The DWP will be reaching out to half a million people claiming all legacy benefits in the next six months and asking them to transfer over to Universal Credit
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has warned that 500,000 people could have their benefits if they don’t take action in the next few months.
The benefits department is currently working to move those claiming older legacy benefits onto Universal Credit. The transfer process is known as “Managed Migration”. There are currently six benefits that fall under legacy benefits and you can no longer make a new claim for them. These are the benefits being phased out and replaced with Universal Credit – they include:
- Housing Benefit
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Income Support
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
The DWP will be reaching out to half a million people claiming all legacy benefits in the next six months and asking them to transfer over. Those claiming Income Support, Tax Credits and Housing Benefit will be contacted from April, those claiming just Housing Benefit will be contacted from June, and those claiming ESA with Child Tax Credit will be contacted in July.
The DWP will reach out to people of pension age claiming Tax Credits from August and those claiming just Jobseekers Allowance from September. Those who will not be contacted will be people claiming ESA only.
Those impacted will receive a letter called a Migration Notice, and once received you will only have three months to put a claim in for Universal Credit. If you do not put in a claim before this deadline. The DWP warned that if you do not take action before this deadline then you risk losing your current benefit entitlement.
Once you have made a claim, you’ll have to wait five weeks for your first Universal Credit payment to arrive. The DWP has reiterated that benefit claimants will not lose out financially when moving to Universal Credit.
It explained: “Where an individual’s entitlement to Universal Credit is lower than their legacy benefit entitlement, they will be entitled to a top-up payment known as Transitional Protection. This ensures that their Universal Credit is the same as their legacy benefit entitlement.”
The transitional protection lasts until there is no difference between the amount awarded under Universal Credit and what you received before under legacy benefits. You can make your claim for Universal Credit online, but you can also use the Migration Notice helpline on 0800 169 0328 if necessary – you can also ask your local Job Centre for help with your claim.
Around 130,000 people have been moved over to the new system over the last few months. Of those, the DWP found that more were likely to have found employment within six months. The DWP says this is due to the specialist employment support given to Universal Credit claimants which includes training and upskilling placements as well as tailored support from a dedicated Work Coach.
Minister for Employment, Jo Churchill MP said: “Universal Credit is a proven benefits system fit for the modern age. With even more people moving to Universal Credit, we can continue to provide the best level of support for people to secure financial independence through work. I would encourage all those who receive their Migration Notices to take action to ensure they continue to receive the benefits they are entitled to.”
