The limits
| £6,000 or less | Nothing |
| £6,500 | £8.70 |
| £9,100 | £56.55 |
| £12,000 | £104.40 |
| £16,000 | £174.00 |
| Over £16,000 | No UC |
DWP calls this deduction "tariff income". It treats your savings as if they gave you an income, whatever interest they really earn. If you claim as a couple, your savings and your partner's are added together, and the same limits apply.
What counts
- Money in current accounts, savings accounts and premium bonds
- ISAs, shares and other investments, at what you'd get if you cashed them in
- Property or land other than your home, minus any mortgage secured on it
- Cash, and money held in accounts such as betting or trading accounts
- Lump sums you receive, including a tax-free lump sum from a pension
Interest or other income from your savings is treated as more capital, not as income.
What's ignored
- The home you live in
- Personal possessions, such as a car or furniture
- Pension pots you haven't drawn
- Business assets while you're self-employed in that business
- Some payments for a set time, such as certain compensation and insurance payments. Shelter's guide lists them.
- Your children's own savings
Spending or moving savings to get under a limit
If you get rid of savings in order to get UC, or to get more of it, DWP can treat you as still having them. This is called deprivation of capital, and the money you're treated as having is called notional capital.
- It can apply to spending, giving money away, or moving it somewhere it isn't counted, such as a pension.
- DWP looks at your reason. Spending on something you genuinely need, at a sensible price, is different from spending to get under the limit.
- Notional capital is treated as reducing over time, roughly in line with the UC you'd have lost because of it.
If DWP moved you from tax credits
If you were moved to UC from tax credits by DWP, rather than claiming yourself, savings over £16,000 can be ignored for up to 12 assessment periods (12 monthly payments). The protection ends early if your savings drop below £16,000.
Reporting changes
Tell UC through your Universal Credit journal when your savings change in a way that could affect your award. Not reporting an increase can lead to an overpayment you have to pay back.