Thousands on Universal Credit and benefits will be paid early – check if your payment date is affected

THE Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is coming up and millions of people will be celebrating over the four-day weekend. The bank holiday break in June means benefits including Universal Credit, state pension and child benefit could be paid early. The Queen is celebrating her Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne, on the first weekend […]

THE Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is coming up and millions of people will be celebrating over the four-day weekend.

The bank holiday break in June means benefits including Universal Credit, state pension and child benefit could be paid early.

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An extra bank holiday in June for the Queen’s Jubilee can affect benefit payments[/caption]

The Queen is celebrating her Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne, on the first weekend in June.

There will be an extra long weekend to mark the occasion with two bank holidays on Thursday, June 2 and Friday, June 3

The country is getting an extra day off this year, with a new bank holiday added to the calendar just for the occasion.

Meanwhile the spring bank holiday which usually comes at the end of May each year has been moved to early June to make it a bumper bank hol.

Bank holidays can affect your usual dates for getting paid Universal Credit and other benefits.

For example, over Easter many claimants were paid the day before Good Friday.

Here’s how your payments could be affected over the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend.

When will my Universal Credit be paid over the Jubilee weekend?

Universal Credit is paid once a month into your bank, building society or credit union account.

If your benefit payment date falls on a bank holiday, you’ll usually be paid on the working day before.

That means you will get your Universal Credit payment earlier than usual if your payment is scheduled to fall on Thursday, June 2 or Friday June 3.

Payment is expected on the working day before, which is Wednesday June 1.

There’s nothing you need to do – the change in payment date will happen automatically.

If your payment date falls on a normal working day on either side of the long weekend, you’ll get payments as normal.

What other benefit payment dates will change over the Queen’s Jubilee weekend?

Universal Credit isn’t the only benefit that can be affected by bank holidays.

The following payment dates can also change:

• State Pension
• Employment support allowance (ESA)
• Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) 
• Carer’s allowance
• Pension credit
• Personal Independence Payments (PIP)
• Attendance allowance

Will the amount of Universal Credit or benefit I’m paid change?

The amount of Universal Credit or other benefit payment amount you get won’t change.

The only exception is if you’ve had a change of circumstances at the same time which affects how much you get.

Remember, being paid earlier than normal means that you’ll need to make the money stretch for extra days as you’ll have longer to wait until next month’s payment.

Make sure you take this into account when working out your household budget.

If your money is not paid on time, then you should double check the date you get paid normally and contact your bank before calling the DWP.

If something’s not right, you can also submit a complaint to the DWP.

What other bank holidays can affect Universal Credit and benefit payments?

June’s long bank holiday weekend for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is not the only bank holiday you’ll get in this year.

Here’s the full list of Bank holidays in 2022 that could affect your benefit payments:

• Tuesday, July 12 – Battle of the Boyne (Northern Ireland only)
• Monday, August 1 – Summer Bank Holiday (Scotland only)
• Monday, August 29 – Summer Bank Holiday (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
• Wednesday, November 30 – St Andrew’s Day (Scotland only)
• Monday, December 26 – Boxing Day
• Tuesday, December 27 – Christmas Day (substitute day)

Meanwhile a benefits expert has revealed how to avoid losing cash after a change to Universal Credit rules.

And millions of people are missing out on £13billion unclaimed benefits – check if you’re owed cash.