Warning as benefit claimants lose £4,130 each ahead of move to Universal Credit

15 April 2024 , 10:31

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Millions of people are being moved to Universal Credit (Image: PA Archive/PA Images)

Tax Credit claimants have lost out on roughly £4,130 a year each after failing to move across to Universal Credit, new figures show.

Millions of people claiming old-style legacy benefits are gradually being moved over to Universal Credit as part of a so-called “managed migration” exercise by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). When it is your turn to be moved to Universal Credit, you’ll receive a "migration notice" in the post.

This letter will give you a three-month deadline to start claiming Universal Credit - and if you don’t claim within this time, your current benefits will stop. According to DWP figures, 31,460 households receiving Tax Credits had their benefits stopped because they did not act after receiving a “migration notice” between November 2022 and September 2023.

It means a typical household has lost out on roughly £4,130 a year, or £129.4million collectively, anti-poverty charity Z2K told The Sun. Ayla Ozmen, director of policy and campaigns at anti-poverty charity Z2K, said: "These figures show that DWP has now stopped well over £100million worth of benefits for people who've missed their deadline to move to Universal Credit.”

A DWP spokesperson said: "The vast majority of Tax Credit claimants have successfully moved to Universal Credit, accessing the vital safety net provided to millions as they build towards financial independence. There is a range of support available to help people move, including extensions for those who need extra support."

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Universal Credit is replacing the following six benefits:

• Working Tax Credit

• Child Tax Credit

• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

• Income Support

• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

• Housing Benefit

You can choose to move over to Universal Credit earlier, if you think you will be better off - but you need to do your research first, as you can't move back to legacy benefits. You should first use a free benefits calculator online to check your circumstances, such as:

• Policy in Practice calculator

• entitledto calculator

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• Turn2us calculator

If you think you will be better off, get free benefits advice first before switching to Universal Credit at Citizens Advice or Turn2Us. The DWP claims 1.4million people (55%) will be better off on Universal Credit, and 900,000 (35%) would be worse off. The other 300,000 benefit claimants will see no change.

Levi Winchester