How will moving from my current benefits to Universal Credit affect me?

{"nodes":{"3071819044":{"ID":"UC-transitional-payments_0","answer":"There are very limited circumstances whereby someone can make a new claim for legacy benefits. Eventually, all existing claimants of legacy benefits will have to claim Universal Credit (UC), even if there has been no change of circumstances. We call this move from legacy benefits to UC \u201cmigrating\u201d. The term legacy benefit means:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Income related employment and support allowance (IR-ESA)<\/li>\n<li>Income based job seekers allowance (IB-JSA)<\/li>\n<li>Income support (IS)<\/li>\n<li>Child tax credit (CTC)<\/li>\n<li>Working tax credit (WTC)<\/li>\n<li>Housing benefit for working age claimants (HB)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nPlease note that Housing benefit<\/b> can still be claimed by people over state pension age. The rules for mixed age couples (where one is over state pension and the other is under state pension age) are more complicated and it may be worth seeking advice as to whether you can make a new claim for Housing benefit<\/b> if this applies to you.<\/p>\nThere are three different ways in which a legacy benefit claimant will claim UC. They are known as managed migration, natural migration and voluntary migration. Whichever method is used, it's not possible to return to legacy benefits. If you are currently in receipt of UC with some form of transitional protection, certain changes of circumstances can erode this protection very quickly and others can cause it to end. Further information about each type of migration and transitional protection can be found in the options below.<\/p>","entry_object_ref":"http:\/\/api.transversal.com\/mfapi\/objectref\/EntryStore\/Entry\/http:\/\/www.metafaq.com\/mfapi\/Metafaq\/Clients\/rnib\/Modules\/money-benefits\/Topics\/benefits:3071819044:10","entry_ref":"3071819044","entry_ref_encrypted":"HTP0HNDLTJT1MAOGB16MRMJLHS","entry_uid":"auf7mybwmi2hyv62h562w4zktc","label":"","question":"Universal Credit Migration","choices":{"1":{"ID":"UC-transitional-payments_6","entry_object_ref":"http:\/\/api.transversal.com\/mfapi\/objectref\/EntryStore\/Entry\/http:\/\/www.metafaq.com\/mfapi\/Metafaq\/Clients\/rnib\/Modules\/money-benefits\/Topics\/benefits:3071819050:10","entry_ref":"3071819050","entry_ref_encrypted":"JJ4B0AA3JPK5JFLFMFP73QC5NI","entry_uid":"auf7mzl425t7vwmrelxg6enaq2","head_ref":"3071819045","label":"","link_text":"Managed migration","order":"1","tail_ref":"3071819044"},"2":{"ID":"UC-transitional-payments_7","entry_object_ref":"http:\/\/api.transversal.com\/mfapi\/objectref\/EntryStore\/Entry\/http:\/\/www.metafaq.com\/mfapi\/Metafaq\/Clients\/rnib\/Modules\/money-benefits\/Topics\/benefits:3071819051:10","entry_ref":"3071819051","entry_ref_encrypted":"OKGSD6QGUJGGFO4G862VHS69RM","entry_uid":"auf7mzs3jpxoqpsokkjflbiqr6","head_ref":"3071819046","label":"","link_text":"Natural migration","order":"2","tail_ref":"3071819044"},"3":{"ID":"UC-transitional-payments_12","entry_object_ref":"http:\/\/api.transversal.com\/mfapi\/objectref\/EntryStore\/Entry\/http:\/\/www.metafaq.com\/mfapi\/Metafaq\/Clients\/rnib\/Modules\/money-benefits\/Topics\/benefits:3071819147:9","entry_ref":"3071819147","entry_ref_encrypted":"PH1AN51KC1MV9NFS8IN0MSMDSS","entry_uid":"b4bqgbzoo6fsmsnkdzc2g37nf6","head_ref":"3071819146","label":"","link_text":"Voluntary migration","order":"3","tail_ref":"3071819044"}}},"3071819045":{"ID":"UC-transitional-payments_1","answer":"The term managed migration means when the Department of Work and Pensions writes to you (called a migration notice) and tells you that you must make a claim for Universal Credit because your current legacy benefits are going to stop. You do not have the choice to stay on legacy benefits and you must actively claim Universal Credit.<\/p>\nIf you are moved over to UC via the managed migration process, you will be entitled to transitional protection. Transitional protection means that if your rate of legacy benefits is higher than what you would otherwise be entitled to under the rules for UC, you will receive a payment, called a transitional element, when you first claim. This means that you should not lose out, financially, at the time you claim UC. It also means, if you are a tax credit claimant, that you will be allowed to claim UC for a period of one year even if you have savings above the UC savings limit of \u00a316,000.<\/p>\n<h2>Required Format<\/h2>\nThe DWP currently don't<\/strong> have a system in place to reliably identify people who require documents in alternative formats.<\/p>\nIf as a legacy benefit claimant you require correspondence in an alternative format, then it is vital you ensure that it's recorded on your legacy benefit claim that you are blind or partially sighted and require alternative formats for correspondence. You should then become part of a DWP list of \u201cdeferrals\u201d which means you won\u2019t be part of the move to UC programme until a migration notice can be issued in your required format.<\/p>\nIf you are issued with a migration notice, you can ask the DWP to cancel the notice on the basis that you should have been deferred.<\/p>\n<h2>DWP issues new transitional protection guidance for those in receipt of a UC migration notice<\/h2>\nThe DWP has issued new transitional protection guidance for those in receipt of a universal credit migration notice. The new guidance provides basic information on:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>what transitional protection is;<\/li>\n<li>eligibility;<\/li>\n<li>transitional protection payments;<\/li>\n<li>changes that can decrease your transitional protection payments; and<\/li>\n<li>changes that end transitional protection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nYou can read this guidance in full on the <a title=\"Transitional protection guidance\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/guidance\/transitional-protection-if-you-receive-a-migration-notice-letter#this-guidance-is-only-for-people-who-received-a-migration-notice\">GOV.uk<\/a> website. <\/p>\nIf you live in Northern Ireland you can find guidance on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nidirect.gov.uk\/articles\/what-move-universal-credit\">ni.direct.gov.uk<\/a> website.<\/p>\n<h2>Important<\/h2>\nPlease note that benefit calculators, which are typically used to estimate level of entitlement to means tested benefits, do not accurately reflect transitional protection. This means you could get a result that doesn\u2019t match your actual entitlement. If in doubt, the advice is always to make the claim for UC.<\/p>\nThe amount you receive as a transitional element will remain the same until:<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>your circumstances change. An example would be if you formed a couple of separated from a couple; this would cause your transitional protection to end, and you would no longer receive the extra payment.<\/li>\n<li>or<\/b> the amount of UC you are entitled to catches up with the amount you were receiving under the old benefit or tax credits system. An example of this would be if you had a child and started to receive a child element. The additional amount of the child element would be deduced from the transitional element first.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nFurther information on Managed migration and Universal Credit can be found on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/guidance\/tax-credits-and-some-benefits-are-ending-move-to-universal-credit\">GOV.uk<\/a> website.<\/p>","endNodeData":"","endNodeType":"","entry_object_ref":"http:\/\/api.transversal.com\/mfapi\/objectref\/EntryStore\/Entry\/http:\/\/www.metafaq.com\/mfapi\/Metafaq\/Clients\/rnib\/Modules\/money-benefits\/Topics\/benefits:3071819045:10","entry_ref":"3071819045","entry_ref_encrypted":"TKOTA25ELF4LUE70GICB8SMJEA","entry_uid":"auf7myipsvowwl5cmvupxtigy6","label":"","question":"Managed migration ","choices":[]},"3071819046":{"ID":"UC-transitional-payments_2","answer":"The term natural migration is used when a legacy benefit claimant has a change of circumstances which means you will have to claim UC because you can no longer make a new claim for a legacy benefit, or you no longer meet the criteria for the legacy benefit you were receiving.<\/p>\nAn example of the first reason (no new claim<\/b>) would be if you rent your property, claim housing benefit, and move from one local authority to another. Housing benefit is run by each local authority so it will stop when you move out of the local authority that currently pays your housing benefit. If you try to make a new claim for housing benefit in the local authority you have moved to, you will not be able to. Instead, you would have to claim UC instead and receive the housing element of UC to help with rent. If you are receiving any other legacy benefits (such as IR-ESA), this will also stop as a result of you claiming UC.<\/p>\nAn example of the second reason (no longer meet the criteria<\/b>) would be if you claim income support because you are a carer of someone with a disability. If you stop caring for that person, then you no longer meet the criteria for income support and that claim would stop. You would then have to claim UC if you are on a low income.<\/p>\nMoving to UC through this method does not have the same forms of transitional protection that are available with managed migration. The only financial protection available is if you are in receipt of Severe Disability Premium (SDP) as part of your award of income-based JSA, income-related ESA or income support.<\/p>\nThis transitional payment is intended to compensate for the loss of the SDP and not the Enhanced Disability Premium or anything else. You will not be entitled to a transitional protection payment if you are in receipt of legacy benefits and an SDP is not part of your award and you move to Universal Credit through a change in your circumstances (natural migration).<\/p>\n<h3>Important<\/h3>\nPlease note that benefit calculators, which are typically used to estimate level of entitlement to means tested benefits, do not accurately reflect transitional protection. This means you could get a result that doesn\u2019t match your actual entitlement. If in doubt, the advice is always to seek specialist advice.<\/p>\nThe amount you receive as a transitional element will remain the same until:<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>your circumstances change. An example would be if you formed a couple of separated from a couple; this would cause your transitional protection to end, and you would no longer receive the extra payment.<\/li>\n<li>or<\/b> the amount of UC you are entitled to catches up with the amount you were receiving under the old benefit or tax credits system. An example of this would be if you had a child and started to receive a child element. The additional amount of the child element would be deduced from the transitional element first.<\/li>\n<\/ul>","endNodeData":"","endNodeType":"","entry_object_ref":"http:\/\/api.transversal.com\/mfapi\/objectref\/EntryStore\/Entry\/http:\/\/www.metafaq.com\/mfapi\/Metafaq\/Clients\/rnib\/Modules\/money-benefits\/Topics\/benefits:3071819046:10","entry_ref":"3071819046","entry_ref_encrypted":"T24QGR4KO86M5NRIOQ2UK6KKM2","entry_uid":"auf7mypppg36f75523unire4fc","label":"","question":"Natural migration","choices":[]},"3071819146":{"ID":"UC-transitional-payments_11","answer":"The term voluntary migration is used when a legacy benefit claimant chooses to claim UC voluntarily without having received a migration notice from the DWP or experiencing a change of circumstances.<\/p>\nPlease note<\/b> the DWP regularly engage in advertising campaigns encouraging claimants of legacy benefits to move to UC voluntarily, as some will be better off financially. However, this is not the case for all claimants, many of whom will be significantly worse off.<\/p>\nMoving to UC through this method does not have the same forms of transitional protection that are available with managed migration. The only financial protection available is if you are in receipt of Severe Disability Premium (SDP) as part of your award of income-based JSA, income-related ESA or income support.<\/p>\nThis transitional payment is intended to compensate for the loss of the SDP and not the Enhanced Disability Premium or anything else. You will not be entitled to a transitional protection payment if you are in receipt of legacy benefits and an SDP is not part of your award and you move to Universal Credit through a change in your circumstances (natural migration).<\/p>\n<h3>Important<\/h3>\nPlease note that benefit calculators, which are typically used to estimate level of entitlement to means tested benefits, do not accurately reflect transitional protection. This means you could get a result that doesn\u2019t match your actual entitlement. If in doubt, the advice is always to seek specialist advice.<\/p>\nThe amount you receive as a transitional element will remain the same until:<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>your circumstances change. An example would be if you formed a couple of separated from a couple; this would cause your transitional protection to end, and you would no longer receive the extra payment.<\/li>\n<li>or<\/b> the amount of UC you are entitled to catches up with the amount you were receiving under the old benefit or tax credits system. An example of this would be if you had a child and started to receive a child element. The additional amount of the child element would be deduced from the transitional element first.<\/li>\n<\/ul>","endNodeData":"","endNodeType":"","entry_object_ref":"http:\/\/api.transversal.com\/mfapi\/objectref\/EntryStore\/Entry\/http:\/\/www.metafaq.com\/mfapi\/Metafaq\/Clients\/rnib\/Modules\/money-benefits\/Topics\/benefits:3071819146:9","entry_ref":"3071819146","entry_ref_encrypted":"PULIB654CEHRPVADDM2VCIOFNE","entry_uid":"b4bqgbqtqa222gnmf6njaiocwk","label":"","question":"Voluntary migration","choices":[]}},"start":"3071819044"}

How will moving from my current benefits to Universal Credit affect me?

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