DWP axing 6 benefits with money stopped - first to end in two months

People on six 'legacy benefits' are being told they have to migrate to Universal Credit
-Credit:PA


The Department for Work and Pensions has warned people on tax credits that they have just two months before they will stop being paid. And in total there are six benefits which are being phased out and replaced by Unversal Credit.

People in receipt of Tax Credits, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance have been sent letters by the DWP telling them they have to take action.

Those people who are on tax credits - 594,000 families claiming tax credits in April 2024 according to official figures - will have their benefits stopped from April 2025 if they have taken no action. Those people who get the letters need to apply for Universal Credit instead.

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Those affected have three months from the date on their migration notice to apply for Universal Credit to continue receiving benefits. The DWP says that people do not need to take action until they receive their migration notice letter from the Department from Work and Pensions.

DWP is urging Tax Credit customers to respond to their Universal Credit migration notices so they continue to receive benefits. The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group has warned: “Universal credit is gradually replacing working tax credit and child tax credit as well as some other means-tested benefits. If you have been claiming tax credits and start to claim universal credit in the same tax year, your tax credit award will stop. Your tax credits will also stop if you have been sent a migration notice asking you to claim universal credit by a deadline date and you do not do so.”

Tax Credits officially end on April 5 this year. The DWP says: “Tax credits end on 5 April 2025. No more payments will be made after that. You’ll be sent a letter if you are eligible for Universal Credit or Pension Credit instead.”

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Citizens Advice says on what people should do when they get the letter: “You should claim Universal Credit by the deadline on the letter.

“Your old benefits will stop after the deadline. If you claim Universal Credit before the deadline, the DWP might pay you extra to stop you being worse off. This is called ‘transitional protection’.

“This means that if you’d get less on Universal Credit than your old benefits, you’ll get an extra amount to make up the difference. The DWP will reduce the extra amount over time - so you’ll eventually just get what you normally would on Universal Credit.”

Sir Stephen Timms, minister for social security and disability, warned households not to delay in moving over. He said: “As we start the new year, families across the country are thinking about what’s next.

“With this in mind, I encourage everyone who has received a migration notice to act as quickly as possible and move onto Universal Credit. We know how quickly time can pass when you’re busy - and with just three months to go until Tax Credits close on the 5th of April - now is the time to respond to your Universal Credit migration notice to continue receiving benefits.”

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The DWP aimed to send migration notices to all households claiming Tax Credits, Income Support, income-based JSA, and Housing Benefit by September 2024. Overall this is around 440,000 people. Households receiving ESA should receive a letter by December 2025. The DWP began sending migration notices to these claimants - around 800,000 in total - in September last year.

All legacy benefits are set to be scrapped for good by the end of March 2026.