A petition to Parliament is calling for the savings thresholds for Universal Credit to be increased in line with inflation, which could allow claimants to hold thousands more in savings without affecting their payments.
Current capital rules
Under current rules, claimants can have up to £6,000 in savings without this affecting their claim. Above that amount, they lose £4.35 from their monthly payment for each £250 held. Those with £16,000 or more in savings lose their entitlement altogether. For couples, combined capital counts towards these limits, even if one partner is not eligible for Universal Credit.
Research from the Resolution Foundation, published in April 2025, suggested around 830,000 families were having payments docked due to the capital rules. Another 1.2 million families had hit the £16,000 limit and lost out on payments entirely.
Petition's demands
The petition asks the Government to increase the £6,000 and £16,000 thresholds to the value they had in real terms when set in 2006. It also calls for an automatic annual uprating and proportionately higher thresholds for joint claimants.
Using the Bank of England's inflation calculator, if the thresholds had risen with inflation, the £6,000 lower limit would now be around £10,700, giving claimants an extra £4,700 in savings without affecting payments. The £16,000 upper limit would have increased to £28,500, meaning claimants could have an extra £12,500 in savings without losing entitlement.
Financial resilience
The campaign argues that restoring the limits' original real-terms value could allow claimants to build financial resilience. It also says joint claims should have higher limits to reflect that partners may not have access to each other's savings, and to reduce barriers for those experiencing financial abuse.
If the petition reaches 10,000 signatures, Government ministers must respond. If it reaches 100,000, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.
