The Chancellor’s planned changes include an overhaul of childcare payments (Picture: Stefan Rousseau – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

As the cost of living crisis continues, the government is introducing a series of changes to help struggling Brits.

Not only are some benefits payments going up, there are wider changes coming in, including how childcare allowances are paid.

Most of these were introduced in Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s recent Budget, but let us recap the major changes to be aware of this year.

Benefits will go up in April

From April, millions of people will see their benefits rise in line with the 10.1% inflation rate.

The full list and their increases are as follows:

Annual allowance on pensions – going up from £40,000 to £60,000 on April 6

Attendance allowance (for people of State Pension age with a mental or physical disability) – increasing to payments of either £68.10, with the higher rate to climb from £92.40 to £101.75 per week

Bereavement Benefit – the Widowed Parent’s Allowance will go up to £139.10 per week

Carer’s Allowance – going up to £76.75 per week

Childcare – maximum amounts will change to £951 for one child, £1630 for two children

Disability Living Allowance – due to the varying factors, check online for full details on changes

Housing Benefits – there are different rates for varying circumstances, check online for full details

Jobseeker’s Allowance – going up to £67.20 for someone under 25, £84.80 for people over 25

Money Purchase Annual Allowance – rising from £4000 to £10,000

Personal Independence Payment – daily living components going up to £68.10 (standard rate) and £101.75 (enhance rate). The mobility component is rising to £26.90 (standard rate) or £71 (enhanced rate)

State Pension – rising to £203.85 per week.

Universal Credit is also going up.

Single person, under 25 – from £262.51 to £292.11

Single person, 25 or over – from £334.91 to £368.74

Couple, joint claimants under 25 – from £416.45 to £458.51

Couple, joint claimants where one or both is 25 or over – from £525.72 to £578.82.

The benefits cap will also rise

The benefit cap is a limit on the total amount of benefit payments someone can get, and applies to most people aged 16 or over who haven’t reached the state pension age.

The cap will be raised from £20,000 to £22,020 for families across the UK, and from £23,000 to £25,323 in Greater London.

While for single adults it will change from £13,400 to £14,753 nationally and from £15,410 to £16,967 in Greater London.

Many of the changes are to encourage more people back to work (Picture: Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)

Easter Universal Credit payment dates

Over Bank Holidays, it’s not unusual that benefit payment dates change.

For the upcoming Easter holidays, payments due to land in accounts between Friday, April 7 and Monday, April 9 will be paid by Thursday, April 6.

Payments are adjusted automatically, so you don’t need to do anything.

Other changes around public holidays include:

Early May Bank Holiday (May 1) – payments will arrive by April 28

King Charles’ Coronation (May 8) – Payments will be made by May 5

Spring Bank Holiday (May 29) – payments will be made by May 26

Summer Bank Holiday (August 28) – payments will be made by August 25

Christmas holidays – payments due on December 25, 26 and 27 will be paid by December 22.

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More help and extra cost of living payments

There were multiple cost of living payments paid out in 2022 to help with surging bills, and the Autumn Statement confirmed that households will be given some more support.

This year, millions of people on benefits and Universal Credit will receive a payment of £900.

Brits will receive another cost of living payment to help with rising costs (Picture: Getty)

The payment will be means-tested, eligible for households claiming any one of the following:

Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

Income Support

Pension Credit

Tax Credits (Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit)

Housing Benefit

Council Tax Support

Social Fund (Sure Start Maternity Grant, Funeral Payment, Cold Weather Payment)

Universal Credit

It’ll be a one-off payment, but exactly when it’ll be paid isn’t known yet.

There are other supportive payments to come, with pensioners set to receive £300 and a £150 disability payment.

Childcare allowances – change to limit and upfront payments

Among Jeremy Hunt’s sweeping changes in his Budget, one of the headline grabbers was a multi-billion pound package aimed at parents to reduce childcare costs by almost 60%.

The allowance for eligible claimants will rise from £646 a month for a single child to £950, and from £1,108 for two children to £1,630.

Parents will also receive 30 free hours of childcare a week for one and two-year-olds. It expands the existing 30 hours scheme for working parents of three and four-year-olds.

Childcare payments will also be paid upfront rather than in arrears, though an exact date for these changes hasn’t been confirmed.

Changes to eligibility and work sanctions

The Chancellor also revealed plans to raise the minimum amount claimants must work before having to engage with government jobs coaches.

The Administrative Earnings Threshold will rise from 15 to 18 hours per week.

It means those working less than 18 hours risk having their benefits cut if they don’t meet the new DWP requirements.

MORE : Everything rising in April 2023 – from water bills to Universal Credit

MORE : Who is Jeremy Hunt? Chancellor’s career path, net worth, and family life

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A full rundown of all the changes happening this year