[
The month of May brings with it the promise of spring and two bank holidays but it also means changes to the way social security benefits are paid.
Monday 6 May is the early May bank holiday and Monday 27 May is the spring bank holiday in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
With two Mondays taken out of the equation this coming month as banks and many other places of work are closed, some payment days will need to be altered.
Payment days for most benefits, aside from the state pensions, are dependent on the application and approval date.
For claimants who receive the state pensions or benefits on Mondays, some payments are likely to be brought forward to an earlier date.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed in his March Budget that benefits would increase by 6.7 per cent, while state pensions would increase by 8.5 per cent.
Although this was from April, for those whose payments are monthly or twice monthly in arrears the rise will only be apparent in May’s payment.
We take a look at the detail.
When will benefits be paid in May?
Benefits are usually paid straight into a claimant’s bank, building society or credit union account.
If a payment date falls on a weekend or a bank holiday, then it is usually paid on the working day before.
So if for example, the payment day for a claimant would be Monday 6 May then the benefit will be paid instead on Friday 3 May.
Payment dates will only change to accommodate bank holidays and will return to normal times for future payments. The amount being paid does not alter.
Here is the schedule for benefit payments:
- Attendance Allowance – usually every four weeks
- Carer’s Allowance – weekly in advance or every four weeks
- Child Benefit – usually every four weeks or weekly for single parents
- Disability Living Allowance – usually every four weeks
- Employment and Support Allowance – usually every two weeks
- Income Support – usually every two weeks
- Jobseeker’s Allowance – usually every two weeks
- Maternity Allowance – every two or four weeks
- Pension Credit – usually every four weeks
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – usually every four weeks
- Tax Credits – every four weeks or weekly
- Universal Credit – every month
If the benefit payment is not made in the time frame expected, claimants should check the date on the award notice and bank account.
If the date is correct but the money has failed to arrive into the account, claimants can call the appropriate helpline found on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) website here.
When will pensions be paid in May?
The basic state pension is usually paid every four weeks directly into a claimant’s chosen bank, building society or credit union account.
The day it is paid in depends on the last two digits of a claimant’s national insurance number.
This is how national insurance numbers correspond to days of payment:
- 00 to 19: day your state pension gets paid – Monday
- 20 to 39: day your state pension gets paid – Tuesday
- 40 to 59: day your state pension gets paid – Wednesday
- 60 to 79: day your state pension gets paid – Thursday
- 80 to 99: day your state pension gets paid – Friday
If a state pension payment is due on the bank holidays of Monday 6 May or Monday 27 May, then claimant’s are likely to be paid earlier typically the previous working day which would be Friday 3 May or Friday 24 May.
This change will happen automatically. If there is a problem with the payments, a helpline is available on the DWP website here.
