The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed a significant shake-up to Universal Credit payments, set to take effect from the start of the new financial year on 6 April 2026. For the first time, the annual increase will not be a uniform, inflation-linked rise applied across all components. Instead, claimants will see a tiered system of adjustments, including one substantial reduction for new applicants in a key category.
A Breakdown of the April 2026 Payment Changes
The central change involves the standard allowance, the core payment made before any additional elements are added. This will receive an above-inflation increase of approximately 6.2%. This is calculated from the September 2025 inflation rate of 3.8%, plus an additional government boost of 2.3%.
In contrast, most other elements of Universal Credit will rise only in line with that 3.8% inflation figure. However, one element faces a drastic cut. The sickness top-up for those assessed as having 'limited capability for work and work-related activity' (LCWRA) will be slashed by around half for anyone newly placed in this category after April 2026.
This reduction, to £217.26 per month for new claimants, aligns with changes made in the Universal Credit Act 2025, aimed at removing perceived financial incentives to declare oneself unfit for work. Existing LCWRA claimants will see a small inflationary rise to £429.80.
Confirmed New Payment Rates from April 2026
The DWP has released the following confirmed monthly rates:
Standard Allowance increases:
- Single claimant under 25: Rising from £316.98 to £338.58.
- Single claimant 25 or over: Rising from £400.14 to £429.90.
- Joint claimants (both under 25): Rising from £497.55 to £528.34.
- Joint claimants (one or both 25 or over): Rising from £628.10 to £666.97.
Other key elements:
The child element for children born after 6 April 2017 will increase by 3.8% from £292.81 to £303.94.
The disabled child addition rises to £164.79 (lower rate) and £514.71 (higher rate).
Universal Credit's built-in carer element increases from £201.68 to £209.34 per month.
Charity Warns Payments Still Fall Short of Essentials
Despite the above-inflation rise to the standard allowance, poverty campaigners have warned that the basic rate of Universal Credit remains critically inadequate. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) stated that its calculations show the allowance "bears no relationship to the cost of essentials".
Chris Belfield, Chief Economist at JRF, said: "The majority of people on Universal Credit cannot afford essentials like food, heating and basic toiletries. The standard allowance, the basic rate that people on Universal Credit receive, should enable people to afford life's essentials. But it has never reflected what those essentials actually cost."
His colleague, Iain Porter, a Senior Policy Adviser at JRF, called for systemic reform: "Instead of simply uprating last year's arbitrary amount each year, we need an independent process to recommend rates that reflect what people need to at least afford essentials. This would significantly strengthen our benefits system's ability to protect people from hardship when they fall on hard times."
The coming changes therefore present a mixed picture for claimants: enhanced support through the standard allowance, but a much harsher landscape for those newly facing severe health challenges, against a backdrop of continuing concerns over the overall adequacy of benefit levels.
