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Sun, 05 Apr 2026

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 Benefits and pensions rise as two-child cap ends

Families on some benefits with three or more children will get an average rise of £4,100 a year.

* Benefits and state pension rise with new financial year: + Universal credit: 2-child benefit cap scrapped, 480,000 families with 3 or more children get average £4,100/year rise + Child element of universal credit increases by £300/month for each child from May + Basic allowance for universal credit rises by £120 for about 3 million families
* Other changes: + Health element of universal credit halved (only affects new claimants) + Main disability benefits, such as PIP and DLA, rise by 3.8% in line with rising prices + State pension rises by 4.8% due to triple-lock
* Inheritance tax on farms, tax on dividends, and homeworking tax relief also change
* Income tax thresholds frozen until 2031 (extended from 2028-29), means more people start paying tax or move into higher brackets