Universal Credit payment rules are changing from next year
The DWP has been urged to scrap plans to slash Universal Credit payments by over £10,400 for some claimants. The Government has set out plans to increase the age from which you can get the Universal Credit health element to 22. You can currently get the health top-up, if you have a health condition or disability that affects your ability to work, from the age of 18, when you can start to claim the benefit.
MPs have launched an early day motion in Parliament to oppose the proposed change. The message “expresses concern at proposals to restrict access to the health element of Universal Credit based solely on age” as “a disabled or severely ill person is not inherently more capable of work whether they are under 22 years of age or over”.
The motion also calls on ministers to ensure claimants who are severely ill or disabled “are not discriminated against on the basis of age in future”. The motion has so far been signed by former Reform UK MP James McMurdock, who now sits as an independent, and DUP MP Jim Shannon.
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What are the proposed changes to the Universal Credit health element?
Under confirmed changes coming in from April 2026, the health element for new claimants will be cut in half from the current £432.27 a month down to £217.26 a month, and will be frozen at this level until the 2029/2030 tax year. This means a new claimant missing out on four years’ worth of the health element from age 18 to 22 would lose out on £10,428.48 in payments.
In a previous consultation on the plans, the DWP explained the thinking behind increasing the access for the health element. The department said: “Delaying access to the Universal Credit health element would remove any potential disincentive to work during this time. Proceeding with this change would be on the basis that resources could be better spent on improving the quality and range of opportunities available to young people through the guarantee, so they can sign up to work or training rather than long-term benefits.
“Such a change could further support the objective for a distinct and active transition phase for young people, based on learning or earning for all.” The DWP will be increasing the Universal Credit standard allowance above inflation, over the four financial years from 2026/2027.
This will mean the standard allowance will be 4.8 percent higher than it would have been had it gone up in line with the CPI (Consumer Prices Index) measure for inflation, as most DWP benefits usually do.
In setting out the plans in March 2025, former Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall, said: “We will deliver reform with real people and real voices at the heart of the changes – people who for too long have been ‘signed off’ rather than ‘signed up’ to programmes to support them with health or other barriers to getting a decent job.
“That is why we will raise the Universal Credit standard allowance and provide an additional £1billion employment, health and skills support package to make the system pro-work and reduce perverse incentives. These reforms are vital to achieving our goal of spreading the benefits of good work to as many people as possible.
“However, in making these crucial changes we must also be building a benefit system that is more affordable, so we have taken decisive action now.”