Thousands of households could see their Universal Credits benefit change
A new Universal Credits rule change could see more than 100,000 claimants lose out on their benefits. The Department of Work and Pensions has announced that claimants could be required to increase how many hours they work at their existing job, look for better paid work, or risk having their payments reduced.
The change is linked to the Administration Earnings Threshold . This is a monthly amount that marks if you're in the "intensive work search" category or the "light touch" group. Billed by the Treasury as a gradual expansion, the move will be an increase from the 12-hour threshold for a more intensive work search regime and will take effect from January as part of the Universal Credit system, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Mr Kwarteng said that this will rise again to 15 hours from January 2023. Some 114,000 people will be affected by these changes overall. The AET rate has increased from £355 a month to £494 a month, or from £567 a month to £782 a month for joint claims, from September 26. This is the equivalent of an individual working 12 hours per week, or a couple working 19 hours per week between them, the Government said.
Exactly how many more hours you will be expected to take on will vary depending on your circumstances. You can find these details in your “claimant commitment”. If you fail to meet the targets set in your “claimant commitment” then you could have your benefits stopped.