How much will benefits rise by next year?

If you receive universal credit or other benefits, you’ll see your payments go up from April.

Here’s how much of a rise you can expect.

Two-child benefit cap

From next April, the two-child limit on universal credit and tax credits will be removed.

This means that if you have more than two children, you may be able to receive support for each child.

• the cap was introduced by the Conservatives in 2017
• around 1.6 million children are currently affected, which applies to third or subsequent children born after 6 April 2017
• most families hit by the cap have at least one parent in work
• ending the policy is expected to lift 450,000 children out of poverty by 2029-30
• if your family is affected, you could gain around £5,310 a year on average
• the cap does not affect child benefit, which is paid to families where the highest-earning parent earns less than £80,000

Which other benefits will increase?

Every April, nine benefits must legally rise in line with inflation. If you receive any of these, your payments will go up:

• personal independence payment (PIP)
• disability living allowance
• attendance allowance
• incapacity benefit
• severe disablement allowance
• industrial injuries benefit
• carer’s allowance
• additional state pension
• guardian’s allowance

Other benefits usually rise too, but they need parliamentary approval each year.

Universal credit

Universal credit increases with inflation each April. But in 2026 an additional 2.3% uplift on top of inflation is being added to universal credit. This is due to a law change this year, known as the Universal Credit Act 2025, which sets out that the benefit will be increased by more than inflation each year until 2030.

With September's inflation figures standing at 3.8%, if you receive universal credit, you’ll get an above-inflation boost of 6.2% from April 2026.

The standard allowance is set to rise from £92 to £98 per week, if you’re a single claimant and will go up from £145 to £154 per week for couples.

Increases to disability benefits

If you receive personal independent payment (PIP), your payments will rise:

• daily living (enhanced): £110.40 - £114.59
• daily living (standard): £73.90 - £76.71
• mobility (enhanced): £29.20 - £30.31

Find out what benefits you can claim

If you’re struggling to cover your day-to-day expenses, we can check you’re getting all the support you’re entitled to.

So get in touch or try our benefits calculator to see what support you could receive.