DWP hands 4 million households £295 extra benefits cash from Monday | Personal Finance | Finance
The DWP is handing 4 million households an extra £295 Universal Credit benefits boost from Monday, April 6, thanks to a ‘rebalancing’ of the benefit. The government is boosting Universal Credit benefit payment rates for 2026-27 in a bid to help households battling the cost of living crisis.
According to figures from charity Save The Children, 59% of households claiming Universal Credit are in work, and need the extra income from the benefit to get by. From Monday, April 6, 2026, Universal Credit is being boosted by £295 a year for the basic rate, which will be worth £760 extra by the end of the decade.
At the same time, the Universal Credit ‘Health Element’ is being cut almost in half, down from £429.80 to £217.26 for new claimants as the government looks to battle the soaring welfare bill, particularly around health-related claims.
From Monday, Universal Credit’s standard allowance will increase from £316.98 per month to £338.58 for a single person aged under 25, and will go from £400.14 to £424.90 for a single person aged 25 or over. For couples, the rates will go from £497.55 to £528.34 if aged under 25, and for over-25s, the rate will go up from £628.10 per month to £666.97.
These rates do not include supplements such as Child Element, which will no longer be limited to two children as the two-child benefit cap for Universal Credit is also being removed from Monday. The Child Element adds an additional £351.88 per month for the first child and an extra £303.94 for each additional child and this is no longer limited to two children, though it is still limited by the overall benefits cap for households.
Announcing the changes for this April last summer, the DWP said: “Nearly 4 million households will see an annual income boost estimated to be worth £725 cash as a Bill to overhaul the welfare system completes the next stage of its passage through Parliament.
“For the first time ever, the Universal Credit standard allowance will permanently rise above inflation, amounting to £725 by 2029/30 in cash terms for a single person aged 25 or over.
“This is the highest permanent real terms increase to the main rate of out-of-work support since 1980, according to the IFS.
“Reforms set out in the Universal Credit Bill will look to rebalance the core payment and health top up in Universal Credit (UC). This will address the fundamental imbalance in the system which creates perverse incentives that drive people into dependency.”
