Expert warns hundreds of thousands of Brits on Universal Credit told to act now or risk 'losing out' on thousands

A finance expert is urging people to act now if they are contacted by the Department of Work regarding Universal Credit. The DWP is reaching out to hundreds out thousands of people who currently claim legacy benefits as they are transferred to Universal Credit.

Legacy benefits refer to a group of payments issued by the state which are yet to be replaced by Universal Credit. There are six key legacy benefits that remain - Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

This week, the DWP is starting to send letters to hundreds of thousands of Brits claiming legacy benefits inviting them to move over to Universal Credit. Finance expert Iona Bain says people must not ignore the letter as it could ending up costing them money.

The letter, known as a migration notice, moves people over to Universal Credit and, according to Iona, the process is 'picking up pace'. She urged people to not bury their head in the sand and ignore the letter.

Speaking to BBC Morning Live, she said: "If you do act, you won’t have any issues. If you do get this letter from the DWP and if you follow the instructions in that letter, you will be okay. If you ignore the letter, your benefits could be affected and you could lose out.

"There are two reasons to be aware of this whole thing. Firstly, if you get that letter, that migration notice, you have to act. If you don’t you could lose out – the process is not going to be automatic. That is really important to know.

"Secondly, you can choose to switch over to Universal Credit sooner, you don’t have to wait for the Government o move you over, but you have to work out if that will be in your interests or not. There will be some people who will be better off on universal Credit now, because they will get more money in their pocket, and there will be some people who would be better of waiting before moving across to Universal Credit because if they move sooner, they could lose out.

"The thing here is that, once you are switched over to Universal Credit, there is no going back."

Iona said people typically have three months to make arrangements after receiving the letter. A National Audit Office report issued in February 2024 suggested that 21 per cent of people claiming legacy benefits have not transferred to Universal Credit after receiving notice to switch, and have had their legacy benefits stopped. Almost all of these people had been receiving Tax Credits.

Iona added that those under state pension age and claiming tax credits should have had the letter in March. Those over state pension age and claiming tax credits should have the letter from August. Those on income support should be receiving the letter 'any day now' as they are being issued by the DWP.

Those on housing benefit will receive letters in June, while those on income-based job seekers' allowance will have them in September. a date to switch those on employment support allowance has not yet been revealed.