{"id":125265,"date":"2026-09-08T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=125265"},"modified":"2026-09-08T12:47:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T11:47:18","slug":"major-dwp-income-change-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/major-dwp-income-change-revealed\/","title":{"rendered":"Major DWP Income Change Revealed: What the New Child Maintenance Rule Means for Parents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The reforms include lowering the income change threshold that can trigger a new calculation and bringing some forms of unearned income into the standard assessment process. The proposals are part of a wider modernisation programme for the CMS, although they will require new legislation before they can be introduced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Income Threshold Set to Fall From 25 Per Cent to 15 Per Cent<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Under the current system, a parent\u2019s child maintenance calculation can normally be reviewed during the year if their income changes by at least 25 per cent<\/strong> from the figure used by the CMS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DWP has confirmed plans to reduce this threshold to 15 per cent,<\/strong> meaning smaller changes in earnings could lead to a reassessment of payments. According to DWP minister Andrew Western, the department recently completed a review of the child maintenance calculation and intends to reduce the income tolerance <\/strong>so changes in income are reflected more quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Child maintenance calculations are usually based on gross annual income information supplied by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC<\/strong>), generally using the latest available tax year. Cases are automatically reviewed every year, while changes during the year can currently be considered when income changes meet the existing threshold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government also plans to include unearned income <\/a>within the standard calculation. This can include taxable income from investments, dividends and rental properties recorded by HMRC. At present, such income may be considered through a separate variation process, where a parent asks the CMS to take additional financial circumstances into account. The proposed change would mean these income sources are considered as part of the normal calculation<\/strong> process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DWP\u2019s new 15% income rule could change Child Maintenance calculations \u00a9Shutterstock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Government Plans Wider Changes to CMS Collection and Enforcement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The planned reforms extend beyond payment calculations, with the government also proposing changes to how maintenance payments are collected. Currently, parents can use Direct Pay<\/strong>, where payments are transferred between parents, or Collect and Pay, where the CMS collects payments from the paying parent before passing them on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government intends to remove Direct Pay<\/a> and introduce a single enhanced Collect and Pay system. According to the reports, the DWP says this would allow the service to monitor payments more closely, identify missed payments earlier and take enforcement action more quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further measures are planned to address unpaid child maintenance. The government intends to introduce administrative liability orders<\/strong>, replacing the current court-based process. The DWP said this change could reduce the time needed to secure an order in many cases and allow enforcement activity to begin sooner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The department has also confirmed that cases involving suspected income misrepresentation can be referred to the CMS Financial Investigation Unit. The unit examines whether financial information used in maintenance calculations is accurate and can identify grounds for a revised liability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reforms are being developed alongside wider updates to CMS services, including improvements to online systems, case handling and communication with parents. The proposed changes will be introduced once the required legislation has passed through Parliament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed plans to reform the way the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) calculates payments, with changes designed to reflect parents\u2019 financial circumstances more closely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":125268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","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\/125265","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=125265"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":125269,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125265\/revisions\/125269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}