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Welfare Benefits Handbook 2025/26
This content was last updated:
01 Dec 2025
Part 7: Claiming benefits and getting paid
Welfare Benefits Handbook 2025/26
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Welfare Benefits Handbook 2025/26
Part 7: Claiming benefits and getting paid
Back to previous
Part 7: Claiming benefits and getting paid
Chapter 44: Claims
Key facts
1. Making a claim
How to make a claim
Alternative offices
Amending or withdrawing your claim
2. Who should claim
Appointees
3. Information to support your claim
The national insurance number requirement
Who is exempt
Proof of identity
Completing a valid claim
Claims by telephone
Claims in writing or online
Further information to support your claim
4. The date of your claim
Backdating your claim
Benefits that can be backdated without special reasons
Backdating after an award of a qualifying benefit
If you claim the wrong benefit
Chapter 45: Getting paid
Key facts
1. Who is paid
2. How and when you are paid
Direct payment
If someone collects your benefit for you
If you lose your card or forget your PIN
Payment by the payment exception service or voucher
When you are paid
Missing payments
Emergencies
3. Overlapping benefits
Earnings-replacement benefits
Retirement pensions
Increases in non-means-tested benefits for adults
Increases in non-means-tested benefits for children
4. Advance payments
Benefits for which you cannot get an advance
5. The benefit cap
When the benefit cap does not apply
Work-related exceptions
Benefits for disabled people and carers
When the benefit cap applies
If you get universal credit
If you get housing benefit
How the benefit cap is applied
6. Change of circumstances after you claim
7. When payments can be suspended
Suspension while an appeal is pending
Suspension for not providing information and evidence
Suspension for not taking part in a medical examination
Suspension in other circumstances
Challenging decisions to suspend benefit
8. When your entitlement is terminated
9. Deductions and payments to third parties
What deductions can be made
From which benefits can deductions be made
Deductions from contributory employment and support allowance
When deductions can be made
The deductions
Housing costs
Rent arrears
Fuel
Water charges
Council tax arrears
Child support maintenance
Other deductions
How much can be deducted
Deductions from universal credit
Deductions from other means-tested benefits
More than one deduction
Priority between deductions
10. Recovery of benefits from compensation payments
Employment cases
Personal injury cases
Which benefits can be recovered
Offsetting against your compensation
Exempt payments
Challenging a recovery decision
Chapter 46: Hardship payments
Key facts
1. Hardship payments of universal credit
When you can get hardship payments
Universal credit reduced because of a sanction
Universal credit reduced because of a benefit offence
Hardship payment periods
The amount of hardship payments
Recovery of hardship payments
2. Hardship payments of employment and support allowance
3. Deciding hardship
General rules
Universal credit
4. Applying for hardship payments
5. Getting paid
6. Challenging a hardship payment decision
7. Tax, other benefits and the benefit cap
Tax
The benefit cap
Passported benefits
Chapter 47: Overpayments
Key facts
1. Introduction
2. Benefit overpayments that are always recoverable
Overpayments under the universal credit system
The amount recovered
From whom can an overpayment be recovered
You were owed income that you have now received
Too much mortgage interest has been paid to your lender
Too much benefit has been credited to your account
3. Benefit overpayments that are sometimes recoverable
You failed to disclose, or you misrepresented, a material fact
A material fact
Failure to disclose
Misrepresentation
Your failure to disclose, or your misrepresentation, has caused the overpayment
The decision awarding you benefit has been changed
The amount that is recovered
From whom can an overpayment be recovered
Challenging an overpayment decision
4. Recovery of overpaid benefit
The discretion not to recover
Methods of recovery: universal credit system
Deductions from benefit
Deductions from earnings
Recovery through the courts
Methods of recovery: other benefits
Deductions from benefit
Deductions from earnings
Recovery through the courts
5. Overpayments of housing benefit
Overpayments that are always recoverable
Overpayments that are not recoverable
Was the overpayment caused by an official error?
Did a relevant person contribute to making the official error?
Did a relevant person realise that an overpayment was being made?
The amount that is recovered
Deductions from the overpayment
From whom can an overpayment be recovered
Methods of recovery
Deductions from housing benefit
Deductions from other benefits
Adjusting your rent account
Deductions from earnings
Court action
Notification of an overpayment
The effect of recovery from your landlord
Challenging an overpayment decision
6. Overpayments of tax credits
Introduction
What is an overpayment of tax credits
Causes of the overpayment
What you can do
Challenging an overpayment on review or appeal
If you have claimed universal credit
Disputing recovery
Taking your dispute further
Recovery of overpayments
From whom can an overpayment be recovered
How the overpayment is recovered
Chapter 48: Fraud and penalties
Key facts
1. Civil penalties
2. Investigations
Collecting information
Powers of investigation
Interviews under caution
The effect of a fraud investigation on your benefit
3. Prosecution of offences
False representations
Duty to report a change in circumstances
Duties of advisers and other third parties
Dishonest representations
Prosecutions
4. Administrative penalties for benefit offences
The option of paying a penalty
Changing your mind
5. Sanctions for benefit offences
Sanctionable benefits
The sanctions
The sanction period
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CPAG. "Part 7: Claiming benefits and getting paid." In
Welfare Benefits Handbook 2025/26.
, 2025. Accessed March 10, 2026.
CPAG,
https://askcpag.org.uk/?id=-265449CITANCHOR.
CPAG. "Part 7: Claiming benefits and getting paid." In
Welfare Benefits Handbook 2025/26.
, 2025. Accessed March 10, 2026. https://askcpag.org.uk/?id=-265449CITANCHOR.
Contributor(s):
CPAG
Title:
Welfare Benefits Handbook 2025/26
Site name:
CPAG
Publisher:
Publication date:
March 21, 2025
Date accessed:
March 10, 2026
URL:
https://askcpag.org.uk/?id=-265449CITANCHOR
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