Am I Eligible for Universal Credit? Who Can Claim UC

Universal Credit is a payment to help with your living costs. To claim you must:

• ✓Yes: Live in the UK
• ✓Yes: Be aged 18 or over (there are some exceptions if you are 16 to 17, see below)
• ✓Yes: Be under State Pension age (a couple can still claim together if only one of you has reached it)
• ✓Yes: Have £16,000 or less in money, savings and investments

You must also meet these tests:

• ✓Yes: You are in Great Britain: you are treated as not being there unless you are habitually resident in the UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland, and that needs a right to reside
• ✓Yes: You are not in full-time education, unless an exception applies (see the students section)
• ✓Yes: You have accepted a claimant commitment
• ✓Yes: You are not a person subject to immigration control, unless you fall within a category prescribed in regulations

You may be able to get Universal Credit if you are on a low income or need help with your living costs. You could be:

• ✓Yes: Out of work
• ✓Yes: Working (including self-employed or part time)
• ✓Yes: Unable to work, for example because of a health condition

If you are 16 or 17 you can make a claim for Universal Credit if any of the following apply:

• ✓Yes: You have a health condition or disability and have medical evidence for it, such as a fit note
• ✓Yes: You are caring for someone who gets a health or disability-related benefit
• ✓Yes: A medical professional has said you are nearing the end of life
• ✓Yes: You are responsible for a child
• ✓Yes: You live with your partner, have responsibility for a child and your partner is eligible for Universal Credit
• ✓Yes: You are pregnant and expecting your baby in the next 11 weeks
• ✓Yes: You have had a baby in the last 15 weeks
• ✓Yes: You do not have parental support, for example you do not live with your parents and are not under local authority care

Northern Ireland: In Northern Ireland, Universal Credit is paid under Part 2 of the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015. nidirect says you must be aged 18 or over (16 or 17 in certain circumstances), be under State Pension age (unless in a mixed-age couple), not be in full-time education or training (unless exceptions apply), not have money, savings and investments over £16,000 (unless a capital disregard applies) and live in the UK (or live in the Republic of Ireland but work in Northern Ireland).

Universal Credit takes into account as capital the value of all money, savings and investments you own, or jointly own with someone else. All money, savings and investments you have in the UK and abroad are taken into account, including cash in your bank accounts, savings accounts, ISAs, Premium Bonds, stocks and shares, cryptoassets, money in trust funds (apart from in certain circumstances) and property you own but do not live in yourself (apart from in certain circumstances). Unspent benefits and unspent income count too, and your debts are not taken into account.

You tell DWP about all the money, savings and investments you have when you claim, and you must report changes as soon as they happen. See our guide to Universal Credit and bank statements if DWP asks about a payment.

Your personal possessions are not taken into account, and neither is the value of the property you own and live in. Property you own but do not live in is taken into account unless it is the main home of a close relative who is retired or has a severe health condition, or of a former partner who is a lone parent.

Yes. You could be out of work, working (including self-employed or part time) or unable to work, for example because of a health condition. There is no limit to how many hours you can work and still get Universal Credit. As wages increase, your payments reduce until you are earning enough to no longer get UC, and then they stop.

• There is no limit to how many hours you can work and still claim UC
• For every £1 you earn from working, your UC payment goes down by 55p
• If you or your partner are responsible for a child or young person, or living with a disability or health condition that affects your ability to work, you can earn a certain amount before your UC starts to be reduced. This amount is called a work allowance
• The work allowance is £427 a month if you get help with housing costs through UC or live in temporary accommodation arranged by your council because you are homeless, and £710 a month if neither applies to you
• Most employers report your wages for you, and you will normally only need to report monthly earnings if you are self-employed
• Your UC amount is calculated each month, in a period called your monthly assessment period

Self-employed people can claim UC. If you are gainfully self-employed, your UC payment may be calculated using an assumed level of earnings, called the minimum income floor. It is based on what an employed person on minimum wage would expect to earn in similar circumstances.

• To claim as a self-employed person you need to show that self-employment is your main work: it is your main job or main source of income, you get regular work from it, and your work is organised, for example you have invoices and receipts, or accounts, and you expect to make a profit. If you can show all of this you are considered gainfully self-employed, and you do not have to look for other work
• You may be eligible for a 12 month start up period. During it your monthly earnings are used to work out your UC and the minimum income floor does not apply
• Your work coach can tell you if you can get a start up period, and you attend quarterly appointments with them, providing evidence that you are still gainfully self-employed and actively taking steps to build your business
• You are only entitled to one start up period, unless it has been more than 5 years since your previous one and you have started a completely different type of self-employment
• If you earn more than the minimum income floor, your UC is based on your actual earnings. If you earn less, the floor is used instead
• The floor only applies to a claimant who would otherwise be subject to all work-related requirements
• At the end of each monthly assessment period you report how much you earned from self-employment, even if it is nothing, any money you paid into a pension, and payments into and out of your business, in your UC account

You cannot usually get Universal Credit if you are studying full-time. There are some exceptions. You may be able to get UC if you are studying full-time and any of the following apply:

• ✓Yes: You live with your partner and they are eligible for Universal Credit
• ✓Yes: You are responsible for a child, either as a single person or as a couple
• ✓Yes: You have reached State Pension age and live with a partner who is below State Pension age
• ✓Yes: You have received a Migration Notice letter telling you to move to Universal Credit
• ✓Yes: You are 21 or under, studying any qualification up to A level or equivalent, and do not have parental support
• ✓Yes: You have been assessed as having limited capability for work by a Work Capability Assessment before starting your course, and are entitled to PIP, DLA, Attendance Allowance or Armed Forces Independence Payment, or in Scotland Adult Disability Payment, Child Disability Payment, Pension Age Disability Payment or Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance

You may also be able to claim if you are studying part-time or doing a course for which no student loan or finance is available.

If you live with your partner you will both need to claim Universal Credit. You must make a joint claim for your household, even if your partner is not eligible. How much you can get will depend on your partner's income and savings, as well as your own. A couple is two people who are married to, or civil partners of, each other and are members of the same household, or two people who are living together as if they were a married couple or civil partners.

• Your combined money, savings and investments are taken into account even if your partner is not eligible for Universal Credit
• The capital limit for joint claimants is £16,000, counted on your combined capital
• You will each have your own claimant commitment
• If only one of you has reached State Pension age, you can still claim as a couple, and your claim stops when you both reach State Pension age
• If you both claim, you get one payment each month for your household. You can ask for an alternative payment arrangement, which could mean you arrange to get a separate payment from your partner
• You may make a claim as a single person if your partner is a prisoner, is not in Great Britain, or is excluded from benefits by section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Your partner's capital is then treated as yours

You will not get UC if any of the following apply:

• ✗No: Your money, savings and investments are more than £16,000
• ✗No: You are under 18 and none of the circumstances listed above for 16 or 17 applies
• ✗No: You have reached State Pension age (if you have a partner, your claim stops when you both have)
• ✗No: You are in full-time education and none of the exceptions apply to you
• ✗No: You are a person subject to immigration control, for example because your leave to enter or remain is subject to a condition that you do not have recourse to public funds, unless you fall within a category prescribed in regulations
• ✗No: You are not treated as being in Great Britain, for example because you do not have a right to reside

If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, you and your family might also need settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to get Universal Credit.

Other support to look at if you do not qualify for UC:

• Over State Pension age: Pension Credit gives you extra money to help with your living costs if you are over State Pension age and on a low income
• Council Tax Reduction: apply to your local council. What you get depends on your circumstances and on your household income, which includes savings, pensions and your partner's income
• In full-time education: there is information about help with student finance on GOV.UK
• Immigration restrictions: if your permission to stay is based on your family or private life, or you hold a BN(O) visa, you can apply to change your conditions to allow access to public funds if your financial circumstances change
• Health condition: PIP can help with extra living costs if you have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability and difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around. You can get PIP even if you are working, have savings or are getting most other benefits
• Already getting other benefits: work out if you will be better off before you claim UC. If you apply for UC those benefits might end and you will not be able to apply for them again, even if your application is not approved