Work, save and get your Universal Credit right
Free calculators and plain guides for people who earn and claim Universal Credit at the same time. See how pension payments, savings, self-employment and the benefit cap change what you get.
Figures checked against GOV.UK and DWP guidance in November 2026.
Calculators
Each one runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Pension payments and UC
How much more UC you'd get for paying into a personal pension, and how much lands in the pot.
Open the calculator CalculatorSavings and UC
Whether your savings cut your UC, by how much, and how far you are from the £16,000 limit.
Open the calculator CalculatorSelf-employed: the minimum income floor
Whether UC will treat you as earning more than you do, and what that means for pension payments.
Open the calculator CalculatorBenefit cap check
Whether the cap applies to your household, and how much it would take off your UC.
Open the calculatorGuides
Short explanations of the rules, each with its sources.
- Paying into a pension on UC: the short guideStart here. The whole method on one page, with simple flowcharts.
- Common questionsShort answers to the questions people ask most.
- How UC treats money you put into a pensionThe rule, what it's worth, and why it's allowed.
- Who it suitsAnd who should think twice.
- Reporting pension paymentsWhat to do each month, with messages you can copy.
- When DWP gets it wrongWhat to do, step by step.
- Savings and UCWhat counts, what doesn't, and the £6,000 and £16,000 limits.
- Self-employed? The minimum income floorWhen UC treats you as earning more than you do.
Letter templates
Fill in the gaps, then copy into your journal or a letter.
- Asking DWP to look at a decision againFor when you think a UC decision is wrong.
- Asking your MP for helpFor when DWP isn't putting things right.
This year's key figures
Monthly amounts for 2026 to 2027, in force from April 2026. See all the rates.
| What | Amount |
|---|---|
| Standard allowance, single, 25 or over | £424.90 |
| Standard allowance, couple, one or both 25 or over | £666.97 |
| Child element, each child (£351.88 for the first child if born before 6 April 2017) | £303.94 |
| LCWRA element, award that started before 6 April 2026 | £429.80 |
| LCWRA element, most awards starting from 6 April 2026 | £217.26 |
| Carer element | £209.34 |
| Work allowance, with help towards housing costs | £427 |
| Work allowance, without help towards housing costs | £710 |
| Earnings taper above the work allowance | 55p per £1 |
| Savings ignored up to | £6,000 |
| No UC with savings over | £16,000 |
| Benefit cap, single adult, outside Greater London. Doesn't apply if you get LCWRA, PIP or a carer benefit, or earn £881 a month or more | £1,229.42 |
| Benefit cap, couple or family, outside Greater London. Same exemptions | £1,835.00 |
| Earnings that exempt you from the benefit cap | £881 |
| Minimum income floor, 35 hours, aged 21 or over, after notional tax and NI | about £1,681 |
Sources: DWP benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027, GOV.UK benefit cap, LITRG minimum income floor.