DWP issues Universal Credit warning for 184,000 Brits

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is continuing its migration process, known as managed migration, as it forces people off legacy benefits.

Instead, the DWP will be giving people the chance to claim Universal Credit.

People who receive notices are being warned because the Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed that 184,000 benefit payments have been stopped after a deadline passed.

Having received a notice, claimants are forced to act within three months to keep their benefits.

According to the DWP, 184,120 claimants failed to carry out the switch between July 2022 and March 2024, resulting in them losing their benefit payments.

Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Housing Benefit and Income Support claimants are affected, as well as those who claim Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) and also Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

A migration notice informs a person that all awards of any existing benefits (those which UC is replacing) to which they are entitled are to terminate and that they will need to claim Universal Credit.

DWP guidance also suggests that if an individual issued with a migration notice has not made a claim 7 weeks after receiving it, a reminder letter will be issued.

If no claim for UC has been made 10 weeks after the migration notice was issued, a second reminder notice is issued.

The second reminder is by SMS text if there is a mobile number held, otherwise it is by letter. Copies of migration notices can be requested but the original deadline day still applies.

Where a migration notice is issued to a claimant after the cancellation of a previous migration notice or after the cancellation of a tax credit closure notice the deadline day may be within such a shorter period as DWP considers appropriate.