UK to give early benefit payments in August
Key Points
- The DWP will pay benefits due on Monday (31 August) two days early, on Friday (28 August).
- The change covers Universal Credit, State Pension, PIP, Attendance Allowance, Carer's Allowance and Disability Living Allowance, among others.
- It applies across the whole UK, including Scotland.
- Payment amounts do not change, and the next payment reverts to its usual date.
- The DWP linked the move to the new school year and wider cost-of-living support.
The Department for Work and Pensions will bring forward benefit payments due on the August bank holiday to Friday (28 August).
The early payment arrangement covers all major benefits, including Universal Credit, State Pension, Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance, Carer’s Allowance and Disability Living Allowance.
Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Pension Credit, Employment Support Allowance and the Industrial Injuries Compensation Scheme also fall within it.
The full list means most claimants due money on Monday (31 August) will see it land two days sooner.
The arrangement applies across the entire United Kingdom, with Scotland following the same principle despite its different bank holiday dates.
The early date changes nothing about the amount claimants receive, and the payment after it returns to its normal schedule.
Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability, said the change means families and older people receive their money without disruption over the bank holiday period.
He pointed to the government’s decision to take money off energy bills and increase the National Minimum Wage as part of the same effort to give households more room.
Wider cost-of-living measures
The government said it is extending free school meals to every child in a household claiming Universal Credit, backed by more than £1 billion in funding, a step it expects to lift 100,000 children out of poverty.
It is also expanding childcare and rolling out free breakfast clubs, which it estimates give parents back up to 95 hours a year and save them £450.
The national living wage rise takes effect next year and is worth £900 a year to a full-time worker, while the government has committed to taking £150 off energy bills for the years ahead.
Its Child Poverty Strategy targets lifting 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030, and a £1 billion Crisis and Resilience Fund will give local authorities money and flexibility to design their own support.
A further £3.5 billion by the end of the parliament backs employment support for sick and disabled people, including the Connect to Work scheme now running in every area of the country.
