The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has explained when millions of people will need to start claiming Universal Credit. The DWP is gradually phasing out old benefits through ‘managed migration’.
This transfer was paused during the COVID-19 crisis but resumed in May 2022, when approximately 2.6 million people in the UK were still claiming older legacy benefits. When you need to move to Universal Credit, you’ll get a ‘migration notice’ by post which gives you three months to apply for Universal Credit before your current benefits cease.
The move encompasses Housing Benefit, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit, and Income Support. The DWP aims to complete transitioning claimants by March 2026 and has started contacting up to 800,000 individuals receiving income-related ESA alone or with Housing Benefit from September. It aims to contact all recipients by December 2025, according to a briefing published on the UK Parliament website.
Originally, these people were set to be transitioned by 2028/29, but the timeline has been shortened. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) aims to transfer all legacy benefit recipients to Universal Credit (UC) by March 2026, thereby concluding the UC rollout and ending all legacy benefits by this date.
In 2023/24, the DWP issued migration notices to over half a million households receiving only Tax Credits. The following year, an additional 440,000 households were contacted, including remaining Tax Credit claimants who are also receiving other legacy benefits, as well as all Income Support, income-based JSA, and Housing Benefit claimants, reports the Mirror.
If you believe you would be better off on Universal Credit, you can opt to switch earlier, before receiving your ‘migration notice’ in the post. However, it’s important to do your homework first, as once you’ve made the switch, there’s no going back to your old benefits.
It’s recommended to use a free online benefits calculator to determine if you’re likely to be better off. These include: Policy in Practice calculator, entitledto calculator, or Turn2us calculator.
If you think you’ll be better off, seek advice from Citizens Advice or Turn2Us before making the switch to Universal Credit. According to the DWP, 55% of people will be better off on Universal Credit, while 35% will be worse off. The rest will see no change.
If you move over to Universal Credit and find yourself worse off, you’ll receive monthly transition payments designed to cover the shortfall – but only if you wait for the ‘managed migration’ process. The transitional protection continues until there’s no difference between your Universal Credit award and your previous legacy benefits.
However, bear in mind that once you claim Universal Credit, your old benefits will cease and you’ll have a five-week wait for your first Universal Credit payment. Some legacy benefits, including Housing Benefit, Income Support, income-related ESA and income-based JSA, will ‘run on’ for two weeks to help bridge this gap.