Millions will struggle with money management under Universal Credit

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• 02 Oct

  Research for the Payments Councils has found that millions of benefits claimants will struggle to manage their money once universal credit is put in place.

  Universal credit will see people receiving their benefits once a month rather than the current once a fortnight. The Payments Council have, who oversee bank and card payments in the UK, carried out a survey on claimants in the last months and have said that 2.7m current claimants will struggle with their finances due to this change.

  The Payments Council found that many claimants were worried about running into debt or struggling to pay their bills on time, reports the BBC.

  "The introduction of Universal Credit means that people will have to be savvier about managing their money and will have to plan for the whole month instead of budgeting on a weekly basis," said Adrian Kamellard, the chief executive of the Payments Council.

  The government believe that this method of payment will be beneficial for many people as it means they will be able to access better financial deals.

  The Department for Work and Pensions say that claimants will also be able to pay less for energy as they will be paying a single monthly direct debit payment.

   A spokesman said that those who need fortnightly payments will still be able to get them. Other will be helped towards monthly payments and will receive support during the change.

  Currently four areas are piloting the scheme and it was originally planned to launch across the country in October but it has since been put back.

  Last month, the National Audit Office (NAO) spending watchdog said the programme suffered from "weak management, ineffective control and poor governance".

  Image source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/598487

  By Laura Matthews

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