2019 Benefits Uprating

This note sets out the main benefit and tax credit rates for the 2019/20 financial year.

For the fourth year in a row, most working-age benefits are being kept at their 2015/16 cash value. This is the final year of the four-year benefit freeze announced at Summer Budget 2015.

Increases in benefits aimed specifically at disabled people and carers will continue to be linked to CPI inflation, resulting in a 2.4% increase in 2019/20.

The Basic and New State Pensions will be uprated in line with the triple lock that was introduced in 2012/13, i.e. by the highest of the increase in earnings, price inflation (as measured by the CPI) or 2.5%. For the purposes of the 2019/20 uprating, earnings growth (+2.6%) was the highest of these three benchmarks, meaning that:

• the New State Pension (for those reaching State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016) will be £168.60 per week in 2019/20 (up from £164.35 in 2018/19)
• the Basic State Pension (the core amount in the old State Pension system) will be £129.20 per week in 2019/20 (up from £125.95 in 2018/19).

Pension Credit Guarantee Credit is required to increase at least in line with earnings; in 2019/20 it will also rise by 2.6%.

Work Allowances in Universal Credit (the earnings threshold above which Universal Credit awards begin to be tapered down) are receiving an extra £1,000 increase (on top of normal CPI uprating). This was announced at Budget 2018.