Tens of thousands of hard-hit benefit claimants are finally set to receive long-overdue compensation, with payments of up to £5,000 due this year, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed.
A total of 57,000 people who were shortchanged in the switch from legacy benefits to Universal Credit will get payouts, with the department aiming to wrap up the scheme by August 2025.
This massive compensation plan comes after the High Court ruled twice in 2018 and 2019 that the Government had failed to protect the incomes of severely disabled claimants. The DWP even attempted to fight the rulings in the Court of Appeal in 2020 – and lost.
These claimants saw their monthly income slashed by around £180 when they were moved onto Universal Credit before proper transitional protections were in place.
If you were receiving Universal Credit with a Severe Disability Premium (SDP) element or transitional amount – or would have qualified had the rules been in place earlier – you could be in line for a payout.
To qualify, you must have been receiving one of the following immediately before moving to Universal Credit:
* An income-based legacy benefit that included an Enhanced Disability Premium
* An income-based legacy benefit that included the Disability Premium
* An income-based legacy benefit that included the Disabled Child Premium or Child Tax Credit with the Disabled Child Element
Payments will be backdated to cover the period from a claimant’s transition to Universal Credit until new income protection rules kicked in this February.
Here’s what you could receive each month:
Single person (Enhanced Disability Premium): £84
Couple (Enhanced Disability Premium): £120
Single person (Disability Premium): £172
Couple (Disability Premium): £246
Disabled child: £177 per eligible child
With back payments covering several years, many claimants will be looking at substantial payouts running into the thousands.
DWP chief Neil Couling has outlined when different groups will receive their money:
First Group: Around 35,000 claimants still receiving Universal Credit and due additional payments from 2020 onwards – expected to be paid by August 2025, with over 4,000 already receiving their money.
Second Group: 15,000 people due payments for the period between 2018 and 2020 – payments start by the end of March, with all settled by August 2025.
Third Group: 7,000 people who no longer claim Universal Credit but are still owed money. No deadline has been set yet, as the DWP is still working out how to process these payments.
