Proposals to overhaul Universal Credit capital rules would raise savings thresholds in line with inflation, potentially giving claimants an extra £12,500 allowance before losing eligibility. The changes, set out in a parliamentary petition, would increase payments for hundreds of thousands of claimants if adopted by the government.
The petition calls for the £6,000 and £16,000 capital thresholds to be increased to reflect their real-terms value since they were set in 2006. Currently, a claimant's savings or investments directly affect their monthly payments: up to £6,000 has no impact, £6,000 to £16,000 reduces payments by £4.35 per month for every £250 held over £6,000, and over £16,000 results in a complete loss of entitlement.
Inflation uprating
According to the Bank of England's inflation calculator, if capital limits had risen in line with inflation since 2006, the £6,000 lower threshold would stand at approximately £10,700, giving claimants an extra £4,700 in savings before deductions begin. The £16,000 upper threshold would stand at approximately £28,500, allowing an extra £12,500 in savings before eligibility is lost completely.
Research from the Resolution Foundation published in April 2025 suggested some 830,000 families were having their payments docked because of the capital rules. Another 1.2 million families had hit the £16,000 limit and so had lost out on their payments altogether.
Higher limits for some claimants
Beyond raising the static limits, the campaign calls for an automatic annual uprating mechanism to adjust the limits every year alongside proportionately higher thresholds for joint claimants. Outlining the core argument for changing the rules, the campaign notes: "Restoring the limits' original real-terms value could allow claimants to build financial resilience.
Joint claims should have higher limits to reflect that partners may not have access to each others' savings, and reduce barriers for those experiencing financial abuse." The petition is currently open for people to pledge their support online. If it secures 10,000 signatures, government ministers will be required to issue an official response; reaching 100,000 signatures will trigger consideration for a debate in Parliament.
