Universal credit advance question

[singlemumnow]

Hi all,

Just a quick question I've applied for UC and I'm eligible for it but won't get paid until the 29th November so I can have an advance, it's saying I can have £547 and I was wondering is that because that's how much I'm eligible for or is it more or less or something? I'm just wondering if anyone knew

Thank you

It depends if you have the housing cost element or not. The UC advance can be 100% of your award.

You can work out your award which is based on
Your age
Single/couple
Children
Disability
Housing costs
If you are working.

Or use a benefits calculator which should let you know roughly what you can expect.

@Bonsaibreaker

It depends if you have the housing cost element or not. The UC advance can be 100% of your award.

You can work out your award which is based on
Your age
Single/couple
Children
Disability
Housing costs
If you are working.

Or use a benefits calculator which should let you know roughly what you can expect.

That's what I'm confused about, I did a benefit calculation and it said I'm entitled to £140 so I've been through the claim and had a nosy at the advance and it said £549 so I was just wondering that's all (I used same information for calculator and applying for UC)

Thank you for answering me :)

That’s generally how much you’re eligible for unless other parts haven’t been calculated yet

With UC it does seem like they make the advance award up as they go along!

You should be able to see a breakdown of your award on your journal about 6 days before your pay day.

That's what I'm confused about, I did a benefit calculation and it said I'm entitled to £140

Was that per week or per month?
Entitled2 Ben calculator shows the weekly amount by default so you have click the month tab to change it.

@Bonsaibreaker

That's what I'm confused about, I did a benefit calculation and it said I'm entitled to £140

Was that per week or per month?
Entitled2 Ben calculator shows the weekly amount by default so you have click the month tab to change it.

I'm sure it said monthly but some people said they can be inaccurate but I'm not sure. I was just asking with the advance being so much higher but I'll find out on the 25th anyway x

The advance is usually not higher than your award so hopefully they haven't buggered it up

Do you have any earnings? They wont know what you have earned until the end of your first assessment period so maybe they are basing the advance on what you would receive before deductions?

I think I know what's happened I don't think they've considered my work allowance in the advance which is why it's more than I thought so I earn £1170 each month (part time) so I think it will be around £140 each month - does that sound about right to anyone reading this?

Run your details through Entitled To, it will show you how much you are likely to get. It is accurate unless you have some rather complicated circumstances and it makes clear when it is not going to be accurate.

www.entitledto.co.uk/

@Babyroobs

Do you have any earnings? They wont know what you have earned until the end of your first assessment period so maybe they are basing the advance on what you would receive before deductions?

Yes, I think that's what I've figured out now.

Another question sorry so if I borrowed the £561 and odd and agreed to pay that off at like £40 a month would they take it off my UC I get so the £140 odd or would they want the full £561 back straight away? (Only asking as I'm a bit down this month due to being off work)

Thank you so much for the answers though, I'm understanding it a bit more

www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-advances#how-the-advance-is-repaid

How the advance is repaid
Deductions are made from your monthly Universal Credit payment. The first deduction is made on the day you get your first payment. You must usually pay back the advance within:

24 months if you apply for the advance on or after 12 April 2021 because you’ve made a new claim for Universal Credit
12 months if you applied for the advance before 12 April 2021 because you made a new claim for Universal Credit
6 months if you apply for the advance because of a change of circumstances
You can ask for your repayments to be delayed if you cannot afford them. Repayments can be delayed for:

3 months if the advance is for a new claim
1 month if the advance is for a change of circumstances
This is only allowed in exceptional circumstances.

Cost of repayments
If you apply for an advance online you will be shown on screen the repayment amounts for different repayment periods.

If you apply by phone, the Universal Credit helpline adviser assesses whether you can afford to repay the advance. If they agree to the advance, they will tell you over the phone:

how much you can have
the monthly repayment amounts
when the first repayment is due

www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-advances#how-much-you-can-get

How much you can get
You may be able to get up to 100% of your estimated Universal Credit payment.

You will need to repay an advance from future Universal Credit payments or by other means if you no longer get Universal Credit, such as from wages or other benefits you may be getting.

Perfect thank you everyone, I'm new to all this and a bit stupid so was unsure where to go.