Thousands on Universal Credit to receive up to £240 more a month after major change

THOUSANDS being moved to Universal Credit will now start receiving up to £240 more a month following a major change.

The DWP is currently transferring people from old-style “legacy” benefits to Universal Credit in a move known as managed migration.

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The Government said the vast majority of people making the move will have done so by the end of March 2025.

But there will be scenarios where people making the move are worse off on Universal Credit compared to their previous benefit.

In this case, the Government is issuing some, but not all, transitional payments to top up Universal Credit payments to match previous benefit entitlements.

And new regulations brought in on February 14 mean five groups of people transitioning to Universal Credit will now see their transitional payments topped up by up to £246:

• Additional amount for a single claimant previously entitled to EDP (enhanced disability premium): £84
• Additional amount for a couple previously entitled to EDP: £120
• Additional amount for a single claimant previously entitled to DP (disability premium): £172
• Additional amount for a couple previously entitled to DP: £246
• Additional amount per disabled child or qualifying young person: £177

The Department for Work and Pensions says the change made earlier this month will impact around 600 people per month moving forward.

That means thousands will be impacted between now and 2028, when all claimants on legacy benefits will have been migrated to Universal Credit.

If you are in one of the above five groups, you must have been entitled to one of the disability premiums the month before you claimed Universal Credit to get the new top-ups.

Universal Credit

Here’s everything to know about Universal Credit:

What is managed migration?

Six old-style benefits will be axed by the Department for Work and Pensions by the end of 2028 under managed migration.

This includes housing benefit, income-based jobseeker’s allowance and income support. The full list is:

• working tax credit
• child tax credit
• income-based jobseeker’s allowance
• income support
• income-related employment and support allowance
• housing benefit

Managed migration started in July 2019 and was paused in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic but restarted half way through 2022.

Eligible households are being contacted via letters in the post which tell them how to make the move from their old benefits to Universal Credit.

Once you receive a letter, you have three months to move over, or you could lose your current benefits.

Carefully consider whether you will be better off on Universal Credit as you might not be better off afterwards.

Some people are entitled to transitional protection payments to ensure they aren’t on less than they were before moving across though.

That includes those in receipt of certain disability premiums, like above.

You can find out more about Universal Credit by visiting your local job centre.

There’s also a free service called Help to Claim from Citizen’s Advice:

You can also get help online from Citizen’s Advice advisors.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk