Universal Credit surplus earnings threshold extension ends

The government extended the £2,500 surplus earnings threshold within Universal Credit until March 2024, according to a benefits changes timetable published by the independent charity Turn2us¹. The threshold sits above the level at which excess earnings are carried forward into a later assessment period². The extension was first set out in the Spring Budget of March 2023, when the then Chancellor confirmed the £2,500 limit would stay in place for another year².

Under the surplus earnings rules, earnings above the threshold in one assessment period can be treated as if received in a later one, which can reduce or remove an award in that later month. The £2,500 figure was described as a temporary higher limit: it had been planned to fall to £300 at some point, but the higher limit was in practice extended each year².

The same timetable lists other changes to Universal Credit and related benefits during 2024. The Administrative Earnings Threshold, the minimum a claimant can earn before facing increased meetings with a work coach, rose to £743 a month for single people and £1,189 a month for couples in April 2024, then to £892 a month for single people and £1,437 a month for couples in May 2024¹. The Spring Budget also set out that the threshold would move from the equivalent of 15 hours of earnings at the National Living Wage to 18 hours, and that couples would each need to meet the new rules individually rather than earning 24 hours between them².

The timetable also records that Carer's Allowance claimants in Scotland were transferred to Carer Support Payment from February 2024, that people above State Pension age receiving Tax Credits began receiving migration notices to apply for Universal Credit or Pension Credit from September 2024, and that people on income-related ESA, ESA with Housing Benefit, income-based JSA, or JSA with Housing Benefit began receiving migration notices from October 2024¹. In Scotland, Attendance Allowance was replaced by Pension Age Disability Payment, available in five council areas from 21 October 2024 and across Scotland in April 2025¹.

Why it matters for households

The surplus earnings threshold affects working claimants whose pay varies, including those paid monthly but working irregular hours or overtime. While the £2,500 limit applied, earnings above it in one month could be carried forward and counted against a later assessment period, which could reduce or wipe out the Universal Credit paid in that later month. The extension ran only until March 2024, and the sources do not report what replaced it after that date. The separate Administrative Earnings Threshold changes affect when a claimant is placed in the intensive work search group and required to attend more frequent work coach meetings, with the April and May 2024 figures applying to single people and couples at different levels¹. The childcare measures listed apply to working parents in England².

What happens next

The timetable records that the £2,500 surplus earnings threshold was extended until March 2024¹. No further change to the threshold after that date is reported in these sources.