More than 356,000 families could lose their benefits starting tomorrow, which is a big deadline. The managed migration program run by Labour, which moves people from old benefits to Universal Credit, ends on April 1.
The most recent numbers from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that 356,521 households are still at risk of losing their payments if they don’t do anything.
Since July 2022, about 1.82 million households have received migration notices telling them to switch to Universal Credit.
If you get a migration notice, you have three months to respond or your current benefit payments could stop.
As part of the transition, six old benefits are being replaced.
These are the Working Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, the Housing Benefit, the income-related Employment and Support Allowance, the Income Support, and the income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance.
Universal Credit
Deadline for DWP to switch to Universal Credit is here, but hundreds of thousands have not yet done so.
The last stage of the rollout has been focused on people who get Employment and Support Allowance based on their income. This helps people who can’t work because of illness or disability.
Originally, this group was supposed to switch to Universal Credit by 2028, but the date was moved up to April 2026.
The DWP has already stopped taking new applications for Housing Benefit, Tax Credits, Income Support, and income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance.
People who haven’t finished the process yet can get help.
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Universal Credit
Claimants will have gotten a letter in the mail telling them about the change and the deadline to apply | GETTY
Jobcentre Plus offices can help you fill out applications in person.
People who need help with the transition can get free “Help to Claim” service from Citizens Advice.
In England, you can call 0800 144 8 444 to talk to an adviser. In Scotland, you can call 0800 023 2581.
You can also get help online at the Citizens Advice website.
Claimants can use a benefits calculator to figure out if they qualify for Universal Credit and how much they might get.
According to the government, about 1.4 million people who are switching from old benefits to Universal Credit should be better off.
Another 300,000 people are expected to have their payments stay the same.
But the new system might mean that about 900,000 claimants get less.
Around 600,000 of them may be able to get transitional protection payments if they go through the managed migration process.
This help is meant to make sure that claimants don’t lose money right away when they switch.
People who switch on their own or don’t meet the deadline and then claim later will not be able to get transitional protection.
People who don’t switch to Universal Credit could have their payments stopped and miss out on future benefit increases.
