Thousands on Universal Credit to get up to £240 more a month after major changes

THOUSANDS moved onto Universal Credit will now receive up to £240 extra per month after a major change.

The DWP is currently transferring people from old-fashioned ‘legacy’ benefits to Universal Credit, in a move known as managed migration.

The government said the vast majority of people taking the step will have done so by the end of March 2025.

But there will be scenarios where people who make the switch will be worse off on Universal Credit compared to their previous benefit.

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

And new regulations introduced on February 14 mean five groups of people moving to Universal Credit will now see their transition payments increased 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 Allowance): £172
• Additional amount for a couple previously entitled to DP: £246
• Additional amount per disabled child or eligible young person: £177

The Department for Work and Pensions says the change introduced earlier this month will affect around 600 people a month going forward.

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

If you fall into one of the five groups above, you must have been entitled to one of the disability payments in the month before you applied for Universal Credit to get the new top-ups.

Universal credit

Here’s everything you need to know about Universal Credit:

What is managed migration?

Six outdated benefits will be abolished by the Department for Work and Pensions under managed migration by the end of 2028.

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

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

The managed migration began in July 2019 and was paused in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but restarted in mid-2022.

Eligible households will be contacted with letters in the post explaining how they can make the switch from their old benefits to Universal Credit.

Once you receive a letter, you have three months to switch. Otherwise, you may lose your current benefits.

Consider carefully whether you are better off with Universal Credit, as you may not be better off in hindsight.

However, some people are entitled to transitional protection benefits to ensure they do not receive less than before they moved abroad.

This also applies to those who receive certain disability premiums, as above.

You can find more information about Universal Credit by visiting your local employment office.

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

You can also get help online at Advisors from Citizen Advice.

Do you have a money problem that needs to be solved? Get in touch by emailing money@the-sun.co.uk.

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