SDP Compensation and Universal Credit

Some people who were getting a Severe Disability Premium on their benefits found they lost money when they claimed Universal Credit.

Legal protections were brought in for this group from 16 January 2019, but before then a lot of people found they had no choice but to claim Universal Credit and lose their Severe Disability Premium.

If you were getting a Severe Disability Premium and claimed Universal Credit after 16 January 2019 you should get help from an adviser.

The Courts have decided that people who lost their Severe Disability Premium when they claimed Universal Credit should get extra money to compensate them for the money they lost.

The government has now passed a law to allow them to pay this money to people.

People who are affected will get additional money in their Universal Credit payment every month. They will also get a lump sum to pay the compensation they are owed from when their Universal Credit claim began.

How much compensation money people will get will depend on their circumstances.

The maximum payment will be £405 per month for people who live with a partner and who were both getting a Severe Disability Premium.

The government hasn’t released information yet on how the payments will be administered, but it seems likely that they will set up a team to do the work of identifying people affected and contacting them.