Migration to UC, what happens?

Hi AnonymousM

Thank you for your question, it does raise a few interesting points that members should be aware of.

If you are in receipt of ESA and in the support group, do not close down your claim before you apply for UC, if your ESA claim is still live when you apply for UC then you should automatically be placed in the LCWRA group without having to go through the assessment phase, you may be asked to be re-assessed but whilst waiting to get re-assessed you should still qualifying for the LCWRA element.

For claimants who do not receive a SDP or EDP then they may be better off going on to UC, for claimants in receipt of SDP and EDP, most claimants will be worse off. I would advise claimants to use a benefit checker to check they will be worse or better off before applying for UC, once you have applied for UC you cannot go back on to legacy benefits. gov.uk/benefits-calculators

At present UC migration is being rolled out very slowly, there are only a few areas across the uk where it has been rolled out, and in each area only about 250 claimants have been asked to claim UC, DWP are testing and learning as they roll out UC; www.gov.uk/government/news/managed-move-...redit-set-to-restart

Gary

Hi clearwater

There are four kinds of claim for Universal Credit:

~ New claims, e.g. when someone not currently on benefits loses their job and makes a new claim for Universal Credit

~ Natural migration, when you are on benefits but have a change of circumstance which triggers a new claim for Universal Credit, e.g. when a partner moves in/out. This group of people will also lose their right to transitional protection which is only available for managed migrants to UC.

~ Voluntary migration, when you choose to move

~ Managed migration, when your circumstances haven't changed so DWP initiates your transfer onto Universal Credit

There is no equivalent to the Severe Disability Premium in Universal Credit.

DWP’s claim that “no one will be worse off” when moved on to Universal Credit only applies for the final kind of claim - 'managed migration'. It is these claims that can have a transitional element included.

Inanswer to your last question, yes you can be re-assessed when transfering from ESA to UC, but if you are in receipt of ESA support, you should still receive this element whilst you are being re-assessed.

Gary

clearwater

If you have received a letter telling you that you need to claim UC as your existing ESA claim will be closed in the near future, then this is indeed a Managed Migration.

Once you make your UC claim, your existing ESA will be migrated automatically. You shouldn't be assessed during the transfer but could be after if your claim is due a review, the Descriptors for UC are identical to the ones for ESA.

At the point of transfer, the DWP will calculate your UC entitlement if you claim Housing Benefit then it is important the DWP are made aware of this so it can be included in the calculated amount.

If your current payments exceed what the DWP would expect to pay you on UC then a Transitional Payment (for the difference) will be included in your UC, this will be eroded as your UC increases until the TP reaches zero, at this point, it will be removed from your UC and will not be included back even if your UC decreases.

I hope this explains it.

Gordon