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Additional payment if you move to Universal Credit from another benefit

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Additional payment if you move to Universal Credit from another benefit

Additional payment if you move to Universal Credit from another benefit. If your circumstances change and you move from one of the benefits listed below onto Universal Credit, you will receive an additional payment worth up to two weeks benefit. This one-time payment, known as a run-on, is to help people during their first assessment period, and does not have to be paid back.

You will receive this bonus payment if you currently claim one of these benefits before moving onto Universal Credit:

  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

If you are eligible for this payment, it will be paid automatically when you claim Universal Credit for the first time, so you don’t have to contact the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) to receive it. It will not affect the amount of Universal Credit you receive.

Case study

Louise is a lone parent with two children, and she receives Income Support, Child Tax Credit and Housing Benefit. Louise has been notified by the DWP that her Income Support will end and she will need to make a claim for Universal Credit as her youngest child has reached age 5. Her Child Tax Credit and Housing Benefit will also end.

Once Louise has made a claim for Universal Credit, she will receive an additional two weeks’ payment of Income Support. She will also receive an additional two weeks’ payment of Housing Benefit which will help her with her rent payments while she waits for her first payment of Universal Credit.

Further details on claiming Universal Credit and help with making a claim are available online and you can also find out more about claiming UC on our Welfare Rights online pages.

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