160 flights – but passengers will be ‘rebooked’ Replacing the income lost to a frozen state pension would require a substantial private financial buffer. A loss of £77,585 over 20 years is equivalent to around £3,880 a year, or £320 a month over 20 years, that retirees would need to generate from other …

DWP imposing strict £283 rule for claimants on 10 benefits – full list

DWP imposing strict £283 rule for claimants on 10 benefits – full list

Published by Sam Flores

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has issued a warning to benefits claimants over benefit caps for 2026/27. The DWP has set out its benefit cap rates for the forthcoming tax year, after it began last week. The amount you get through the benefit cap depends on whetheryou live inside or outside Greater London, you’re single or in a couple or your children live with you (if you’re single). If you’re in a couple but you do not live together, you’ll get the amounts for a single person. If you’re outside Greater London and you are in a couple, you will receive £423.46 a week, or £1,835 a month. READ MORE Millions of Microsoft Outlook users to lose inbox access from May 25 These figures are the same if you’re a single parent and a child lives with you. If you’re a single adult you’ll receive £283.71 a week or £1,229.42 a month. The benefit cap inside London is hiked to £486.98 for single people and single parents with children living with them, which …

Key HMRC change will ‘improve transparency’ as Brits’ benefits checked | Personal Finance | Finance

Key HMRC change will ‘improve transparency’ as Brits’ benefits checked | Personal Finance | Finance

Published by Sam Flores

HMRC has marked a major milestone in its efforts to improve efficiency. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) – the public sector’s property valuation experts and advisers, which provide the valuations needed to support local taxation and benefits – was assimilated into the department on April 1. This will “improve transparency”, the Treasury said. The VOA determines rental values to inform benefit payments, including local housing allowance – a way of calculating housing benefit or universal credit for private tenants in the UK, based on the area you live in and your household size – as well as council tax bands and business rates. Officials added: “The move will improve the experience of taxpayers and businesses, support HMRC’s delivery of the government’s commitment to reform the tax system and is expected to deliver between 5% to 10% of additional savings in Valuation Office administrative costs by the 2028 to 2029 tax year.” The Government has said it wants to “crack down” on universal credit fraud in order to recoup £1.3billion in overpayments. Officials said in December …

The DWP benefits you won’t be able to claim from next month

The DWP benefits you won’t be able to claim from next month

Published by Sam Flores

The government will shut down several benefits by the end of March as it aims to move all eligible claimants to a single benefit. The rollout will be completed by the end of the month, meaning most remaining “legacy” benefits will no longer exist, and they will no longer be payable or open to new claims. The plan, known as managed migration, aims to simplify the benefits system by moving as many people as possible onto one benefit: universal credit. However, some benefits will continue even after the process is completed. Here’s what you need to know about how the benefits system will change after March, and how it could affect you. What are legacy benefits, and why are they being stopped? The term “legacy” benefits refers to the older means‑tested benefits and tax credits that are being replaced by universal credit (UC). Universal credit was introduced in 2017 by the government in an aim to simplify the benefits system, make claims and changes easier to manage online, and remove situations where people had to …

Big rise for one DWP benefit confirmed in figures released for first time | Personal Finance | Finance

Big rise for one DWP benefit confirmed in figures released for first time | Personal Finance | Finance

Published by Sam Flores

The sharp increase in Universal Credit (UC) claimants in recent years has been primarily fuelled by those transferring from older benefits rather than entirely new applications, official statistics reveal. The Department for Work and Pensions has published for the first time a detailed analysis showing the proportion of claimants who have transitioned to UC from so-called “legacy” benefits, including income support and jobseeker’s allowance. Britain’s total UC claimant count reached 8.34 million in December 2025, rising by nearly one million from 7.36 million the previous year. Statistics released on Tuesday demonstrate that over three-quarters of this growth (775,790) resulted not from fresh claims, but from individuals transitioning onto UC from alternative benefits. The Government has stated that UC implementation throughout Britain should conclude this year, with remaining legacy benefit claimants scheduled to transfer to UC by March. The operation to move individuals from older benefit types to universal credit – referred to as the “managed migration” of claimants – commenced on a limited scale in May 2022, before accelerating in April 2023. During the 11-month …