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<p>The Department encourages all Universal Credit claimants to actively consider how
best to manage their personal budget, with additional advice and support available
from work coaches and case managers. When an advance payment is appropriate, claimants
decide what percentage of their expected monthly award to apply for and over what
period to repay it, up to a maximum of 12 monthly instalments.</p><p> </p><p>Claimants
have the ability to make the decision for themselves on the time period for repayment.
Most claimants (around 85%) choose to repay their advance over a 12-month period,
with others repaying in a shorter timeframe.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has taken
a number of steps to ensure that advances meet the needs of claimants and that recovery
arrangements are personalised and reasonable. From October 2019 we are reducing the
maximum rate of deductions to 30 per cent and from October 2021 we are increasing
the maximum recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months.</p>
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