Millions of Brits could be eligible for a little-known payment from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of £617.60 “in advance”. In certain cases people in receipt of Universal Credit could be eligible for a month’s worth of the money ahead of time.
This is meant to cover any essential payments that you are unable to make, such as food or rent. Depending on your standard rate of Universal Credit, you could get £617.60.
And some households could also be entitled to extra if they meet certain criteria. The Government website explains: “If you don’t have enough to live on while you wait for your first payment you may be able to get an advance of your first Universal Credit payment.
“When you make a new claim for Universal Credit you will normally receive your first payment seven days after the end of your first assessment period. You will then be paid monthly on the same date, unless your payment date falls on a weekend or Bank Holiday.
“You can apply for an advance payment of your Universal Credit if you are in financial hardship while you wait for your first payment, for example, if you can’t afford to pay your rent or buy food.”
However, it is important to know that this is a loan and will eventually need to be repaid, either deducted from future Universal Credit payments or out of wages or other benefits.
“You will need to pay back your advance a bit at a time from your future Universal Credit payments, or by other means if you no longer get Universal Credit, for example, from your wages or other benefit you may be getting,” Gov.uk says.
According to Government data, around 6.4 million people in the UK are on Universal Credit. You get one standard allowance for your household.
The monthly standard allowance for Universal Credit is as follows:
But you may get more money on top of your standard allowance for the following circumstances:
To apply for a Universal Credit advance you can speak to your Jobcentre Plus work coach, apply through your online account, or call the Universal Credit helpline. For more information, visit gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-advances.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
