Benefits Increase But Nothing Like Inflation

BENEFITS RISE - The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed increases in payments for benefits and payments from next week. All benefits are set to rise from April 11 this year in line with the State Pension.

This is usually calculated by the triple lock which sees pensions increase by either inflation, the average wage, or 2.5%, whichever is highest. The government disregarded this system last year due to the wage jump at the end of furlough which saw wages grow by eight percent and decided to use the inflation figure of 3.1%.

Inflation has skyrocketed since then with the Bank of England predicting it could hit eight percent in the coming months. The government has now announced the triple lock is set to be reinstated for next year.

This would see, at the current time, a massive increase in both the State Pension and benefits although it would only come into force from April 2023. In the meantime, the 3.1% rise in benefits is set to come into effect soon.

All benefits delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions are set to be affected which includes Universal Credit, the Personal Independence Payment and Jobseeker’s allowance. The State Pension will also increase by 3.1%

Universal Credit will therefore increase from £324.84 for a single person aged 25 or over to £334.91 a month. The amount of Universal Credit you receive from a child will also go up from £237.08 for a child born after April 6, 2017, or second child to £244.58 a month.

Inflation: UK inflation hit a 30-year high of 6.2% in February and is heading for 9% later this year, according to the government's budget watchdog, which predicted living standards in 2022 would fall by the most since at least the 1950s

ABC Comment, have your say below: