Here’s what you need to know
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced a significant change that could affect hundreds of thousands of benefit claimants across the country.
Tens of millions of people throughout the UK receive some form of benefit, according to recent figures, with the financial support designed to help those on a low income. The DWP oversees the distribution of numerous benefits, as well as the State Pension, with payments typically made fortnightly, every four weeks, or monthly.
However, when a scheduled payment date falls on a bank holiday, claimants can expect it to be brought forward. This applies to anyone due to receive money on Monday, May 25, which marks the Spring bank holiday across the UK.
The DWP has confirmed that anyone expecting a payment on Monday should instead receive it on Friday, May 22. HMRC has also indicated that certain payments due next Monday will likewise be issued this Friday.
Affected benefits are likely to include Universal Credit, Child Benefit, and Personal Independence Payment (PIP), with State Pension payments potentially impacted as well.
A similar adjustment took place earlier this month, when Monday, May 4, fell on the Early May bank holiday. Following the upcoming bank holiday on Monday, May 24, there will be no further bank holidays in England or Wales until August, meaning benefit payment dates are unlikely to shift again until at least that point.
Scotland will observe a bank holiday on June 15, while July 13 is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland.
