Five benefits are due to be discontinued in April, according to warnings issued to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) claimants. As part of a managed migration, those receiving these benefits will transition to a new system in the coming weeks.
Legacy benefits, including Tax Credits, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance and Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance, are being phased out. The first legacy benefit to be stopped is Tax Credits, which will end completely in April this year.
Managed migration notices will be sent to legacy claimants, who must begin their migration process within three months of receiving the notice and before the specified deadline. It is vital that all legacy claimants have given DWP their current contact address and mobile number to avoid missing their managed migration notice and having their legacy benefit payments terminated two weeks after their designated deadline day.
The notice includes instructions on how to make the UC claim online. However, if a legacy claimant feels unable to make the claim online, they can also call the UC Migration Notice Helpline (Freephone 0800 169 0328 Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm).
Under managed migration, a claimant's new Universal Credit (UC) entitlement may be less than their previous Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) entitlement. However, transitional protection payments are available to cover this difference, as reported by Birmingham Live, reports Coventry Live.
Claimants should be aware that standard inflationary increases applied to Universal Credit (UC) will not impact those receiving transitional top-ups until the standard UC entitlement matches what the claimant is already receiving. If circumstances change, these transitional protection payments could stop.
It's worth noting that these payments should be automatically calculated as part of the managed migration process. However, this isn't always the case, so it's recommended to verify with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that any due transitional protection payments have been factored into entitlement calculations.
