With February coming to an end, Universal Credit recipients may notice adjustments to their usual payment dates. The shorter month affects benefit schedules, particularly for those expecting funds on the 29th, 30th, or 31st<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This change, according to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP<\/a>), ensures that no claimant is left waiting beyond their expected payment cycle. With March 1st falling on a Saturday, scheduled deposits for this weekend will be brought forward to Friday, February 28th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unlike some benefits that follow a fixed weekday pattern, Universal Credit <\/a>payments are tied to the date of a claimant’s initial deposit. This means that those who received their first payment on the 29th, 30th, or 31st of a month will be affected in February<\/strong>, as the month has only 28 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Claimants can verify their payment details through their online Universal Credit account or by checking their bank statements. Any discrepancies should be reported directly to the DWP after the weekend<\/strong>, as customer service lines will not be available until Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For those budgeting around their payments, it is crucial to plan ahead. The DWP has previously encouraged claimants to set reminders <\/strong>for payment dates and ensure they account for any schedule changes when managing household expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to the adjusted payment dates, some Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants may receive extra financial support<\/a> as part of an emergency assistance scheme. According to BirminghamLive, Dudley Council has pledged \u00a31.2 million<\/strong> to help vulnerable residents struggling with rent and council tax costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The funding will be divided between two major support schemes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Council leader Patrick Harley emphasised that the initiative is designed to support those in urgent financial need, particularly as energy bills are expected to rise by an average of \u00a3111 per year from April. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Universal Credit recipients are being advised to check their payment dates as a scheduling shift takes place this week. February\u2019s shorter month, combined with a weekend overlap, means some claimants will receive their funds earlier than usual. The DWP has outlined exactly who will be affected and when payments will land.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":104891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-welfare","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104889"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104894,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104889\/revisions\/104894"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}