The DWP will resume the managed migration of claimants of legacy benefits onto Universal Credit within weeks. The process will start with a cap of 10,000 but this is likely to increase to move 1,700,000 onto Universal Credit by the end of 2024.
The first cohort of up to 10,000 households will be migrated from Tax Credits to Universal Credit. Tax Credit claimants also have the option to apply for Universal Credit sooner. But it’s recommended they seek independent advice first because having switched to Universal Credit, it isn’t possible to switch back to Tax Credits or any other legacy benefits.
The transfer of claimants over to Universal Credit was put on hold due to the pandemic. But plans are being drawn up to restart the process. The DWP’s target is to complete the migration before the end of 2024 and with 1,700,000 still claiming legacy benefits the pressure is on to restart and accelerate the termination of legacy benefits.
When the 10,000 household cap is lifted, the DWP will then expand the migration to claimants of disability benefits and other legacy benefits. Universal Credit replaces and unifies six different legacy benefits in total.