Universal Credit is a payment to help with you living costs, this includes but is not limited to housing costs.
Universal Credit
Telephone: 0800 328 5644
Welsh language: 0800 328 1744
Relay UK (opens in a new tab) (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 328 5644
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Universal credit is paid monthly or twice a month for some people in Scotland and can be paid twice monthly under some circumstances, you can speak to your work coach if you believe that having it paid this way will help you budget better and manage better financially.
Universal Credit is replacing Housing Benefit and income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) – you do not need to do anything unless your circumstances change or you receive a migration to UC notice
Eligibility
You may be able to get Universal Credit if you’re on a low income or need help with your living costs.
You could be:
Out of work, working (including self-employed or part time), unable to work, for example because of a health condition
To claim you must:
Live in the UK, be aged 18 or over (there are some exceptions if you’re 16 to 17), be under State Pension age, have £16,000 or less in money, savings and investments
If you or your partner receive Pension Credit or any of the above benefits this will stop if/when one of you is claiming Universal Credit
What You Will Get
What you receive will depend on what your standard allowance is, any extra amounts that apply to you, any deductions and if you are working (how much you earn)
Standard allowance
You’ll get one standard allowance for your household.
How much you’ll get:
Monthly standard allowance
If you’re single and under 25 £338.58
If you’re single and 25 or over £424.90
If you live with your partner and you’re both under 25 £528.34 (for you both)
If you live with your partner and either of you are 25 or over £666.97 (for you both)
Extra amounts
You may get more money on top of your standard allowance if you’re eligible.
If you have children
You’ll get £303.94 a month for each child that lives with you.
If your first child was born before 6 April 2017, you’ll get an extra £47.94 a month for that child.
You get money for each child until the 31 August after their:
16th birthday or their 19th birthday if they’re in eligible education or training – for example, they’re studying for GCSEs, A levels, BTECs, Scottish Highers and SVQs or NVQs up to level 3 If your child has a disability, you might get an extra monthly amount if any of your children are disabled.
You’ll either get:
£164.79 – the lower amount
£514.71 – the higher amount
The higher amount is for a child who:
Gets the highest rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children, gets the higher rate of the daily living part of Personal Independence Payment (PIP),is blind or severely sight impaired
The lower amount is for a child who gets any other rate of either DLA for children, or PIP.
Childcare costs
You can claim back up to 85% of your childcare costs if you’re working. If you live with your partner both of you need to be working, unless one of you is unable to work due to a disability or health condition.
The childcare needs to be from a registered provider. You can get help paying for childcare including nurseries, childminders, breakfast clubs, after school care and holiday clubs.
The most you can get each month is:
£1,071.09 for one child
£1,836.16 for 2 or more children
You need to pay your childcare costs up front and claim the money back as part of your payment. You can get support to help you pay your childcare costs up front. Talk to your work coach after you’ve made your claim.
If you have a disability or health condition, You might get an extra monthly amount if you cannot work because of a health condition, disability or long-term illness.
How much you’ll get
Extra monthly amount
If you have a severe health condition or disability that’s unlikely to change or you are nearing the end of your life £429.80
If your health condition or disability is assessed as less severe or your condition may improve over time £217.26
There are different rules if you reported a health condition before 6 April 2026 (please speak to your UC Advisor for more information)
If you live with your partner and you both have limited capability for work and work-related activity, you’ll only get one extra monthly amount. You’ll get the higher amount if one of you is eligible for it.
If you care for someone who gets a health or disability-related benefit
You could get an extra amount known as a ‘carer’s element’.
This is added to your Universal Credit if you care for someone who gets one of the following benefits:
Adult Disabilty Payment (Scotland)
Armed Forces Independent Payment
Attendance Allowance
Child Disability Payment (Scotland)
Constant Attendance Allowance
(full day rate, intermediate rate or exceptional rate with Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit/ War Disablement)
Disability Living Allowance
Personal Independence Payment
You need to provide care for them for at least 35 hours a week.
You’ll get an extra monthly amount of £209.34. If you live with your partner and you both care for the same person, you’ll only get one extra monthly amount.
You may also be eligible for Carer’s Allowance, this is on top of any extra amount you get if you have a disabled child. please speak to your UC advisor for more information
If you are getting an extra amount because you have limited capability for work and work related activity (LCWRA), you cannot also get the carer’s element.
If the person you care for gets the severe disability premium, it will stop when you claim the carer’s element of Universal Credit
Housing costs
You could get money to help pay your housing costs. The payment can cover rent and some service charges.
Housing Costs and Universal Credit
If you’re a homeowner, you might be able to get a loan to help with interest payments on your mortgage.
Homeowners and Universal Credit
Money taken off your payment
Your payments might be reduced if any of the following apply:
you are paying back an advance on a Universal Credit payment
you would get above the amount limited by the benefit cap, the benefit cap does not apply to those in receipt of PIP or those who have a child in receipt of DLA.
you’ve been overpaid benefits in the past
you owe money for Council Tax, court fines, electricity, gas, water or Child Maintenance
you pay your gas or electricity bill directly from your Universal Credit payment
you have a paid job.
you have other income – for example, money from pensions or certain other benefits
you have more than £6,000 in money, savings and investments.
Benefits that affect how much Universal Credit you get
You can get Universal Credit at the same time as other benefits. Your Universal Credit payment will be reduced by an amount equal to the other benefit’s payment. This applies when you get Universal Credit and any of the following benefits:
Armed Forces Pensions
Carer’s Allowance
Carer Support Payment (Scotland)
Incapacity Benefit
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (excluding any increases where constant attendance is needed and for exceptionally severe disablement)
Maternity Allowance
New Style Employment and Support Allowance
New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance
Severe Disablement Allowance
State Pension
Widowed Mother’s Allowance
Widowed Parent’s Allowance
For information on how these benefits affect your claim please speak to your advisor directly as they will be able to best advise you how it will effect your individual circumstances/claim.
IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO OTHER FINANCIAL SUPPORT
You will need to check when applying which type of advance you’re eligible for.
How much you can get depends on your circumstances and what you need the advance for.
The types you can get include:
An advance for a first payment
A hardship payment if your payment is being stopped or reduced
An advance for unexpected costs
Help for job expenses
An advance if your circumstances have changed
You must usually pay this back through your future Universal Credit payments. This will automatically be deducted and included in your monthly statements and can be tracked on your Universal Credit record under advances to see what you have paid and how much you have left to pay.