Universal Credit managed migration: your top 5 questions answered

8 mins read

Tuesday 5 December 2023

Tags: universal credit, facebook q&a, managed migration

The DWP has started the ‘managed migration’ process of asking people on tax credits and other means-tested benefits to claim Universal Credit (UC), even if they have had no change in circumstances.

We have heard from countless parent carers who are concerned about how they will be affected by moving onto UC from their legacy benefits – especially as many families with disabled children end up worse off under Universal Credit.

So last week, our Family Finance team ran a special Q&A session in our Facebook Group for parent carers so that families could get specialist advice about the UC managed migration process.

To help those who weren’t able to take part in the Q&A, we’ve rounded up below some of the top questions asked during the session.

You can visit our Facebook Group to read through the rest of the Q&A, or take a look at our online advice for more information about Universal Credit and the managed migration process.

1. My migration notice says I have to claim UC by 5 February. What’s the latest date I could claim without missing out on transitional protection?

It is up to you whether you claim Universal Credit straight away or wait until closer to your deadline day to claim. If you claim before your deadline day, any tax credits you get will stop from the day before you claimed UC. Any other legacy benefits will stop two weeks after the date you claimed Universal Credit.

If you claim UC on (or after) your deadline day, any tax credits will stop from the day before your deadline day. Any other legacy benefits you get will stop two weeks after your deadline day.

Your deadline day of 5 February is the day on which your tax credits will end. If you choose to claim earlier, they will end on the day that you claim. Even if you miss the deadline of 5 February, you should still be OK. This is because you have a further month after your deadline day within which you can claim Universal Credit and still be eligible for transitional protection. This is known as your ‘final deadline day’.

So in your case, your final deadline day would be 4 March. This means that so long as a valid claim for Universal Credit is made by 4 March, your claim would be automatically backdated and you will still be eligible for transitional protection.

However, there are two potential problems with waiting until closer to the final deadline day. Firstly, the gap between your tax credits stopping and your Universal Credit payments starting will be even longer than the normal five weeks (as your tax credits will definitely end on 5 February at the latest). And secondly, you might run out of time if you have any last-minute problems in getting your UC claim completed.

2. My husband and I have two children on DLA. Can he also claim the UC ‘carer element’ despite his earnings being over the limit for Carer’s Allowance?

Under Universal Credit rules, you get an extra carer element of £185.86 per month if you are either eligible for Carer’s Allowance or if the only reason you are not eligible for Carer’s Allowance is because your earnings are too high. So yes, so long as your husband meets the other Carer’s Allowance tests (e.g. that he provides 35 hours a week of care; that he is not claiming as a carer for the same child as you; and that he is not in full-time education) then he will qualify for a carer element for him as part of your Universal Credit award – despite the fact that his earnings prevent an actual Carer’s Allowance award. This should mean that you can get two carer elements in total.

Our website has more information about the carer element, as well as other extra amounts you may be eligible for depending on your family’s circumstances.

3. Will Universal Credit force my husband and I to look for work, even if I get Carer’s Allowance?

The Universal Credit rules make clear that you cannot be asked to take part in any work-related activities like job-seeking if you are eligible for Carer’s Allowance (or if the only thing that stops you being eligible for Carer’s Allowance is that your earnings are too high). Since this applies to you, Universal Credit cannot force you to look for work or take part in any other work-related activities.

However, although you can’t be expected to look for work, there is a risk that your partner might. Where two people both provide 35 hours or more of care to the same disabled person, only one of them will be treated as a carer and be automatically exempted from work-related conditions. The other carer is usually expected to take part in work-related activities like job-seeking. If this happens to your partner, they should call our free Helpline on 0808 808 3555 to get advice about how to request that Universal Credit use their discretionary power to also treat your partner as a carer and exempt them from any work-related conditions. The number of hours you would be expected to work, if not classed as a carer, will depend on your own situation (for example, any health or disability-related problems).

But if you and your husband each care for a different person (for example, if you have two children who get DLA or PIP), then you would both be treated as carers under UC. This applies even if your husband does not qualify for Carer’s Allowance, so long as the reason why he doesn’t qualify is because his earnings are too high. In this case, neither of you would be asked to look for work or increase your working hours.

4. I believe I would be better off on UC. If I claim it voluntarily, what support would be available while my claim is processed?

We would strongly advise that you seek detailed 1-2-1 advice before volunteering to claim Universal Credit early. The reason for this is that people who choose to claim Universal Credit before they receive a managed migration notice from the DWP are not eligible for any transitional protection payments to make sure they won’t be left worse off. You need to be careful, as many families with a disabled child are worse off under Universal Credit – and once you claim Universal Credit, you cannot move back onto your old legacy benefits. Transitional protection is only available for those who claim after they have received a managed migration notice and because of this, you need to be 100% sure that you really will be better off on Universal Credit. You can double-check your likely entitlement to Universal Credit by contacting a local advice service such as Citizens Advice or by calling our free helpline.

If you do choose to claim, your existing legacy benefits will end straight away and you will have a five-week wait before you get any Universal Credit. You can apply for an advance payment if you are in financial hardship while you are waiting, but this is a loan from the DWP that will be recovered by them making a regular deduction from your monthly Universal Credit payments.

5. I’ve been told it can take up to six weeks to get UC. Do we get any help towards bills in the meantime?

You’re right that there is usually a wait of at least five weeks before you get your first UC payment after lodging a claim. If the delay in waiting for Universal Credit payments to start would cause you financial issues, then it is possible to ask for an advance payment. An advance is effectively a loan from the DWP that you will need to repay by having a regular deduction made from your monthly Universal Credit payments, once these start. Unfortunately, this does mean that your Universal Credit payments would then be lower than they normally should be for a period of time while you’re paying back the DWP for the advance loan.

If you are thinking of claiming Universal Credit early (before you receive a managed migration notice), you should seek detailed advice first to make sure that you will not end up worse off. The reason for this is that people who choose to claim Universal Credit before they receive a managed migration notice from the DWP are not eligible for any transitional protection payments. You need to be careful, as many families with a disabled child who volunteer to claim early are left worse off under Universal Credit. And once you claim Universal Credit, you cannot move back onto your old legacy benefits. Transitional protection payments to ensure you are no worse off under are only available to those who claim Universal Credit after they have received a managed migration notice.

Depending on your circumstances, there may also be other sources of support available to help with household costs such as water, fuel and other utility bills.