What is a change of circumstances?
A change of circumstances means a change to your personal or financial situation, so it may affect your benefits. This could include lots of different things, and depends on which benefits you receive, but the most common changes you need to tell us about include:
- the number of people who live in your home
- the income of anyone in your home
- your savings
Who lives in your home
If you receive Universal Credit, you must tell us if:
- anyone moves into or out of your home
- you have a child
- your child leaves home
- your child stops or restarts education or training, if they’re aged 16 to 19
- someone you live with dies
- you or your partner are going to be abroad for any length of time
- your address changes
- there is a change in your health
- there is a change in your caring responsibilities
Example 1: Kim gets Universal Credit. She’s in a relationship with Frank and they decide to stop paying rent on two homes and Frank should move in with Kim. Frank gives notice on his flat and takes his belongings to Kim’s. They are now living together, so Kim needs to report this as a change in her circumstances.
Your income or living costs
If you receive Universal Credit and have a job where you are paid directly by your employer through their payroll, you will not need to tell us if your income changes. This is because most employers use Pay As You Earn (PAYE) as part of their payroll, which means that your earnings gets reported in real time to DWP.
However, you must tell DWP if you, or anyone in your household has any income that is not paid directly through your employer’s payroll. This may include:
- your income
- your partner’s income
- anyone who contributes to your household expenses
You must also tell us if your living costs change, for example your rent increases or decreases.
Example 2: Dave gets Universal Credit and lives with his partner. He receives a pay rise but doesn’t need to tell DWP because he’s paid through his employer’s payroll. Six months later his partner, Susan, decides to take on some casual gardening work. Susan isn’t paid through a payroll, but it does mean their household income has changed, so Dave now needs to report this as a change of circumstances.
If you’re self-employed, you will need to accurately report your earnings and expenses each month for the previous assessment period, whether they go up or down. If you chose to stop being self-employed, you will need to report this as a change of circumstances.
Example 3: Azeem gets Universal Credit and he’s self-employed. His income has dropped due to poor sales. He’s hopeful it will be sorted quickly but he still needs to make sure he reports his earnings accurately every month for the previous assessment period.
Your money, savings and investments
If you receive Universal Credit, you must tell us if your money, savings and investments change. You will also need to update your bank account details if you move to a different bank.
Example 4: Jane is on Universal Credit. A relative dies, leaving Jane an inheritance of £20,000. Jane needs to report this as a change of circumstances.
Universal Credit overpayment
If you think you have received too much money and have been overpaid, you’ll need to let us know so we can check. This is important because you’ll have to repay any money you owe. The more you’re overpaid the longer it could take to pay it back.
Claiming other benefits
If you receive other benefits, such as Pension Credit, Carer’s Allowance or Personal Independent Payments (PIP).
The content of the examples in this webpage is for illustrative purposes only.