Help while waiting for a Universal Credit payment
You can get help if you do not have enough money to live on. Contact the Universal Credit Service Centre through your Universal Credit online account, or speak to your work coach at your local Jobs & Benefits office
Visiting a Jobs & Benefits office
You can visit your local Jobs & Benefits office or call them to arrange an appointment.
If you've received a Migration Notice letter
If you have received a Migration Notice letter telling you that your benefit is ending, note that the eligibility rules for Universal Credit may be different from your existing benefits.
You may lose access to some benefits if you don’t claim Universal Credit.
You can seek independent advice before making a claim to Universal Credit to make sure this is the best decision for you, by contacting Advice NI
What help may be available
You will get your first Universal Credit payment about five weeks after you send your claim and you will receive payments twice a month.
There are a few ways to get help while you are waiting on your first Universal Credit payment:
Universal Credit New Claims Grant
A Universal Credit New Claims Grant payment is Finance Support which may be available if you do not have enough money to live on until you get full payment of your first Universal Credit award and need additional financial support. You will not have to pay this back.
Universal Credit Advance Loan
If you have applied for Universal Credit and do not have enough money to live on, you can apply for an Advance loan. You will have to pay this back from your Universal Credit payments.
You can also ask for an Advance if your Universal Credit payment is going to increase because of a change in your circumstances, but you have not yet got the increased amount.
How much you will get
If you are eligible to get an Advance, you may get up to 100 per cent of your estimated Universal Credit payment.
How you apply for an Advance loan
You can apply for an Advance loan by:
- speaking to your work coach in your local Jobs & Benefits office
- applying through your Universal Credit online account
Messages to your online account will be answered as soon as possible during business hours.
You can only apply for an Advance online if you have had an interview at a Jobs & Benefits office or had a home visit.
If you have made a joint claim with a partner, one of you must have had an interview at a Jobs & Benefits office or had a home visit.
If you are asked to come in to your local office for an appointment it is important that you turn up.
Repeated failure to go to a face to face appointment or to make yourself available for a telephone appointment may affect your payments.
Before you can get an Advance you’ll need to:
- provide details of your bank or building society account
- prove your identity (and your partner’s identity if you have a joint Universal Credit claim)
If you have included children in your claim, Universal Credit will also carry out a check to confirm the children in your household.
Repaying an Advance loan
When you are deciding how much you need, make sure that you can afford to pay it back.
If you can get an Advance, you will be told:
- how much you will get
- how much you will need to pay back every month
- when you will start paying the Advance back
Repayments are taken out of your Universal Credit payments.
You have up to 24 months to pay back the Advance loan. In some circumstances, repayments can be delayed for up to three months if you can’t afford them. Contact your work coach at your local Jobs & Benefits office for more information.
When a repayment amount has been set, this cannot be changed.
If you stop getting Universal Credit, Debt Management will take repayments from your other benefit payments or your wages, or through a debt collection agency. You can also contact Debt Management to arrange repayments.
Why you may not get an Advance loan
You might not get an Advance loan if you:
- will have enough money to live on until you get your Universal Credit payment
- live with your parents, relatives or friends
- will get a final wage or redundancy payment
- have any savings available
If you cannot get an Advance, you can ask Universal Credit to look at the decision again. However, you cannot appeal against the decision.
Budgeting Advance loan
If you already get Universal Credit, you may be able to get a Budgeting Advance loan to help pay emergency household costs, or to help you to get a job or stay in work. You can only get one Budgeting Advance loan at a time, even for joint claims.
A Budgeting Advance loan is to help pay for:
- things that might help you to get a job or stay in work, such as work clothes, tools, travelling expenses and childcare costs
- essential household items such as furniture, a cot, a pram, appliances, clothing and footwear
- rent or removal expenses to get a new place to live
- improvements to, maintenance of, and security measures for your home
How you can get a Budgeting Advance loan
You may be able to get a Budgeting Advance if you:
- have been getting Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Pension Credit or Housing Benefit for six months or more (unless you need the money to help you start a new job or keep an existing job)
- earned less than £2,600 (£3,600 jointly for couples) in the past six months
- have paid off any previous Budgeting Advance loans
How much you will get
The smallest Budgeting Advance you can get is £100. You can get up to:
- £348 if you’re single
- £464 if you’re part of a couple
- £812 if you have children
How much you can get depends on whether you:
- can pay the Advance back
- have savings over £1,000
Apply for a Budgeting Advance loan
To apply, contact the Universal Credit Service Centre through your Universal Credit online account or speak to your work coach at the local Jobs & Benefits office.
Repaying a Budgeting Advance loan
If you can get a Budgeting Advance, Universal Credit will agree with you:
- how much you will need to pay back every month
- when you will start to pay the Advance loan back
When a repayment amount has been set, this cannot be changed.
Repayments will be taken out of your Universal Credit payments.
You will have up to 24 months to pay back the Advance. In some circumstances, repayments can be delayed for up to 6 months.
If you stop getting Universal Credit, Debt Management will take repayments from your other benefit payments or your wages, or through a debt-collection agency. You can also contact Debt Management to arrange repayments.
Discretionary Support
Discretionary Support is short term financial support paid into your bank account as either an interest-free loan or a grant which you do not have to pay back.
Help with Childcare costs
If paying upfront for registered childcare is preventing you from starting work, help may be available.
You can find further information on how to claim upfront childcare costs from the Adviser Discretion Fund. You can also get help from your local Jobs and Benefits office or speak with your work coach.
Further information on support is also available at Employers for Childcare.
Information videos
This video explains what financial help may be available if you are waiting for your first payment of Universal Credit, including a Universal Credit New Claims Grant which you don’t need to pay back.
You can also find out what Financial Support may also be available by watching these short videos.
Information videos can help explain the key stages in claiming Universal Credit.
Help and support
If you would like independent help and advice on Universal Credit, or any other welfare changes, contact: