People getting legacy benefits are having their claims transferred to Universal Credit. This is called managed migration .

Legacy benefits are Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit, Housing Benefit for working-age people, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), income-based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) and Income Support.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have started sending out notices to people getting tax credits, either just tax credits, or tax credits with other benefits to move onto Universal Credit. This year (2024) more notices will be sent to people claiming other legacy benefits . People who get ESA only, or ESA with housing benefit only will also start getting notices. All migration notices are expected to be sent by the end of December 2025. 

Look out for a letter called a ‘Universal Credit Migration Notice’ from the DWP. Tax Credit claimants will receive this letter from the DWP with a HMRC logo or from the Department for Communities if they live in Northern Ireland. 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.

Make sure you read what is in the letter. If it’s telling you to claim Universal Credit, this will not be done automatically, so it’s important to follow the instructions in the letter, otherwise your benefits will stop by the deadline in your letter.  

If you claim Tax Credit and recently renewed your claim, you still need to claim Universal Credit after you get a notice letter.

You don’t have to claim Universal Credit if you don’t want to, but once you get your migration notice your other old benefits will stop. If you rely on the income from your benefits to manage your household budget, you probably will want to claim Universal Credit so you can keep getting support. Moving to Universal Credit will not affect your eligibility to Cost of Living payments.

Change of circumstances

If you report a change of circumstances, you might be told to claim Universal Credit and your old benefits will end. You don’t have to claim Universal Credit but if you rely on the income from your benefits to manage your household budget, you probably will want to claim Universal Credit so you can keep getting support.

Universal Credit is a modern benefits system replacing six legacy benefits into a single monthly payment. It’s means tested and for people of working age who are on a low income, whether they’re working or out of work. It can cover amounts for you, and your partner if you live as a couple, for your rent if you pay rent, for any children in the household, for childcare, for caring responsibilities, and for disability.

Money is deducted off your Universal Credit for earnings for other kinds of income. It's also deducted for any savings over £6000.

You can read more about Universal Credit on our website.

Your migration notice letter will specify a date by which a Universal Credit claim must be made. The usual deadline is three months from the date you received your migration letter.

If you cannot make your claim for Universal Credit by the date in the letter, you can ask the DWP for an extension. You can call the Universal Credit Migration Notice helpline on 0800 169 0328. You can only get an extension before your deadline.

If you miss your deadline, you can still get transitional protection if you claim Universal Credit within a month after the deadline. The end of that month is known as the ‘final deadline’.

If you make a claim after the final deadline, you can still claim Universal Credit, but you won’t be eligible for transitional protection.

If you don’t claim Universal Credit by the deadline:

• Your legacy benefits will end on the day before your deadline.
• You could lose out getting a top up amount Transitional Protection on your Universal Credit (see next section for more information).
• You could be left with no financial support for 5-6 weeks after the deadline (usual wait time for first Universal Credit payment).

If you claim before the deadline on your migration notice, some of the usual Universal Credit eligibility rules will not apply to you. These are:

• Tax Credit claimants who migrate to Universal Credit under managed migration will have any money, savings, or investments over £16,000 disregarded for twelve months from the date of their Universal Credit claim. Any money, savings, or investments between £6,000 and £16,000 will still be treated as if it gives you a monthly income. Read more in our Universal Credit capital/savings guide.
• Claimants who are in full-time advanced education (such as university) will be able to claim Universal Credit for the duration of their course. Read more in our Full-time students and Benefits guide. 

Some claimants will be entitled to less money on Universal Credit than they will normally get from their legacy benefits . If this is the case, there’ll be transitional protection for people moving over to Universal Credit, so they are not financially worse off. This protection is only available to people who have received a migration notice and claim by the deadline date on their letter or people who have Severe Disability Premium in their legacy benefits .

Transitional protection may reduce or stop over time when you have a change of circumstances. You can read more about when a Universal Credit transitional protection can end.

This depends on your circumstances. For example, for some claimants it may be better claiming as soon as possible or just before the deadline.

You should get benefits advice before you start your claim.

A benefits adviser will be able to work out the best time for you to claim within your deadline considering things like:

• 5-week wait for the first Universal Credit payment
• avoid making your Universal Credit claim around normal pay day if you get paid monthly as this can sometimes result in two monthly wages being used when the DWP calculates one monthly Universal Credit award
• paying for childcare
• being self-employed
• having a recent or imminent change in circumstances such as moving home or having a baby.

You can use our Find an Adviser tool to find a local advice organisation.

You can claim Universal Credit online or you can call the dedicated helpline for people who received migration notices. Remember to speak to a benefits advisor before you start your application.

England, Scotland and Wales

You can start your application:

• Online or
• Call Universal Credit Migration Notice helpline on:
  • 0800 169 0328 or
  • Relay UK:18001 then 0800 169 0328

Northern Ireland

You can start your application:

• Online or
• Call Universal Credit Helpline on:
  • 0800 012 1331 or
  • Textphone: 0800 012 1441

Following your initial claim, you'll probably need to go for an appointment at the jobcentre to prove your ID.

Your tax credits will stop as soon as you claim Universal Credit.

Housing Benefit, Income Support, income-based JSA and income-related ESA will all stop 2 weeks after you claim Universal Credit.

Your first payment from Universal Credit will be one month and one week after you first claimed. Universal Credit is paid monthly in arrears.

If you're going to struggle during the wait between payments, you can ask for an advance, but you'll have to pay it back through deductions from your Universal Credit.

If you can, try to set aside a bit of money every week to get ready for the gap in payments when you move over.

Make sure HMRC/DWP knows your current contact details such as postal address and telephone number.

If your rent is usually paid direct to your landlord, think about whether you'll be able to manage paying the rent out of your Universal Credit payment, or whether you'll need to ask for Universal Credit to pay your landlord direct.

If you're used to being paid weekly or four weekly, look at your bills and direct debits and make sure you'll be able to manage them on a monthly payment instead.

No – the old benefits are ending. You cannot choose to stay on your old benefits after you get the migration notice. You don't have to claim Universal Credit if you don't want to, but if you rely on the income from your benefits to manage your household budget, you probably will want to claim Universal Credit so you can keep getting support.

Moving to Universal Credit will not affect your eligibility to Cost of Living payments.

General advice 

You can use our Find an Adviser tool to find a local advice organisation.  

Budgeting and debt advice 

If you had any debt to Tax Credits or the DWP that wasn’t being collected or if you currently have any debt being deducted from your legacy benefits , you may want to find out how this could be recovered by Universal Credit. You can read a government guide on how money is taken off from Universal Credit payment or get in touch with the following organisations: 

• Money Helper provides information on budget planning, managing money and bill prioritisation. 
• Money Saving Expert also provides information on budget planning, cost of living and other tips for saving and managing your money.  
• National Debtline provides a debt advice service. 
• StepChange also provides a debt support service.