Thousands of households have been told they must reapply for their benefits under a major shake-up by the government. Applications must be made by April.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is phasing out older so-called ‘legacy benefits’. There are six in total and these benefits are being replaced by Universal Credit, as part of the governments ‘Migration Plan’.
The first ‘legacy benefit’ being phased out is Tax Credits, which is being replaced in April this year. Thousands of letters are being issued ahead of the move, with households issued a three-month warning.
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Once claimants of Tax Credits receive this letter, they’ll have three months to make a claim for Universal Credit. If they don’t, their current payments will stop.
Tax Credits is worth up to £2,435 a year, or an estimated £202 a month. The other ‘legacy benefits’ on the list are Child Tax Credits, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Income Support, Housing Benefit, and Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
The DWP’s Managed Migration strategy was restarted in 2022 and further revamped up in September 2024. All those claiming legacy benefits will be sent migration notices by the end of this year.
Over the next 12 months, it will see hundreds of thousands of letters sent out. The benefits department is working to completely phase out all legacy benefits by the end of March 2026.