Millions of working families are about to get a little bit richer, thanks to changes to the way universal credit is paid.
From April 6, the Universal Credit Work Allowance (the amount people can earn before benefits start to taper) will increase by £1,000 a year.
The 'work allowance' is the amount of money you’re allowed to earn before your Universal Credit payment is affected.
Your Universal Credit payment then goes down by 63p for every £1 you earn above this amount. This is called the earnings taper.
So by raising this allowance, people can earn more money before their payments are reduced.
The Government says that about 2.4million households will get to keep an extra £630 each year.
Your pay is going up by at least £217.21 from next week
How it's changing in detail
The work allowance has two different rates depending on whether you also get help with your housing costs.
Under the old rules, the lower work allowance for people claiming housing benefit was £198.
That's rising to £287 meaning that you can earn an extra £89 a month before payments are reduced.
For families claiming the higher allowance - meaning they don't claim housing benefit - that allowance is rising from £409 to £503. As a result you can earn £94 more a month before benefits are cut.
The work allowance applies to single people, couples with dependent children, or those with limited capability to work.
Workers without children who depend on them don't qualify, meaning that every penny they earn is subject to the taper rate.
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