Brits who claim old-style legacy benefits are being moved over to Universal Credit as part of a huge shake-up.
A managed migration system to transfer everyone on older benefits over to Universal Credit restarted in May this year, following a brief pause due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As this is a huge process, not everyone will be moved over in one go.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has set a target of having everyone switched over to Universal Credit by the end of December 2024.
Are you worried about the move to Universal Credit? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
Which areas are being moved to Universal Credit right now?
So far, households in five places have started to receive letters telling them that they need to move to Universal Credit.
- Bolton
- Medway
- Truro
- Falmouth
- Harrow
The restarting of the managed migration system kicked off in May this year with 500 people in Medway and Bolton, before being rolled out in Truro and Falmouth as well.
Now 250 people in Harrow should have started receiving their letters from Monday.
Which benefits are being replaced?
Universal Credit is replacing the following six benefits:
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Income Support
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Housing Benefit
It is estimated around 2.6million people were still on old-style benefits when the managed migration process restarted.
Most of those being moved over to Universal Credit are on ESA (1.2million) or Tax Credits (1million).
200,000 are on Income Support and 100,000 on each of Housing Benefit and JSA.
Most people can no longer make a new claim for these benefits, meaning you have to apply for Universal Credit.
What happens when you move to Universal Credit?
Everyone affected by these changes will eventually receive a "migration notice" in the post.
This will give you a three-month deadline to claim Universal Credit.
If you don't start a claim for Universal Credit within this time, your current benefits will automatically stop and you'll be moved over to Universal Credit anyway.
You can choose to move over earlier, if you think you will be better off - but you need to do your research first, as you can't move back to legacy benefits.
Use a benefit calculator online in the first incidence, then also seek free advice from a charity such as Turn2Us.
Calculators only give a rough idea - so it is important to speak to an expert as well.
Some people may also be moved across to Universal Credit early if they see a change in circumstances - for example, if they move home or change their working hours.
The DWP claims 1.4million people (55%) will be better off on Universal Credit, and 900,000 (35%) would be worse off.
The other 300,000 benefit claimants will see no change.
Once you make a Universal Credit claim, your old benefits will be stopped and you'll have to wait five weeks for your first Universal Credit payment to arrive.
Some legacy benefits - including Housing Benefit, Income Support, income-related Employment and Support Allowance and income-based Jobseeker's Allowance - will "run on" for two weeks to help bridge that gap.
Tax credits payments will stop as soon as you claim Universal Credit.
If you are moved over to Universal Credit through managed migration, and you'll be worse off, you will get monthly transition payments which are designed to make cover the shortfall of payments.
The transitional protection lasts until there is no difference between the amount awarded under Universal Credit and what you received before under legacy benefits.
If you claim Universal Credit, you’ll usually get one payment each month and you usually have to manage your claim online.
You may also be able to claim other benefits alongside Universal Credit.
For example, you could be eligible for New Style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) if you're ill or have a disability that affects your ability to work.
