You may be able to get Universal Credit if you’re on a low income or need help with your living costs. You could be:
- out of work
- working (including self-employed or part time)
- unable to work, for example because of a health condition
To claim you must:
- live in the UK
- be aged 18 or over (there are some exceptions if you’re 16 to 17)
- be under State Pension age
- have £16,000 or less in money, savings and investments
There are different eligibility rules if you’ve received a Migration Notice letter telling you to claim Universal Credit.
You can use a benefits calculator to check what benefits you could get.
If you live with your partner, you will both need to claim Universal Credit. You must make a joint claim for your household, even if your partner is not eligible. How much you can get will depend on your partner’s income and savings, as well as your own.
If one of you has reached State Pension age you and your partner can still claim Universal Credit as a couple. Your Universal Credit claim will stop when you both reach State Pension age. If you’re getting Pension Credit, it will stop if you or your partner make a claim for Universal Credit. You’ll usually be better off staying on Pension Credit.
Universal Credit is paid monthly on the anniversary of your first payment. You can receive your standard allowance and additional amounts for children, childcare, disability and housing costs subject to eligibility. The amount you receive depends on how much your have earned in the period and if you receive certain benefits
To get Universal Credit payments, you’ll need to accept an agreement called a ‘claimant commitment’.
This is a record of what you agree to do to:
- prepare for and look for work
- increase your earnings, if you are already working.
If you live with your partner, you both have to claim Universal Credit. You’ll each have your own claimant commitment.
You will have a meeting to discuss your claimant commitment, usually at the jobcentre. In this meeting you’ll discuss your circumstances and talk about anything that could make it hard for you to do what’s in your commitment. For example, if you have a mental health condition, or if you care for someone.
You must accept your claimant commitment in your online account or your Universal Credit claim will be stopped.
Your claimant commitment is reviewed regularly and will change if your circumstances change. For example, if you get ill, your partner starts a job or you have a child.
You might need to look for a job. If you have a job, you might need to look for a better paid job or try to work more hours.
What you need to do depends on if you:
- have a health condition or are disabled
- care for someone
- have a child under 13
- earn above a certain amount
If you’re not able to work now but you will be able to in the future, you might need to prepare for work. This could include things like writing a CV or attending a training course.
If you need to look for work, you will get help from a ‘work coach’. Your work coach can help with things like applying for jobs, accessing training or looking for work in your area.
You will have to manage your claim in your online account. You might have to reply to messages, record your childcare costs, or tell us what you’ve done to look for work.
You’ll get a text or email when you need to do something in your online account.
You can contact Universal Credit:
- through your online account
- by calling the Universal Credit helpline on 0800 328 5644