BENEFITS and the state pension have increased at the start of the new financial year, with changes also affecting universal credit and other payments.
The two-child benefit cap has been scrapped, allowing about 480,000 families with three or more children to receive an average rise of £4,100 a year.
For the past nine years, parents could claim universal credit or tax credits only for their first two children, a policy estimated to have saved the Treasury about £3.6bn a year.
Tracey Morris, a single mother of five from Huddersfield, told the BBC the increase would help with rising costs. She works full-time for the local council and also takes extra shifts at a pub. “I've always had to be careful what I spend and how I spend it. The cost of living got so high, it's a struggle,” she said. “It's so draining. I'm exhausted worrying about money all the time. As a mum, sometimes you feel like you're failing, but I'm not failing, it's just the situation, unfortunately, that we are in.”
She will receive just under £300 extra each month for each of three children. Payments will rise automatically from May.
The basic allowance for universal credit will increase, giving about three million families an average of £120 more this year. The health element for new claimants will be halved, while existing claimants are protected.
Other benefits, including disability payments and carer’s allowance, have risen by 3.8%. The state pension has increased by 4.8%, with the full new rate at £241.30 a week and the basic rate at £184.90.
Income tax thresholds remain frozen until 2031.
