Here’s what you need to know about a major change to UK benefits
Brits on certain benefits are reminded of a major deadline coming up this year. A number of payment types are set to be phased out in 2026.
These benefits are often known as legacy benefits. They include Income Support, Income-based JSA, income-related ESA, Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit. They are due to be completely replaced by a single payment called Universal Credit (UC), which millions of people are already receiving. This change, which has been dubbed “managed migration”, is set to be completed by March 2026.
Citizens Advice explains that you will need to move to Universal Credit when:
- You get a letter telling you to claim by a certain date – this is a “migration notice”
- One of your legacy benefits stops because your situation has changed
- You get a legacy benefit that isn’t ending straight away but you choose to move to Universal Credit anyway
It’s important to note that you need to apply yourself because moving to Universal Credit isn’t automatic. “Once you start claiming Universal Credit, you can’t go back to legacy benefits,” Citizens Advice says.
Experts at Turn2Us added: “Look out for a letter called a ‘Universal Credit Migration Notice’ from the DWP. This notice letter is important as it will tell you that your existing benefits are stopping, and you need to make a claim for Universal Credit. It will also tell you what you need to do and by when.
“You might get a leaflet telling you to get ready for Universal Credit – if the letter you get doesn’t have a deadline on it, it isn’t your migration notice. Wait until you get a proper migration notice.”
Claim Universal Credit by your deadline
Citizens Advice says you must claim Universal Credit “by the deadline” on the letter to keep getting financial support. Your deadline day should usually be at least three months after the date the notice was sent.
It says: “If you claim Universal Credit before the deadline, the DWP might pay you extra to make sure you’re not worse off than on your legacy benefit. This is called ‘transitional protection’. You can only get transitional protection if you have a migration notice.”
If you can’t claim by the deadline
Citizens Advice says: “If the deadline day hasn’t passed yet, you can ask the DWP to extend it. You can only ask for this before the original deadline in the letter. If the DWP agree, they’ll send you a new deadline day.
“If the deadline day has passed, you can still get transitional protection if you claim Universal Credit up to a month after the deadline. The end of the month is called the ‘final deadline’.
“If you claim after the final deadline, you can still get Universal Credit – but you can’t get transitional protection.”
For more information, see the Citizens Advice website here.
