Martin Lewis: Are you one of over a million people missing out on Universal Credit? | Personal Finance | Finance

On the other hand, if you’re a single parent and/or have a disability and you work but don’t pay rent, or you’re self-employed earning under £1,200 per month, then you’re likely to be worse off on Universal Credit. Same too if you’ve a decent whack of savings, especially if they’re over the £16,000 cut-off. 

Step 2: If you’re in the right category, use a benefits calculator. It will tell you if you’re likely to be better off and by how much. But bear in mind these tools are ready reckoners that don’t include everything – so only treat this step as a jumping off point to see if you should do more.

Step 3: If the calculator shows you’ll make a decent gain, don’t do anything without one-on-one help. There are a lot of changes in the move to Universal Credit…

– You’re usually paid monthly and must budget (tricky for some with impulse control or addiction problems).

– It’s one payment to the household (a possible issue for those in financially abusive relationships).

– The first payment takes five weeks (though you can get an advance to cover it).

– The work rules may be different; some have to do 35 hours of ‘work-related’ activities a week.