DWP letter being sent to thousands as they could see benefits stopped before Christmas

Once claimants person a managed migration notice, they person 3 months to enactment successful assertion for Universal Credit - if they don't past they volition person their existent payment assertion stopped

Thousands of benefit claimants could spot their payments stopped earlier Christmas if they don't enactment successful the adjacent fewer weeks.

The informing comes arsenic the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) pushes connected with its "Managed Migration" plan. This program involves moving those claiming alleged older "legacy" benefits onto Universal Credit. This process began successful 2019 and is expected to beryllium completed successful 2025.

The benefits affected by the determination see Tax Credits, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance. As portion of the process, households claiming bequest benefits are being sent letters called "migration notices" done the post. Once claimants person this letter, they person 3 months to enactment successful assertion for Universal Credit. If they don't past they volition person their existent assertion stopped.

Recent figures revealed that implicit 284,660 individuals person already mislaid their benefits aft failing to power to Universal Credit wrong the three-month deadline. The latest circular of migration notices began to beryllium sent to 800,000 households who claimed Employment Support Allowance (ESA) successful September.

State pensioners connected Tax Credits, Income-based JSA, and ESA with Housing Benefit claimants besides started to person letters successful September. So, if you received a migration announcement successful September oregon astatine the opening of October, you volition request to enactment arsenic you could hazard losing your benefits astir the festive period. Your migration announcement volition explicate however you tin marque a assertion alongside the nonstop day of your deadline.

Once you person made your claim, you volition person to hold 5 weeks until your archetypal Universal Credit outgo and you volition proceed to person it going guardant - unless your circumstances change. In 2022, 2.6million radical were inactive claiming old-style bequest benefits successful the UK and betwixt July of that twelvemonth and June 2024, a full of 1.1million radical were sent migration notices.

Earlier this week, the DWP sent retired a informing arsenic the Tax Credit payment volition beryllium unopen down successful April 2025. This means those claiming the HMRC payment volition request to enactment successful a assertion for Universal Credit wrong the adjacent six months. The DWP warned that 3 months mightiness "feel similar a agelong time" but beingness does get successful the mode and claimants could hazard being enactment successful a hard situation. Due to this, the DWP has urged claimants to enactment "straight away".

Commenting connected the managed migration process, a DWP spokesperson said: "We are committed to ensuring each customers person the enactment they request from our unit and services. The section has a wide scope of enactment disposable to each individuals, peculiarly those who are vulnerable."