Hundreds of thousands on benefits must take action by the end of this month or risk having their payments stopped.
The government is moving two million people on old benefits onto Universal Credit through “managed migration”.
Letters are sent to eligible people telling them to make the transfer.
However, you only have three months from the date of the letter to switch to Universal Credit.
Failure to do so will stop your entitlement to benefits.
Even if you decide to make a claim after the deadline, you may still lose transitional protection because you only get it if you file by the cut-off date.
Read more about Universal Credit
Transition protection is the extra payment you receive if your Universal Credit payment is less than your current benefit entitlement.
If you can’t switch to Universal Credit by the cut-off date, call the Migration Notice helpline on 0800 169 0328 as soon as possible.
You may have more time to claim if you have a good reason for the delay.
Around 120,000 households applying for housing benefit tax credits started receiving managed migration letters in April.
Meanwhile, 110,000 income support claimants have also started receiving their letters.
It’s you, you have until the end of July to claim Universal Credit or risk being without benefits.
It comes after anti-poverty charity Z2K warned that more than 31,000 households receiving tax relief were stopped after failing to respond to migration notices received between November 2022 and September 2023.
He said this meant a typical household would lose around £4,130 a year.
Managed migration notices were sent to those on housing benefit only in June, meaning they can move until the end of September.
Anyone receiving Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) along with Child Tax Credit will be asked to switch from July.
Those claiming tax relief who are over the state pension age will be asked to claim either Universal Credit or Pension Credit from August.
Meanwhile, those eligible for Jobseeker’s Allowance will be issued migration letters from September.
What is managed migration?
Universal Credit replaces six older benefits under the old benefits system. These are:
- working tax credit
- child tax credit
- allowance for jobseekers according to income
- incoming support
- income-related employment and support allowance
- housing allowance
If you are using any of these benefits, you may choose to switch before you receive your managed migration letter.
But bear in mind that you may not be better off and you can’t go back once you switch to Universal Credit.
Using an online benefits calculator can help you compare and it’s free and easy to use from charities such as Turn2Us and EntitledTo, and it’s also worth asking for advice.
Another circumstance where you may need to switch to Universal Credit is a change in circumstances such as moving house, changing working hours or having a baby.
Help get Universal Credit
As well as benefit calculators, there are a number of places where anyone switching from tax credits to Universal Credit can find help.
You can visit your local Jobcentre but search at find-your-nearest-jobcentre.dwp.gov.uk/.
There is also a free service called Help to Claim from Citizen’s Advice:
You can also get help online from advisers such as Citizens Advice. You can find your nearest branch using the online locator tool on its website.
Will I be better off with Universal Credit?
Around 1.4 million people on original benefits will be better off after the switch to Universal Credit, according to the government.
Another 300,000 would see no change in payments, while around 900,000 will be worse off under Universal Credit.
Around 600,000 of them are expected to receive additional payments if they go under managed migration so they don’t lose cash immediately.
Most of them – around 400,000 – claim Employment Support Allowance (ESA).
Around 100,000 is on tax credits, while less than 50,000 on each of the other legacy benefits is expected to be affected.
Examples of those who may be entitled to less universal credit, according to the government, include:
- Households receive ESA who and the Severe Disability Premium and the Enhanced Disability Premium
- Households with a less disabled child are added on older benefits
- Self-employed households subject to the minimum income after the end of the 12-month grace period
- Households of workers who have worked a certain number of hours (e.g. a single parent working 16 hours with employment tax credit
- Households receiving tax relief with savings of more than £6,000 (and up to £16,000)
But if they don’t switch in the future, they risk losing any future benefit increases and having payments frozen.
Voluntary movers who are worse off will not receive these top-up payments and could lose their cash.
A person who misses the deadline and makes a claim later does not have to get transitional protection either.
The clock starts ticking three months from the date of the first letter and reminders are sent by mail and text.
There is then a one-month grace period during which any claim to Universal Credit is out of date and transitional protection can still be granted.