DWP will 'stop' benefits for 1.6 million people if they 'overlook' letter

The Department for Work and Pensions is sending out a letter which could mean benefits payments are halted for 1.6 million people. The DWP is issuing letters over migrating people onto Universal Credit and away from so-called 'legacy' benefits.

'Legacy' benefit payments include Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income-related Employment and Support Allowance. Over 1.6 million individuals risk losing their DWP benefits if they overlook a crucial letter from the DWP.

"Migration notices" will be sent to all 1.6 million claimants on the old system by the end of 2025, slashing the original timeline by three years. What you have to do depends on what’s in the letter. If the letter gives a deadline for you to claim Universal Credit, it’s a ‘migration notice’. The deadline should be at least 3 months after the date the notice was sent.

READ MORE Defiant UK tourists take action after Tenerife and Lanzarote protests

If your letter doesn’t have a deadline, you don’t have to claim Universal Credit unless you want to - even if the letter says you’ll have to claim Universal Credit in future. You won’t be able to go back to your old benefits after you claim.

Citizens Advice warns the proportion of people failing to migrate from legacy benefits includes 20 per cent of people aged 30-39 and 22 per cent of people aged 40-49 as well as 27 per cent of people aged 50-59 and also 32 per cent of people aged 60+.

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.