Most working age benefits frozen

Most working age benefits frozen

Most working-age benefits are currently subject to an uprating freeze over the four-year period 2016/17 to 2019/20. This means that they will remain the same cash amount as they were in 2015/16. This freeze applies to all equivalent components of Universal Credit.

The freeze of most working-age benefits was announced in the 2015 Summer Budget.

The benefits that are frozen include:
• Jobseekers’ Allowance
• Child and Working Tax Credit
• Local Housing Allowances
• Income Support
• Child Benefit
• Work-Related Activity Group Employment and Support Allowance

The uprating freeze does not include disability/carer benefits and premiums, statutory payments and the Support Group component of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

Benefits that are not frozen include:
• Maternity Allowance
• Statutory Sick Pay
• Statutory Maternity and Paternity Pay
• Statutory Shared Parental Pay
• Statutory Adoption Pay
• Disability, Carers and Pensioners’ Premiums
• Other Disability, Carers and Pensioner Benefits
• Support Group Employment and Support Allowance

Inflation-linked benefits that are exempt from the freeze will increase by +3.0% CPI inflation rate.