Following the Autumn Budget announcement, we've put together a summary of some of the changes that might impact you:
Benefits
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
The Government hasn't announced any immediate changes to PIP or ESA benefit payments.
This means the benefit payments won't be going up or down at the moment.
There may be changes in 2025, but we don't know what they will be yet. If you currently receive benefits, the Government will let you know about any changes to your benefit payments before anything happens.
If you’re under State Pension age and you currently receive benefits, they’ll still go up by 1.7% (as per the Consumer Prince Index, or CPI) in April 2025. This includes PIP and ESA benefits.
Child Benefit
Child Benefit will also go up by 1.7% in April 2025. You can claim Child Benefit at any age.
Carer's Allowance
The ‘weekly earnings limit’ for Carer’s Allowance will be increased. If you're a carer, this means you'll be able to earn around £30 more each week from employment or self-employment. The current Carer’s Allowance rate is £81.90 a week.
You'll now be able to earn more while getting Carer’s Allowance.
If you work and get Carer’s Allowance, it’s important to not earn more than the weekly earnings limit - if you do, you might stop getting Carer’s Allowance.
The weekly earnings limit is likely to increase in April 2025.
Universal Credit
The Government hasn't announced any immediate changes to the amount of Universal Credit payments.
This means the benefit payments won't be going up or down at the moment.
If you’re under State Pension age and you currently receive benefits, they’ll still go up by 1.7% (as per CPI) in April 2025. This includes Universal Credit.
Companies can take less money from your Universal Credit payments. If you owe money to a company, they might be able to apply for part of your Universal Credit payments to go to them instead of you. This is called a 'third party deduction'.
At the moment, the third party deduction can be up to 25% of your Universal Credit standard amount. The standard amount is the basic amount you can get before things like childcare and housing costs are added.
The Autumn Budget will lower the amount that can be taken from your Universal Credit standard amount to 15%. This is likely to change in April 2025.
The Administrative Earnings Threshold (AET) for Universal Credit will change. If you receive Universal Credit and you’re in the ‘all work-related activity group’, you might have to start looking for more work in April 2025.
If you earn less than a certain amount each month, you need to show your work coach that you’re looking for more work. This amount is called the ‘Administrative Earnings Threshold’ (AET). The AET is based on the National Minimum Wage. When the National Minimum Wage goes up in April 2025, the AET will also go up.
When the AET increases, you might move over or under the threshold. For most people there won't be any change.
The ‘minimum income floor’ for self-employed people on Universal Credit will change. If you're self-employed and claim Universal Credit, the increase to the National Minimum Wage might affect you.
This is because the minimum income floor is based on the National Minimum Wage.
Pensions
The government is keeping the State Pension Triple Lock. This means both Basic and new State Pensions will increase by 4.1% next year.
From April 2025, you could get up to:
The Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) for pensions will also go up by 4.1% in April 2025. This is the minimum amount you’re expected to live on as someone who's over pension age. If your income is less than the MIG, you might be able to get it topped up with Pension Credit.
Work
The Government has announced changes to the National Minimum Wage.
The National Minimum Wage is increasing.
The National Minimum Wages will increase for everyone from April 2025:
- If you’re aged 21 or over, it will increase from £11.44 to £12.21 an hour
- If you’re aged 18 to 20 years, it will increase from £8.60 to £10 an hour
- If you’re an apprentice or you’re 16 or 17 years old, it will increase from £6.40 to £7.55 an hour
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If you're a Leeds Federated customer and are worried about money, rent, benefits or debt, our Money Matters team can offer support and help to keep more money in your pocket: