Several key benefits went up in April (Image: Getty)
People on four DWP benefits could grab a slice of up to £2,672 each this July thanks to various freebies and discounts currently available.
Amongst the financial gloom, there is some good news – with various freebies, discounts and handouts available to claim that are worth up to £2,672.77 per household this month.
Not all of these will be claimable by all people, but one household could theoretically claim all of them at once, if those living in the household met the eligibility criteria for each of the DWP and HMRC benefits listed herein. And of course as long as the household was still within the Benefit Cap, which is still set at just under £26,000 a year total for those in London, or roughly £23,000 for those living outside the capital.
Universal Credit – up to £666.97 per month
Universal Credit is complicated, because it’s becoming a catch-all replacement for various other benefits. So someone who is claiming for help with childcare costs, for disabled children or as a carer can get more money on top of the standard rates.
All elements of Universal Credit saw their payments increased sharply from April, thanks to an increased benefit uprating by the Labour government which added an inflation-busting 6.2% to Universal Credit.
Looking just at the standard rates element, which is help for general living costs for those on low or no income, it means Universal Credit has risen from £316.90 per month for a single person aged under 25 to £3338.58. For single people aged over 25, it rose from £400.14 to £424.90. For a couple under 25, it’s gone from £497.55 to £528.34 and for an over-25 couple, from £628.10 to £666.97.
State pension – up to £1,045.33 per month
Thanks to the – some would say, increasingly controversial – Triple Lock, state pensions have risen by far more than inflation too, linked to wage growth. The Triple Lock states that pensions must rise by one of three metrics: wage growth, inflation or a flat 2.5%, whichever is highest. Wage growth is highest this year, at 4.8%, so pensions have increased in line with that.
The full new state pension has gone up to £241.30 per week, or £1,045.63 per month on average.
The old basic state pension, for those who retired before 2016, increased by the same percentage, but goes from £176.45 per week to £184.90 per week.
Those on the old state pension can boost their pension payout by claiming Pension Credit, which went up to £238 per week from April, which is close to the full new state pension amount anyway.
Child benefit – £117.21
Child benefit also rose in line with other benefits. It went up to £27.05 per week. Because it’s paid as a weekly rate but paid once each month, it averages out to £117.21 per month.
The amount paid for each additional child also went up from £17.25 per week to £17.90 per week. There is no limit to the number of additional children, aside from the overall benefit cap, so you could get much more than £ if you had a lot of children, claiming an extra £17.90 per week for each child.
PIP – £843.26
Personal Independence Payments also went up in April. The payments, sent to those who face difficulties with everyday living and mobility, are split into four categories: Standard daily living, enhanced daily living, standard mobility and enhanced mobility.
Standard daily living went up to £76.70 per week, while the enhanced daily living went up from £110.40 per week to £114.60.
Standard mobility went up from £29.20 per week to £30.30, and enhanced mobility went up from £77.05 to £80.
In total, you could get £843.26 a month if you qualified for the enhanced element of both parts and the payments were averaged across 12 months.
Although the Chancellor has announced a consultation on changes to PIP, including stricter tests for eligibility, no such change has yet been put in place so rates and eligibility remain unaffected for 2026-2027.