The Department for Work and Pensions has outlined its timeline for when millions could see their benefits cut. The DWP states that 2.1 million people currently waiting to be transferred to Universal Credit will be processed this year and beyond.
Universal Credit is gradually replacing older legacy benefits through a process known as ‘managed migration’. The benefits being replaced by Universal Credit include Housing Benefit, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit and Income Support.
“Universal Credit has been available in all parts of the UK since December 2018, for people who make new benefit claims, who claim because their circumstances change (‘natural migration’) or who choose to move from legacy benefits to Universal Credit (‘voluntary migration’),” the DWP said. “Eventually, all remaining legacy benefit claimants will be contacted by the DWP and told they must claim Universal Credit to continue to receive means-tested support (‘managed migration’). When this stage is complete, legacy benefits and tax credits for people of working age will cease to exist, and the full ‘caseload rollout’ of Universal Credit will be achieved.”
“The rollout timetable for Universal Credit has been pushed back repeatedly, although in April 2024 the government announced plans to accelerate managed migration. The DWP now plans to contact all the remaining legacy benefit claimants by December 2025, moving people to Universal credit and closing legacy benefits by the end of March 2026.”
In 2024/25, the DWP contacted the remaining tax credit claimants (those also receiving other legacy benefits), and all claimants of Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), and Housing Benefit. The DWP aimed to send migration notices to these households – around 440,000 in total – by September 2024, reports Birmingham Live.
All tax credit claims will be closed by March 2025. The managed migration of around 800,000 claimants of income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) only, or income-related ESA and Housing Benefit, has been brought forward, having previously been delayed to 2028/29.
The DWP began sending migration notices to these claimants in September 2024 and aims to notify all claimants in this cohort by December 2025. The DWP plans to move all legacy benefit claimants to UC by March 2026, completing the UC rollout and closing all legacy benefits by this date.
The DWP says 2.1 million people currently awaiting being migrated to Universal Credit will be dealt with this year and beyond.