THOUSANDS more households on benefits will be asked to move to Universal Credit in months.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has now confirmed when those on income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) will contacted to move to Universal Credit.
It comes just weeks after the DWP brought forward plans to move these households to the new benefit.
ESA supports those who have limited capability for work because of their sickness or disability.
All two million claimants on legacy benefits are set to move to Universal Credit (UC) or pension credit under a process known as managed migration.
Universal Credit was set up to replace legacy benefits.
The managed migration process began in May last year after a successful pilot in July 2019.
Households claiming income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) or ESA must claim Universal Credit by December 2025 or risk having their benefits stopped.
However, thousands will need to act ahead of this deadline because they may be asked to move over sooner.
Eligible households will begin to receive letters explaining how to make the move from ESA to Universal Credit from September 2024.
Once you receive a letter, you have three months to move over, or you could lose your current benefits.
So, if you receive this letter in early September, you’ll need to move to Universal Credit by the end of November to ensure you don’t lose out.
Those who miss the deadline and later make a claim won’t get transitional protection either.
If you receive more from your previous benefit, a transitional protection payment will be added to your Universal Credit entitlement to ensure you’re not getting less back from the move.
However, the DWP told The Sun that the vast majority of the 800,000 claimants moving from ESA to Universal Credit will be better off.
In fact, half will receive over £100 a month more once they start claiming Universal Credit.
A DWP spokesperson said: “Employment support allowance customers will move to Universal Credit from September this year, as announced by the Prime Minister.
“Many claimants will be better off on Universal Credit than legacy benefits and will get the support they need to find work.”
It’s vital that households apply for Universal Credit within three months of receiving their managed migration letter.
Failing to do this might result in benefits being stopped.
In total, 31,460 households lost their benefits after failing to act upon a migration notice received between November 2022 and September 2023, according to the DWP.
Based on government figures provided to anti-poverty charity Z2K, a typical household lost out on roughly £4,130 a year.
This equates to £129.4million in benefits being stopped simply because claimants didn’t make the switch.
UNIVERSAL Credit is replacing six benefits under the old welfare system, commonly called legacy benefits. They are:
If you’re on any of these benefits now, you can choose to move over – but you might not be better off.
You should consider carefully what moving over means for your money, as you can’t move back once you’re on Universal Credit.
Using an online benefits calculator can help you compare and are free and easy to use from charities such as Turn2Us and EntitledTo, and it’s also worth asking them for advice.
You may be moved over to Universal Credit if you have a change in circumstances, like moving home, a change in working hours or a have a baby.
But eventually everyone will be moved over to Universal Credit.
This is known as “managed migration” .
As well as benefit calculators, anyone moving from tax credits to Universal Credit can find help in a number of ways.
You can visit your local Jobcentre by searching at find-your-nearest-jobcentre.dwp.gov.uk/.
There’s also a free service called Help to Claim from Citizen’s Advice:
You can also get help online from advisers at www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/help-to-claim/.
Around 1.4million will be better off on Universal Credit, the government calculates.
A further 300,000 will see no change in payments, while around 900,000 will be worse off under Universal Credit.
Of these, around 600,000 are expected to get top-up payments if they move under managed migration, so they don’t lose out on cash immediately.
The majority of those – around 400,000 – are claiming Employment Support Allowance (ESA).
Around 100,000 are on tax credits while fewer than 50,000 each on other legacy benefits are expected to be affected.
Examples of those who may be entitled to less on Universal Credit according to the government include:
Those who move voluntarily and are worse off won’t get these top-up payments and could lose cash.
Those who miss the deadline and later make a claim may also not get this transitional protection either.
The clock starts ticking on the three-month countdown from the date of the first letter, and reminders are sent via post and text message.
There is a one-month grace period after this, during which any claim to Universal Credit is backdated and transitional protection can still be awarded.
The most recent data from the DWP shows 61,130 individuals have made a claim for UC, and 39,920 awarded transitional protection.
Another 40,540 are still in the process of moving to the new benefit.
