Universal Credit and other in-work benefits - a guide for union reps and workers (April 2019)

Chapter 1

Advance payments

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Claimants can apply for an advance payment while they wait for their first UC payment. However, this is a loan and they must pay it back from their monthly UC payment once they start receiving it. This means that UC claimants are in debt right from the start and receive a lower amount of benefits each month. At present it must be paid back by deductions of up to 40% and it must be repaid within a year. From October 2019, the maximum rate at which deductions can be made from UC to repay an advance payment will reduce to 30% of the standard allowance of UC. From October 2021, the period over which advances can be recovered will increase from 12 to 16 months.


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