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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
Sam Barker & David Bentley

Universal Credit change this month will make it tougher for 114,000 to claim benefits

Changes to the benefits system from this month will see over 100,000 jobseekers facing losing their Universal Credit payments unless they follow new rules.

Proposed alterations, which are set to take place on September 26, are expected to take around 114,000 people out of the "light touch" system for jobseekers' payouts.

They will then be put into a group with more stringent rules on what they must do to continue claiming.

This means more pressure and expectations including more meetings with work coaches and increasing searches for work or taking on more work hours.

The "light touch" system for Universal Credit currently applies to people who are in work but need a top-up payment due to low incomes.

The changes will affect more than 100,000 Universal Credit claimants (In Pictures via Getty Images)

This group are not put under extra pressure to get a job or find a better-paid role.

Under this regime, people are still encouraged to increase their earnings so that they no longer need to get a top-up from Universal Credit but the requirements are less stringent than for those who are lowest paid or out of work.

Those who are placed in the light-touch regime are required to take part in two work search interviews on day one and during the eighth week.

However, the changes mean that thousands will be moved to the "Intensive Work Search" regime due to changes to the Administration Earnings Threshold (AET) which separates the two regimes.

The threshold will be raised from £355 to £494 a month for a single claimant and from £567 to £782 a month for a couple.

People earning below those amounts go into the Intensive Work Search where they face greater pressure to get a job or to increase their existing earnings.

This includes attending weekly or fortnightly appointments at the Jobcentre to see if training is needed to boost their prospects and check they are looking for work.

It also includes applying for jobs, registering with employment agencies, getting references, preparing a business plan and looking into childcare provision.

A Department for Work and Pensions statement explaining the changes said: "Since its introduction in 2013, the AET has not kept pace with the increases in the National Living Wage, with the result that the number of hours needed to work to earn the AET has fallen over time.

"The adjustment will bring the AET back to its original ‘parity’ with the National Living Wage."

Last week The Mirror reported that thousands of people who claim Universal Credit should check if they’ve been underpaid.

Martin Lewis ’ MoneySavingExpert explained how information about your earnings could end up in the wrong assessment period due to a “flaw” in the system.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) communicates with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to help it work out your Universal Credit award, if you worked in your last assessment period.

HMRC will normally match up your earnings information with your National Insurance number - but if your employer submits your pay details without your National Insurance number, this could cause delays.

MoneySavingExpert has warned that this delay could then mean your earnings information ends up in the wrong Universal Credit assessment period.

It means it could look like you’ve earned more than you did, which means you might have received less Universal Credit than you should have.

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