Universal Credit - How often do they ask about savings?

calcotti

For UC the amount payable is calculated on a monthly basis. The assessment period is set by the date of claim. So a claim made on the 5th of the month would have an AP which runs from 5th to 4th of each calendar month.
Changes are reported online through the UC journal. Having reported changes she might be required to provide copies of bank statements to confirm the information.

UKSBD

calcotti said:

UC entitlement is based on situation on last day of assessment period so reporting on or just before last day makes sense.

Do you only have to report a change if it takes you in to another £250 band?
I.e. if you had £6,400 but then go over £6,500 or is it best to just report how much you have every month?

calcotti

UKSBD said:

calcotti said:

UC entitlement is based on situation on last day of assessment period so reporting on or just before last day makes sense.

Do you only have to report a change if it takes you in to another £250 band?
I.e. if you had £6,400 but then go over £6,500 or is it best to just report how much you have every month?

It only makes sense to report changes that cross £250 thresholds.

lots of general information on UC here  https://www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/

Spoonie_Turtle

UKSBD said:

Thank you.
What is the assesment period - is that monthly?
Are payments made monthly and therefore she just has to send in info just before the next month starts.
How  would she send it in, just simply done online or have to fill out a big long form every month?
Sorry for all the questions, but she's pur of any claiming for at least 3 months as she doesn't know what to do about savings (doesn't even know what she has due to accounts set up by grandparents, premiun bonds, etc.)

Oh, she definitely needs to find that out first before doing anything.

The Assessment Period is one calendar month, the starting date will be the date she submits her claim. Payments are calculated at the end of each AP then the money is paid about a week after the AP ends. So the first payment will be about 5 weeks after submitting her claim, but they are monthly thereafter.
[It may be wise to make sure she claims not near the end of a calendar month, in case she gets a job with low-ish pay and is still eligible for UC - most paydays tend to be the end of the month but if they move about slightly for weekends or bank holidays it can cause problems if she were to be paid twice in one AP. It's a bit complicated but if she submits her claim not in the last week of the calendar month then she will avoid potential problems with that.]

Everything is done online for UC, to report a change she just needs to go into her account and select the right option under 'report a change'. I don't know what exactly they ask for as proof, presumably statements but I know some documents can be uploaded. So if in her first month of claiming she spends some more of her savings after the initial application, she can update near the end of the first AP for her payment to be calculated correctly.

What she's entitled to will depend on her circumstances including her age, whether she rents, has a partner, children. The standard single person allowance is £342.72 if she's under 25, or £409.89 if she's 25+. More info here https://www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/new-to-universal-credit/how-much-youll-get/
Oh, and that rate is set to drop by about £90 in April, as it has been temporarily increased due to the pandemic.

(Edit: cross-posted with calcotti)

UKSBD

Thank you all.
I've now helped her get all her savings records together and helped her make a claim.
One question we're not sure about (why they ask the question really) was, did you earn less than £542 in any month in previous 12 months? Why do they ask this?
She actually earned £580 a month before losing her job, but last year only earned £540, what's the significance of £542 a month?

calcotti

Normally the reason for asking about previous earnings is to see if claimant is exempt from the benefit cap but I don’t recognise the figure of £542. https://www.gov.uk/benefit-cap/how-earnings-affect-when-benefit-cap-starts
Benefit cap is not likely to affect her anyway.

UKSBD

calcotti said:

Normally the reason for asking about previous earnings is to see if claimant is exempt from the benefit cap but I don’t recognise the figure of £542. https://www.gov.uk/benefit-cap/how-earnings-affect-when-benefit-cap-starts
Benefit cap is not likely to affect her anyway.

Thanks, yes  I found a reference to the £542 just after posting.
It looks like it is related to a cap and not really relevant to her.

She has an account set up now.
I must say, I'm really impressed, someone from the agency added a journal  very quickly and she has already received a call about a phone appointment.
They also say she should know what she we will receive on 10th November and start getting it on 14th.
All a lot easier and less stressful than we were expecting :-)

Edit to add: reference to the £542 can be found here - https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/factsheets/fs92_universal_credit_fcs.pdf
7.3 Benefit cap

calcotti

The AgeUK Factsheet is excellent as with all their factsheets.
Not sure why the Fact sheet refers to £542 when the gov.uk page linked to refers to £569 and £604.

Robbie64

calcotti said:

The AgeUK Factsheet is excellent as with all their factsheets.
Not sure why the Fact sheet refers to £542 when the gov.uk page linked to refers to £569 and £604.

£542 would be the monthly amount based on the minimum wage rate (£7.83 per hour) for 2018/19. £569 (8.21 p/h) is 2019/20 and £604 (£8.72 ph) is 2020/21. It looks like AgeUK need to update their factsheet.

calcotti

Robbie64 said:

calcotti said:

The AgeUK Factsheet is excellent as with all their factsheets.
Not sure why the Fact sheet refers to £542 when the gov.uk page linked to refers to £569 and £604.

£542 would be the monthly amount based on the minimum wage rate (£7.83 per hour) for 2018/19. £569 (8.21 p/h) is 2019/20 and £604 (£8.72 ph) is 2020/21. It looks like AgeUK need to update their factsheet.

I wondered about that - the puzzle is that the OP appears to state that the DWP have asked if earnings dropped below £542.