The difference follows the release of September’s inflation figures and legislation requiring an additional increase to Universal Credit payments. The announcement comes as Britain’s welfare spending faces renewed scrutiny, with expenditure excluding the state pension expected to reach £180.6 billion next year.
Why Universal Credit Payments Will Rise Faster Than Other Benefits
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will increase several benefits by 3.5% in April 2027, reflecting the latest inflation rate. These include Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Attendance Allowance and Carer’s Allowance.
Universal Credit will follow a different arrangement. According to the Birmingham Mail, its standard allowance is expected to rise by approximately 6.6% to 6.7%, combining the September Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation figure with an additional increase required by law.
The Universal Credit Act 2025 requires the Secretary of State to raise the standard allowance by at least the September CPI rate, followed by a further amount. This means the increase will exceed the inflation-linked adjustments applied to other benefits.
Baroness Sherlock previously addressed the government’s approach, stating: “The announced increase in the standard allowance will see an above inflation increase in every year from 2026/27 to the end of Parliament.“
According to The Sun, the additional increase is connected to government rules intended to gradually replace the £20 weekly Universal Credit uplift introduced during the Covid pandemic and subsequently withdrawn.
State pension recipients will also see a different increase. Payments are set to rise by 3.9% under the triple lock, as average earnings growth exceeded both the 3.5% inflation figure and the minimum 2.5% guarantee.
The inflation announcement followed a rise in fuel costs. Office for National Statistics chief economist Grant Fitzner said inflation had reached its highest annual rate in almost a year, with diesel prices at their highest level since July 2022.
Welfare Spending Forecast To Reach £180.6 Billion Amid Rising Claims
The benefit increases coincide with growing pressure over the cost of Britain’s welfare system. According to The Sun, figures from the TaxPayers’ Alliance indicate that welfare expenditure excluding the state pension will rise from £174.8 billion to £180.6 billion in April, an increase of £5.8 billion. Including state pension payments, total welfare spending is forecast to reach £340.2 billion. Annual expenditure is also projected to reach £409 billion by 2030.
Shimeon Lee, a policy analyst at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, criticised the increases, saying: “Ministers cannot keep treating taxpayers like an endless cash machine to fund a spiralling benefits bill.”
He also argued that automatic benefit uprating was increasing spending without sufficient consideration of affordability. The figures come alongside rising numbers of people receiving health-related support. Sickness benefit claims have reached 7.6 million, while Universal Credit health claims have increased by 23% in a year to 3.5 million. PIP claims have also reached a record 4.1 million.
The planned April increases therefore arrive amid two developments: higher payments for benefit recipients under existing uprating rules, and continued debate over the scale of government welfare expenditure.
