You may have heard about Universal Credit in the news – it is being rolled out in the areas CHS covers during September and October 2018, so it may affect you if you make a new claim for benefits. Universal Credit replaces 6 existing benefits (Income based Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit and Housing Benefit).

You will not be affected by Universal Credit if you are over Pension Credit age. Even if you already claim one or more of the 6 benefits listed above, you may not find you are affected for a long time yet (possibly 2023) unless you have a change of circumstances. See the latest CHS newsletter The Network for more information, and here is a very useful leaflet from the Department for Work and Pensions which oversees Universal Credit. If you’re worried, please don’t keep it to yourself – ask for advice from our Money Matters team, let us know if your rent payments will be affected and we can support you.