UC Part B: Moving to UC

NB: It is best to read Part B ‘Moving over to UC’ after you have read Part A ‘What is UC?’.

Welcome to this latest revised and updated version of the second of our four Big Book of Benefits website pages on Universal Credit (UC).  

Here in Part B: Moving over to UC we look at all those extra issues and concerns for people who claim UC as part of a switch-over (or ‘migration’) from the old “legacy benefits” (such as Income-related ESA and Housing Benefit). You may have questions like: How do I switch to UC?; Will I have to go through a new health assessment?; Will I be better or worse off under UC?; What extra protections might help?   

If you are NOT switching to UC from the old “legacy benefits”, then these extra Part B questions won’t apply to you.  You might want to go straight on to Part C: How to claim UC and what happens next? and then to Part D: Further Questions about UC . These are where we look at questions affecting everyone claiming UC. For example, in Part C we look at general questions such as: How does UC work? How much will I get, How do I claim UC, How do I get paid? . While in Part D we look at more specific areas such as: How does UC deal with sickness and disability? What about trying out work? What is the help with rent and council tax? What about prescription charges in England?   

But if you ARE switching to UC from legacy benefits, then Part B is for you as we focus in on the particular questions involved in making that switch from the old legacy benefits to the new Universal Credit.  

So here in Part B we are concentrating on issues and questions about migrating to UC, such as:

What is “migration” to UC?

  1. If I’m already claiming benefits, do I have to move to UC?

2. there anything I need to do before I migrate to UC?

3. What are the three different ways of ‘migrating’ to UC?

4. Does it matter how I migrate over to UC?

5. Is there be a gap between last payment of legacy benefits and first payment of UC?

6. What extra help is available for those switching from legacy benefits to UC?

Managed migration

7. What is “managed migration”?

8. What should I do when I receive my managed migration letter?

9. What happens if I miss the Deadline Day?

10. What is the DWP’s ‘enhanced support package’?

Natural migration

11. What is “natural migration”?

12. When does a change in circumstances trigger a natural migration?

Being too unwell to work and UC – sickness

13. What are the UC equivalents of the ESA ‘work related activity’ and ‘support’ groups?

14. What are the UC equivalents of the ESA components?

  • will I get a UC “limited capability” element?
  • How much will I get? 

15.What can I do if I don’t qualify for a UC limited capability element?

16. Will I need to go through a new Work Capability Assessment (WCA)?

Extra amounts for disability and UC

17. Does UC any extra amounts for disability (like the Severe Disability Premium SDP)?

18. How can I get an amount for severe disability in my UC?

19. Why did people often miss out on an SDP?

20. What exactly are the conditions for getting an SDP?  

Transitional protection  

21. Can I get ‘transitional protection’?

22.  What is ‘full transitional protection’ (under a ‘managed migration’)?

23.  What is the more limited ‘SDP Transitional Protection’?

24.  How long does any ‘transitional protection’ last? 

What is “migration” to UC?

Q1. If I’m already claiming legacy benefits, do I have to move to UC?

  • Everyone getting a legacy benefit will have to move to UC.  This is called ‘migrating’ from legacy benefits to UC.   (For a list of Legacy Benefits, see Part A, question 1).
  • There are three different ways of migrating to UC, which are explained In Q3 below.

Q2. Is there anything I need to do before I migrate to UC?

Find out about UC so that you know what to expect: 

The information on this website should answer most of your questions.  If you need more information, you can contact one of the organisations listed in Part A, Q7.

Check your current benefits: 

Get advice on whether you are getting the right amount in your current legacy benefits. If you have been getting less than you should, you can claim back the underpayment, as well as increase your entitlement to UC, but ONLY if you raise the query with the DWP before you migrate to UC. Once you are on UC you won’t be able to start a claim for any arrears of your legacy benefit.  (See Part A, Q7 for where to get advice.)

Remind DWP of any difficulties you have:

  • contact DWP to check that they have put a note on the front of your records about any contact needs (for example, if you find unexpected phone calls difficult).
    • you may find it useful to use a form to tell the DWP about any difficulties you have, such as the Greenwich Safeguarding Alert Form (see link).  (You can use the Greenwich form wherever you live, not just in Greenwich.)
    • you could also ask an adviser or support worker to tell DWP’s regional Advanced Customer Support Senior Leads (ACSSLs) about your difficulties.

Plan the timing of your UC claim:  

If you can, time your UCclaim forjust after a legacy benefit payment date because, if you claim just before one is due the legacy benefit payment will be stopped.

Q3. What are the three different ways of migrating to UC?

The three different ways of migrating to UC are:

  • Managed migration: the DWP is currently writing to people to tell them that their legacy benefits will end in 3 months’ time and they should claim UC instead before the ‘Deadline Day’.  It is likely that everyone on legacy benefits will have received this letter by the end of 2025.  This is called ‘managed migration’; for more details see Q7, Q8, Q9 and Q10 below.
  • Voluntary migration: you don’t have to wait for the letter from the DWP to claim UC. You can choose to claim UC earlier.  This is called ‘voluntary migration’.
  • Natural migration: Some people have to move to UC before they get the letter from the DWP. For example, if you have to make a new claim because your circumstances have changed, you will usually have to claim UC.  This is called ‘natural migration’ – for more details see Q11 and Q12 below. 

Q4. Does it matter which way I migrate to UC?

YES, it does. That’s because it can affect the amount of UC you get if you get less under the usual UC sums than you have been getting under legacy benefits:

  • Under a managed migration, you get ‘full transitional protection’; this guarantees that you won’t lose money when you first move to UC. See below at 21 and Q22.
  • when you move to UC by voluntary or natural migration, you do not get this ‘full transitional protection’. However, some people may get a more limited “severe disability transitional protection’. See below at Q23.

However, some people are due to get more under UC’s sums. If you are sure that you are going to get more – but do get advice first – then there is nothing to stop you claiming UC as soon as you feel ready to make that change and have got any advice and support you need ready. You won’t need to worry about transitional protection, so the type of migration makes no difference. You might then opt for a voluntary migration as soon as you can, so that you can get the increase in your money all the sooner.    

Q5. Will there be a gap between my last legacy benefits payment and my first UC payment?

Your legacy payments usually stop the day that you make a claim for UC, whichever way you migrate to UC. You then have a 5 week wait until your first UC payment. However:

  • during this waiting period, you can ask for an Advance Payment of UC up to the value of that first UC payment.  This is a loan that then has to be paid back in instalments taken out of future UC payments. The loan is interest-free and the rate of repayment can be adjusted, as long as the full amount is paid off within 2 years.   
  • There is extra help available – see more in Q6 below – when you are migrating from legacy benefits as long as you claim UC in time. This includes an extra 2-weeks payment of your legacy benefits (which does not have to be repaid and is ignored in UC sums) that can help you during this 5 week wait for your first UC payment.
  • If you cannot verify your identity online and if there is then a delay in offering you an appointment to do this at your local Jobcentre Plus, then UC cannot be paid. Your legacy benefits will carry on in payment until your ID can be verified. These payments will count as income in the sums that look back at the UC that you would have been paid, so that you don’t get doubler paid. You will still benefit from the 2-week run on of legacy benefit.  

Q6. What extra help is there when I move to UC from a legacy benefit?

When you migrate to UC from a legacy benefit you get some protection, as long as your UC claim can be linked back to your old legacy benefit.  The circumstances in which your claim will link back depends on how you migrate:

  • voluntary or natural migration: your UC claim will link back to your legacy benefit if you make the UC claim while you are still receiving your legacy benefit. (If you make your claim within a month after legacy benefits stop, then you can ask the DWP to backdate your UC claim to link up with your old benefits (but they will need a good reason to do so.)
  • managed migration: your UC claim will link back to your legacy benefit if you make the UC claim before your ‘Deadline Day’ (as set out in your managed migration letter) or no more than 1 calendar month after that day. DWP would then automatically backdate your UC by up to a month, so that it still links up with the old legacy benefits claim.

As long as yourUC claim does link back to your legacy benefit, you will get the following extra help when you migrate to UC:

  • an extra 2 weeks of legacy benefit:  you will be paid an extra 2 weeks of your legacy benefit after normal payments are due to stop. Your legacy benefit claim closes and any remaining normal payments usually stop the day after you claim UC The ‘two-week run-on’ is paid two weeks after your usual legacy benefits have stopped. This extra 2 weeks’ money does not have to be paid back and it will not be counted as income in your first month’s UC sums.
  • no new Work Capability Assessment (WCA) when moving from Income-related ESA:  everyone onIncome-related ESA will have had a gone through a WCA at the start of their claim and may well have been re-assessed – perhaps a few times – over the years. And at the start of your ESA claim you will have waited to get any extra ESA component for being unwell.  As long as your UC claim links back to your legacy benefits, then you will not need a new WCA just for moving over to UC.  And you should get those extra UC ‘limited capability’ elements (the equivalent of ESA components) included in your first payment of UC.  See more in Q13 to Q16 below.  
  • ‘transitional protection’:  this can pay an extra amount of UCto help cushion the drop if you get less under UC’s normal sums than you have been getting under legacy benefits.For information on transitional protectionsee Q21 to Q24 below.

Managed migration

Q7. What is managed migration?

‘Managed migration’ starts when the DWP send you a letter called a “managed migration notice”. It is likely that everyone still getting legacy benefits will have received this letter by the end of 2025.  The letter explains that your legacy benefits will be ending and you need to claim UC instead.  It tells you:

  • your deadline day, which is the date your legacy benefits will end if you haven’t yet claimed UC instead.  The deadline day will always be 3 months or more from the date of the letter;
  • to claim UC before the deadline day;
  • the number of a ‘migration hotline’ (0800 169 0328) which you can contact to: ask any questions about migrating to UC; or to request an extension to the ‘deadline day’ if you need more time.
  • Your letter will look like the one below (although there may be some small differences in wording).

Q8. What should I do when I receive my managed migration letter?

It is up to you to decide when to make your claim for UC during these three months. Don’t rush to claim UC immediately just because you have received the letter. Do take your time to get the advice you need and to choose the best time for you to make your claim. But do not leave your decision too long or it could mean less money and extra hassle, as explained below.

The most important thing is not to miss your Final Deadline Day (see more about this in Q9 below: What happens if I miss Deadline Day?). But you will also want to consider the points under Q3 above: ‘Is there anything I need to do before I migrate to UC?’

When you make your UC claim it will be exactly the same process as if you were claiming UC without ever having claimed a legacy benefit – for more details see Part C of this guide.  What is different when you are switching from legacy benefits is the build up to making that claim, the extra time you get in which to make that claim and the extra protection that goes with a managed migration.  

Q9. What happens if I miss the deadline day?

Everything goes much more smoothly if you can make your UC claim by the ‘deadline day’ set out in your managed migration notice’. But if you do miss it that day, you can still avoid most of the losses and complications, as long as you act fast, so that you don’t miss the later ‘Final Deadline Day’.  The final deadline day is a month after the deadline day; for example, if your deadline day is 4th May, your final deadline day is 3rd June.

If you do miss the final deadline day, then you will lose all the protection that goes with a managed migration.  See Q6 above: ‘What extra help is available when I move to UC from a legacy benefit?’. That would mean: no 2-week run on of legacy benefits, no transitional protection, and you having to go through a new WCA (and wait 3 months for any extra amount for sickness. So – please – do NOT miss the final deadline day!

Q10. What is the DWP’s ‘enhanced support package’?

To encourage those migrating from Income-related ESA to claim UC before the final deadline day, the DWP has put in place an ‘enhanced support package’. This means that (subject to any information they already hold about your needs around contact) they will:

  • send you text messages and letters reminding you to claim UC and encouraging you to contact the migration support line, especially after your deadline day;
  • phone at least twice after your deadline day if you haven’t yet claimed UC;
  • ask a DWP Visiting Officer to visit you to talk through what is happening and explain where to get more information. But note that the officer won’t be able to do a claim with you;
  • possibly refer you to an Advanced Customer Support Senior Leader (ACCSL). They have extra knowledge of DWP support and they can also ask other organisations to help you to make your UC claim. 

Natural migration

Q11. What is ‘natural migration’ to UC?

If your circumstances change, you may have to move to UC before you get the ‘managed migration’ letter from the DWP. This is called ‘natural migration’ and is explained in more detail below.  ‘Natural migrations’ have been going on since 2017 and they don’t just stop because ‘managed migrations started up from 2023.

Q12. When does a change in circumstances trigger natural migration?

Not every change in your circumstances will mean that you have to move to UC. Sometimes, your existing legacy benefits can simply be adjusted to take account of your new circumstances. 

However, sometimes a change in your circumstances means that you have to make a completely new claim under the legacy benefit rules. And because legacy benefits are mostly closed to new claims, that new claim has to be for UC rather than a legacy benefit.

If your circumstances change, tell the DWP as soon as possible.  The DWP will tell you whether they can adjust your existing benefit or whether you have to make a new claim.  It is always important to get advice to double-check what the DWP has told you. (See section A question for where to get advice.)

Let’s look at what happens in some of the more common changes in circumstances:

Moving home

  • If you own your home or you don’t need any help to pay rent, you can move anywhere and just notify the DWPof your new address. There is no need to make a new claim.
  • If you are claiming Housing Benefit (HB) for help with rent and you move within the same local authority area, your existing HB claim can usually be adjusted for all the changes (such as: address, landlord, rent etc)   (But see below if the move is linked to you forming a new couple or splitting up).  
  • If you are claiming HB and you are moving to a different local authority area, you would need to make a new HB claim with your new local council and you usually cannot do that and will have to claim UC instead. UC won’t just replace your Housing Benefit but also any other legacy benefit you get, such as Income-related ESA or Income Support.
  • however, you can make a new claim for HB if either you are over pension age; or you are moving into supported or temporary homeless accommodation;

Moving in with a partner or splitting up

  • if you are moving in with a partner or you are splitting up, you usually need to make a new claim for UC even if you are staying in the same council area;
  • However, if you are claiming Income-related ESA: you don’t need to make a new claim if you move in with someone. But if you are splitting up, the ‘lead claimant’ for ESA (the person who went through the Work Capability Assessment) will not have to make a new claim. But their ex-partner will have to make a new claim, which will be for UC.

Adding amounts to your current claim

If you become entitled to an extra amount within a legacy benefit, then this can simply be added on with need to make a new claim.

But sometimes an extra amount looks as if is a new benefit and so might need you to make a new claim to get it. But it can be that getting the new amount does not need a new claim but just involves an adjustment in an overall combined claim for e.g. ESA or tax credits.

For ESA:

If you first claimed under ESA under the old rules (before UC came to your area during 2017/18) then you can still have Income-related ESA added on to an award of the ‘old-style’ Contributory ESA. You may have only been entitled to Contributory ESA at the time but have since become entitled to a top up from Income-related ESA (e.g. after a switch to the ESA Support group, a new award of PIP, becoming a carer or a drop in your savings).

In this case, it is not a new claim for Income-related ESA (which you cannot make) but an adjustment within an overall claim for both kinds of ESA.

For tax credits:

the same applied to tax credits until they were abolished in April 2025.  If you were working and getting Working Tax Credit and then had your first child – or you had had children , were getting Child Tax Credit but then started work – then you could have the tax credit that you weren’t getting added on to the one that you were. Again, this was not a new claim for that new tax credit but an adjustment within an overall claim for tax credits.

UC v. ESA: Sickness (when too unwell to work)

Q13. What are the UC equivalents of the ESA ‘work related activity’ and ‘support’ groups?

There are two ‘limited capability’ groups in UC:

  • the Limited Capability for Work Group (LCW). This is the equivalent of ESA’s Work-Related Activity group;
  • the Limited Capability for Work Related Activity Group (LCWRA). This is the equivalent of the ESA Support Group.

The criteria for each of the UC groups are exactly the same as for ESA, based on the outcome of the same Work Capability Assessment. So as long as your Income-related ESA claim is linked to your new UC claim you will be placed straight into the equivalent UC group.  

Since it is a straight transfer to the equivalent new group, you do not need a new WCA when you move from Income-related ESA to UC.  For more details see Q16 below

Q14. What extra amounts are there in UC for being in these groups?

Just as with ESA, being in either of the ‘limited capability’ groups can lead to an extra amount in your benefit. These extra amounts are called ‘elements’. (For ESA they were called ‘components’.)

Will I get a UC “limited capability” element?

  • if you are in the LCWRA group you will get the LCWRA element;
  • if you are in the LCW group you will only get the LCW element if you:
    • received the ESA Work Related Activity component; and
    • you migrate to UC without a gap.

How much will I get? 

The UC elements will be equal to or more than the equivalent components under ESA. See Part C for more information about how the overall UC sums work.

The LCW element

This is worth exactly the same as the ESA Work Related Activity Component. So, the current rate of £36.55 a week for the ESA component becomes £158.76 a month for the UC element. So, if your Income-related ESA claim is linked to your UC claim, you will get that same amount in your UC. If the link is broken – by claiming too late – then you will not get any LCW element.

However, there is no extra amount in the LCW element to make up for UC not having any equivalent to the enhanced disability premium or the severe disability premium. So, if you get either of these amounts in your legacy benefits, you lose them entirely under UC’s normal sums. But if your legacy and UC claims are linked you may start off on UC with an extra ‘transitional element’ to make up for these disability losses.

It is then doubly important to make sure your Income-related ESA and UC claims are linked: both to get any LCW element to replace your ESA WRA component and to get what might be quite a large transitional element.  

The LCWRA element:

 The current rate of the UC LCWRA element is about twice the rate of the ESA support component.  The monthly rate of LCWRA is £423.27 (which is equivalent to £97.70 a week; whereas the current rate of ESA Support component is £48.50 a week.

However, this higher amount is to partly make up for UC not having any ‘adult disability elements’ as equivalents to ESA’s enhanced or severe disability premium. As a result, some people will actually be better off under UC’s different way of doing things; others will be worse off. It will depend on which of the two disability premiums you get under ESA:

  • ESA enhanced disability premium (EDP) is included in ESA’s sums for everyone in the ESA Support Group and is currently worth £21.20 a week (in single claims) or £31.25 (in couple claims). So, when you add EDP on to the Support Component, being in the Income-related ESA Support Group is actually worth £69.70 (single) or £79.75 (couples).  
  • ESA severe disability premium (SDP):
    • about 1/3 of people in the ESA Support group also get an SDP, which is currently £82.90.  But after allowing for the ESA support component and the EDP above, the UC LCWRA element only has an extra £28 a week (if single) – or £18.95 (couples) – to make up for UC having no equivalent to the SDP. So, single people getting an SDP end up £54.90 a week worse off under UC as a result.
    • But 2/3 of people in the ESA Support Group do not get an SDP. So, a single person who couldn’t get an SDP ends up being £28.00 a week better off under UC’s normal rates.  

If you do get an SDP and then end up being worse off under the normal UC sums, then you may be able to start off your UC with an extra UC transitional element to make up for the difference.  For more information see transitional protection, below.

Q15. What can I do if I don’t qualify for a UC LCW element?

Just as with the ESA Work Related Activity Component, only certain people qualify to receive an extra amount after April 2017.

If you cannot get the LCW element, it is worth checking to see if you might be able to move to the UC LCWRA group instead (or, if you have not yet migrated to UC, to move to the ESA Support Group).

Even if you don’t get the extra amounts for being in the UC LCW / ESA WRA group, then being in this group still counts for something because:

  • you only need to do some “work related activity” as a condition of getting UC (rather than face the “all work requirements” of full-on job seeking); and
  • if you are able to do some paid work, you can keep more of your earnings under UC ‘Work Allowance’ rules (or, if you have not yet migrated, under the ESA ‘permitted work’ rules). For information on the Work Allowance rules, see Part C

Q16. Will I need a new Work Capability Assessment (WCA)?

NO, as long as there is no break in the link between your Income-related ESA and UC claims. You will not then need a new WCA and any UC limited capability element due will be included in your first UC payment. This is because the WCA for UC is the same test, run by the same people, as the WCA for ESA.  So, the DWP should transfer you straight into the UC equivalent group. 

However, if you were due (or overdue) for a new WCA under ESA at the time of your switch to UC, this will still go ahead. But it will not happen straightaway on moving to UC:

  • So, you migrate over to UC with your current WCA status and will get the equivalent UC ‘limited capability’ element to your old ESA component (as long as there is no break between your claims).
  • From the third month of you UC claim onwards, UC may get in contact about that re-assessment of your WCA. That will involve the usual letter, UC50 form and possibly a session with a Health Care Professional. However, while all this is going on, you would carry on getting the appropriate UC ‘limited capability’ element.

However, there have been too many cases when the DWP have started a new WCA process ‘by mistake’ when people you first move over to UC. This is because they are mistakenly following UC’s normal process for new UC claims from people who are unwell. Many UC staff are not aware of that important exception for new UC claims from people who are migrating over to UC from Income-related ESA.

Until November 2024, it was left entirely up to your UC work coach to know about this exception and to manually enter this on the UC system so as to avoid the system starting up a new WCA. And that also leave you without any UC ‘limited capability’ element for the first 3 months of your claim.  

However, changes to the UC computer system and a new question on the online claim form, should usually automatically place put you straight into UC’s equivalent group to the one you were in under ESA.  When applying for UC, do double-check that you have ticked “Yes” to the question “Do you currently get ESA?”.

But do still keep an eye out for any of the following signs that a new WCA process has been started by mistake: 

  • you are asked to provide a fitness for work note from your GP.
  • you are asked to attend a Claimant Commitment interview (about your work requirements) when you know you shouldn’t have any;
  • you do not get the “limited capability” element you were expecting in your first UC payment;
  • you are sent a UC50 Self-Assessment Questionnaire.
  • if you notice any of these, get advice and if necessary, get your UC claim corrected.  And just in case you need to remind the DWP that you do not need a new WCA just because you are moving over from Income-related ESA to UC, you might need to point them to Regulation 19 of the UC (Transitional) Regulations.

If you DO have a gap between your Income-related ESA claim and your UC claim ( and so break the link between them) then you will lose your migration protections. Your claim for UC will be just like any other new claim, which would mean:

  • you would need to start again and go through a new WCA; and
  • you would have to wait 3 months before having any extra UC limited capability element included in your UC payment; and
  • you permanently lose any right to get the UC LCW element.

However, if you were also getting Contributory ESA (C-ESA) as well as Income-related ESA, this will carry on being paid alongside any UC. Contributory ESA is not a legacy benefit and is not disappearing into UC. In that case the fact that you still have a WCA status is still good for UC even if there was a gap between Income-related ESA ending and UC starting.   

But the safest and easiest thing to do is to make sure you do not leave a gap between your claims so that your Income-related ESA and UC will automatically be linked, with all the protections that gives.

UC v. ESA: extra amounts for Disability

Q17. Does UC have extra amounts for disability? What is the Severe Disability Premium (SDP)?

At present, UC does not have any adult disability elements to match the different disability premiums under legacy benefits. Those premiums are mostly linked to whether you get a ‘disability benefit’ such as DLA, PIP or ADP (in Scotland). The legacy premiums mainly act as a means tested top up to the help the disability benefits offer with the extra costs of living with a long-term illness or disability, regardless of whether you can work or not.

The biggest of these – and the one causing the most worry when switching to UC is the ‘Severe Disability Premium (SDP).  That’s because for many people there is already some extra help built into UC’s LCWRA element.

Like the other legacy disability premiums, SDP is NOT a separate benefit in itself. Rather, it is an extra amount that can be added into your entitlement to legacy benefits (such as Income-related ESA, Income Support, Income-based JSA and Housing Benefit).  The SDP also applies in Pension Credit, but goes under the different name of a ‘severe disability addition’.

At current rates the SDP it is worth an extra £82.90 a week in the sums that decide how much you get under legacy benefits.

Because UC does not have any ‘adult disability elements’ to replace legacy disability premiums, the short answer is that you cannot get an extra amount for severe disability in the normal sums in a claim for UC…

Q18 How can I get an amount for severe disability in my UC?

BUT…:

  • if you are getting an SDP included in your legacy benefits – and there is no gap between your legacy benefits and UC claims – then the amount of the SDP will be included when working out any extra UC transitional element that you get (see  Q21 to Q24 below ).
  • if you are not getting SDP before you move to UC, it is worth checking with an adviser whether you could get SDP. Your adviser can tell you what you need to do. It may be as simple as filling in a short form, to sort out an SDP that may already be entitled to. Or it might mean starting other claims or taking other action that will eventually lead to you becoming entitled to an SDP. The main point is to start taking any action that will lead to you getting an SDP before you claim UC.

Even if the action needed to get an SDP cannot be completed before you have to claim UC, you still get the benefits of taking that action. Once your entitlement to SDP is confirmed, the DWP will:

  • work out any arrears of your legacy benefit for the time when an SDP should have been included in those legacy sums.
  • recalculate the sums for any UC ‘transitional element’, to reflect your changed entitlement on the day that you migrated to UC.
  • backdate any extra UC transitional element due from the start of your UC claim.
  • and increase your ongoing UC payments by the value of your new rate of UC transitional element.   

Q19. Why do people often miss out on an SDP?

People often miss out on an SDP within legacy benefits, because:

  • they don’t expect it:  people are often only too happy to find that their new award of a disability benefit is not taken off other benefits; it seems far too much to hope that it might also increase their entitlement to these other benefits.
  • it isn’t automatic:  most legacy benefit premiums are added on automatically when DWP hear that you now qualify for them. But you have to actively ask the DWP for a short form to give them extra information they need before they can add an SDP into your legacy benefit sums.
  • the criteria can be complicated:  for many it is a simple process but for others it can get quite complicated (see Q20 below).

Q20. Who can get SDP?

There are three criteria for SDP and you must meet all three:

Firstly, you must be getting the right rate of a ‘disability benefit’:

  • PIP Daily Living (at either the higher or lower rate); or
  • ADP Daily Living (at either the higher or lower rate); or
  • the equivalent rates of Attendance Allowance or DLA Care.

If you do not get one of these benefits, you might want to get advice whether you could make a claim for one. If you do already get any of them, but at a different rate, you could check with an adviser if you have a case for getting your rate. If getting the right disability benefit was the only condition for SDP, then it would be automatically added when your legacy benefits hear about an award of disability benefit.

But you also need to meet the two conditions below, which is why unlike other premiums, there is a short form to be done to check on these before you become entitled to SDP.

Secondly, you must count as ‘living alone’: 

if you do live with someone it is still possible that you will count as living alone for SDP because certain other people are ignored (e.g. other people who also get a disability benefit or people who pay you rent or whom you pay rent to.) . Check this with an advisor;  and

Thirdly, no-one must be receiving Carer’s Allowance (CA) or a UC carer’s element for helping and supporting you.

If no-one does get these for being a carer for you, then this condition is quite simple.  But if someone does get these amounts it is worth talking with an adviser about the options for you and your carer: it may that between you, you are better off if they carry on getting these amounts and you don’t get an SDP. Or that there is an equal amount if you swapped and they stopped getting an amount for being a carer and you started to get an SDP. And sometimes it is possible for a carer to get a different amount for being a carer and you also get an SDP. So, this can get complicated and it depends on both your carer’s and your circumstances. An adviser can take you through it.

If in any doubt about any of these three conditions, do check with an adviser. your eligibility, check with an adviser.

Transitional protection

(This section deals with extra amounts of UC you could get if the normal UC sums pay you less than you were getting under legacy benefits)

Q21 . What is transitional Protection? And will I get any?

Transitional Protection gives you a temporary top-up – in the form of a UC ‘transitional Element’ (TE) – which is added on to your usual entitlement to UC when you first move over to UC.  But you can only get that transitional element (TE) if:

  • you move to UC by ‘managed migration’, in which case you will get ‘full transitional protection’; or
  • you get a Severe Disability Premium in your legacy benefits, in which case you can may get a more limited ‘SDP transitional protection’ if you move to UC by a ‘natural’ or ‘voluntary’ migration.

Q22. What is full transitional protection’?  

It is a guarantee that you will not get less money in your first payment of UC than you did in your last month on legacy benefits. You get ‘full transitional protection’ if:

  • you move to UC by ‘managed migration’; and
  • you make your UC claim within one calendar month of the Deadline Day specified in your DWP migration letter.

How does it work?   

The DWP will do an individual sum based on your benefits entitlement:

  • take your entitlement to legacy benefits for the last month you receive them;   
  • deduct your ‘UC indicative amount’: this is the amount of UC you would get based on a slightly simplified version of the normal UC calculations;

As a result of that sum:

  • if you would get less in UC than you were getting, then you will be paid an extra ‘transitional element’ on top of your normal UC entitlement to make up the difference
  • If you would get more under UC than you were getting, you just go straight up to normal UC rate. You get to feel that benefit straightaqway and would not need any ‘transitional element’.  
  • Note: if it later turns out that your entitlement to legacy benefits as at the day you switched to UC is revised to be higher than it was at the time, then the DWP can redo that transitional protection sum and change the amount at which your transitional element starts .

Examples of a full Transitional Element sums

Emma has moved over from Income -related ESA, where she was in the ESA Support Group and received both enhanced and severe disability premiums. As she was paid more in her old benefits, than the normal UC rates she starts UC with an extra transitional element (TE) to make up the difference. See more about transitional protection in Part B.

  • Her  usual UC maximum amount is: £440.14 standard amount + £423.27 limited capability for work related activity element  + £500.00 housing costs element = £1,323.41.
  • However, in her last month on Income-related ESA and HB she received a weekly rate of: 92.05 personal allowance + £48.50 Support Component +£21.20 Enhanced Disability Premium + 82.90 Severe Disability Premium = £244.65 Income-related ESA. And HB of £115 a week for her rent. A weekly totaal of £359.65. UC multiplies this by 4.35 to get a monthly equivalent legacy entitlement of £1,564.48.  
  • So, Emma gets an extra transitional element of £1,564.68 – £1,323.41 = £240.82 a month
  • When added on to her usual UC entitlement, Emma starts off UC at the same rate she was getting under legacy benefits i.e £1, 564.48 a month.

(Note. Any future increase in her normal UC entitlement (e.g. after annual uprating in April, or a rent increase) will reduce her transitional element, so the total amount of UC she gets will stay the same. She will only feel the benefit of any increase in her UC entitlement once her transitional element has worn away completely).

And what can happen if you claim UC too late for transitional protection?

Ffred also used to get Income-related ESA, but he was in the ESA Work Related Activity Group. He also had the enhanced disability premium (this time because he gets enhanced rate PIP Daily Living) and asevere disability premiums.

Unfortunately, he did not claim UC by his Final Deadline Day, so his UC claim cannot be linked back to his legacy benefits. He misses out financially in two big ways :

  • he does not get any transitional element. This would have been even bigger than Emma’s because UC LCW element does not contain any extra amount to make up for UC’s lack of disability elements; and
  • he will not even get the ordinary UC LCW element as he can no longer link back to his legacy entitlement to the ESA ‘work related activity component’. His UC claim is an entirely new one and he comes under the same rules that stop new claims getting the ESA WRA component or UC LCW element.   

If Fred had claimed in time:

  • his usual maximum UC would have been: £400.14 standard allowance + £158.76 LCW element+ £500 housing costs element = £1,058.96
  • His legacy benefits came to an Income-related ESA weekly rate of: £92.05 personal allowance + £36.55 ESA Work related activity component + £21.20 enhanced disability premium + £82.90 severe disability premium = £232.70 Income-related ESA. And he had £115 a week HB to cover his rent.A weekly total of £347.70 x 4.35 = £1,512.50 monthly legacy amount
  • He would then have been entitled to a transitional element of £1,512.50 – £1058.96 = £453.60

But with that link broken, his new UC claim will be

  • the usual UC amount for a new claim ( with no transitional element and no LCW element)
  • : i.e. UC maximum amount of: £400.14 standard amount + £500 housing element = £900.14 UC

It is worth Ffred getting advice,  just in case there is any way to still link his UC  back to the old legacy claim. For example he may have missed his deadline Day but not yet missed the Final Deadline Day that comes a month later. Or he may have also been getting some Contributory ESA that can at least allow him to carry on with a UC LCW element

Or failing that to see if he might meet the criteria to get into the LCWRA group. He may very well need to go through a whole new Work Capability Assessment anyway. But if that results in him getting the LCWRA element that will take the edge off some of his losses, although he would still have to wait 3 months before getting any payment.

And on top of all that, he also misses out on a two week run-on of his legacy benefits 😊

Moral: Please do not miss your Final Deadline Day – especially if you are in the ESA Work Related activity group and get PIP …

Q23 What is the more limited ‘SDP Transitional Protection?

In the original plans for UC, there was not going to be any transitional protection for people who moved to UC by either a ‘natural’ or a ‘voluntary’ migration.

However, the Courts ruled that the different treatment this led to for those who get a severe disability premium (SDP) in their legacy benefits amounted to ‘unlawful disability discrimination’. So, DWP had to introduce some SDP Transitional protection just for losses from UC not having an equivalent to the SDP.  And after further Court rulings some Additions were added to cover some of the other disability losses as well

For some, these losses are the only ones they might have on moving to UC. In that case, SDP transitional protection would works out the same as the full transitional protection under a managed migration. But for others, there may be other losses that SDP Transitional Protection does not cover.

Who gets the more limited ‘SDP transitional protection’? 

You get ‘SDP transitional protection’ if:

  • you had a ‘Severe Disability Premium’ in your legacy benefits; and
  • you move to UC by natural or voluntary migration (any SDP losses under a ‘managed migration will be included in the full transitional protection); and
  • there is no gap between your legacy benefits claim and your claim for UC.

So, unlike the ‘full transitional protection’ (under a managed migration), there is no individual sum to look at all your particular losses. Instead, you get a fixed amount from a table of rates set out by DWP.

How much will your Transitional Element be?

It is made up of the main SDP transitional element plus any of the Additions for certain other disability losses:  

The main ‘SDP transitional element’:

  • if single and do get UC LCWRA element              £143.37
  • if single and do not get UC LCWRA element         £340.50
  • if a couple and each get an SDP                           £483.88

Note: The element is higher if you do not get the UC LCWRA element, because that element already includes something towards UC not having an equivalent to SDP. But if you do not qualify for the LCWRA element then there is no extra in ordinary UC amounts, so that your losses will be higher. This might happen because you had SDP while being in the ESA Work Related Activity Group or as part of another legacy benefit such as Income Support or Income-based JSA.

Additions to the SDP Transitional Element:  

You must first qualify for the main SDP Transitional Element (above) to qualify for any of the Additions below.  These were added to the main ‘SDP Transitional Element’ by later Court rulings, to also cover some other disability losses on switching to UC:

  • ESA / JSA / IS ‘enhanced disability premium’       £  91.15 (single) / £130.22 (couple)
  • IS / JSA: ‘disability premium’                                 £186.64 (single) / £266.94 (couple)
  • CTC: ‘lower rate disabled child element’              £192.07 (per qualifying child)

If you do not qualify for the main ‘SDP transitional element’, you will not be able to get these amounts on their own.

In that case, the only way then to get these other disability losses covered would be to stay with your legacy benefits (if you can) until DWP invites you to make a ‘managed migration’ to UC. Only then would ‘full transitional protection’ cover all losses whether from: SDP, other disability amounts or for any other reason (e.g. from UC paying a lower rate to everyone aged under 25).

Q24. How long does any ‘transitional element’ last?

Both sorts of transitional protection – whether full transitional element under a managed migration or SDP transitional element (with any additions) under a natural/ voluntary migration – will reduce over time. The idea behind transitional protection is not to keep you above the normal UC rates for ever, but to cushion your eventual drop down to those normal UC rates.

So, under full transitional protection, your first UC payment will match your last month on legacy benefits. Under SDP transitional protection, it may do (if your only losses relate to the disability ones it covers) or it may just be that that first UC payment is not as much lower as it would have been.  

But over time, the value of that transitional element gets eroded by any subsequent increases in your normal entitlement to UC. And sometimes your transitional element can just stop suddenly.

Erosion of your transitional element:

Over time, your ordinary UC entitlement will increase. If nothing else changes, the normal UC rates go up each April. But other changes might also increase your normal entitlement to UC: having a new child, a rent increase, a WCA re-assessment moving you from the LCW to the LCWRA group.

When your normal UC entitlement goes up, the exact same amount gets taken away from your transitional element. So, the total UC that you receive stays the same, just that more of it will be your normal UC entitlement and less of it will be from the transitional element.

Eventually all of your transitional element gets eroded in this way. And it is only then that you start to see any further increases in your normal UC entitlement showing up as increases in the amount of UC you get.  

Losing your transitional element all at once:

In some situations, your transitional element can just stop suddenly. This can happen after: 

  • a change in your relationship status: i.e. you form a couple and swap from a single to a couple claim or you split up and swap from a couple to a single claim;
  • a drop in your earnings below the threshold:  this only applies if you are working and earn above UC’s ‘earnings threshold’ (which is set at 16 times the hourly rate of the National Minimum Wage).  Earning above the threshold exempts you from the benefits cap and also from any need to carry on job seeking the rest of your time. If you are earning above the threshold but then your earnings fall below the threshold for more than 3 months, then you will lose your transitional element;
  • a break in your UC claim: if you come off UC for any reason (e.g.: earn too much one month, go abroad for too long, inherit money taking you over UC’s £16,000 savings limit), you will be able to reclaim UC later if you requalify .  However, your new UC claim would notinclude any transitional element.

End of Part B

So this is the end of Part B looking at all the specific extra quesations around switching over – or ‘migrating’ – from legacy benefits to UC

But you now face exactly the same claims process and getting to know UC’s ways that everyone claiming UC faces. So you might want to move on to:

  • Part C. How does UC work? & How do I claim UC? looks at general frequently asked questions about UC, such as: How does UC work? How much will I get ? How do I claim UC? Do I have to do it online? What help can I get? What ‘Next Steps do I need to take after doing the claim form? How do I verify my ID?
  • Part D: Further questions about UC: looks at frequently asked questions about specific areas of UC, such as: How does UC deal with sickness and disability? What about if I feel ready to try working? What about rent and council tax? And exemption from prescription charges in England ?