UC Part A: An Introduction to Universal Credit

Welcome to Part A of our 4-part simple Big Books Guide to Universal Credit. All the things you ever wanted to know, but didn’t know who to ask!

In Part A, we introduce Universal Credit (UC): what it replaces, how it can be a bit different from other benefits and how it affects benefits you may be getting now. For more about what the other parts cover and further information about UC, see below at question 8

Here in Part A we deal with those first questions about UC such as:

Q1. What is Universal Credit? 

Q2. Who can claim Universal Credit?

Q3. What’s the difference between Universal Credit and ‘legacy’ benefits?

Q4. Can I choose whether I claim UC or ‘legacy’ benefits? 

Q5. How does UC fit in with other benefits I might get?

Q6. Do I have to look for a job when I am on Universal Credit?

Q7. Where can I find out more about UC?

Q1. What is Universal Credit (UC)? 

Universal Credit (UC) is the newest means tested benefit for people of working age. A means tested benefit is one which looks at  your income and savings and s those of any partner (if you have one).

Universal Credit is replacing six older benefits, which are known as the ‘legacy benefits’. These are:

  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (Ir-ESA): if you are unwell;
  • Income Support (IS): if you are a carer or lone parent (and some others);
  • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (Ib-JSA): if you are actively seeking work;
  • Working Tax Credit (WTC): if you are on lower earnings, especially if you also have children or disabilities;
  • Child Tax Credit (CTC): if you have children, whether or not you are in work;
  • Housing Benefit (HB): is paid on top of any of the above or can be paid on its own. HB helps pay the rent whether or not you are in work.

These legacy benefits are all now due to end by April 2026. However, the two tax credits ended earlier from April 2025: everyone who was getting tax credits has already been invited to claim UC instead and no-one is paid tax credits anymore.

Q2. Who can claim Universal Credit?

Age limits:  

You can claim UC from age 16 until pension age (which is currently 66) but there are some restrictions and exceptions, as follows:

16 and 17 year olds:  There are restrictions on claims by those aged 16 and 17.  Seek advice from Citizens Advice or similar.

Pension age: Pension Credit is the main means tested benefit for people of pension age and most people are financially better off on Pension Credit than UC.

However, if you are of pension age, but you have a partner who is still under pension age, then your joint claim usually has to be for UC rather than PC.

The exception to this is if you claimed either Pension Credit or Housing Benefit (in Pension Age) as a couple from before May 2019, and have been receiving one of these two benefits ever since. If so, you can continue to get the benefit that you were getting and are still able to start up a claim for the other one.

But beware ! If your circumstances change and you stop getting both of these benefits ( eg after going back to work or a long trip outside of the UK), then you would not be able to reclaim them until the younger partner had also reached pension age. You would have to claim UC instead. 

Personal circumstances:

You can claim UC whether you are:

  • in or out of work;
    • fit for work or unwell;
    • single or in a couple;
    • disabled or a carer;
    • a parent or not a parent.

Partners:

If you have a partner, you MUST both make a claim for UC and those claims are then linked.  (For more information see Part C

Financial limits:

  • you and any partner must have less than £16,000 in savings in total; and
  • your income and that of any partner has to be low enough in your particular circumstances for you to qualify. (For examples see Part C, once Part C has been posted on this website in late June 2025.)

Claimant Commitment:

You and any partner must accept a Claimant Commitment. The Claimant Commitment sets out what you must do to meet your UC work requirements, if any. (For more information see Part C, once Part C has been posted on this website in late June 2025.)

Coming from abroad: 

There are restrictions on claims from UK nationals returning from living abroad and non-UK nationals.  Seek advice from Citizens Advice or similar.

Q3. What’s the difference between UC and legacy benefits?

The main differences between UC and legacy benefits are:

  • paid monthly:  UC is calculated at the end of each month and paid in arrears a week later.  This means that, for your first UC payment, you have to wait 5 weeks. After that you get paid on or close to the same date each month
  • no switching between benefits:  whether you move between working, unemployment, caring or being unwell, you continue to claim UC;
  • mostly digital: UC is set up to claim and communicate online but don’t worry because but there are other ways available too. (For more information see Part C
  • more ‘claimant responsibility’:  there are higher expectations that you will keep the DWP informed. UC has less of the low-level support/flexibilities of other benefits;
  • focus on “work requirements”: most UC work requirements (looking for/doing paid work) are the same as for legacy benefits. But now there is more focus on the work requirements as well as some new work requirements;
  • computer system is less flexible than for legacy benefits. However, there are often UC “work arounds” and a lot more is at the discretion of individual work coaches and decision makers.

Q4. Can I choose whether I claim UC or ‘legacy’ benefits? 

You cannot make a new claim for a legacy benefit except for:

Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (Ir-ESA)

  • You can still add Ir-ESA toan existing claim for ‘old style’ Contributory ESA (C-ESA) dating back to before December 2018. This would not be a new claim but would instead be an adjustment within a combined claim for ESA (a bit like adding the other component to a PIP claim).

Housing Benefit

HB is till open to new claims in the following circumstances:

  • you are of pension age: you can still make a claim to your local council for Housing Benefit to help with your rent. (Pension age is currently 66 years.)
  • you are of working age and you live in either temporary homelessness accommodation; or supported accommodation. If so, you claim Housing Benefit to help with the rent (even if you are already claiming UC as your main benefit for living costs).

Q5. How does UC fit in with the rest of the ‘benefits system’? 

The benefits system can feel more like a “benefits maze”. It can help to think of your possible benefits entitlement in three steps:

Step 1: Non-means tested “earnings replacement” benefits

These go back to the start of the current benefits system after World War II. The ‘big idea’ was that benefits should be mostly ‘non-means tested’  and paid out at simple flat rates to individuals,who qualify when not earning very much (if anything) .  

These benefits are not affected by any savings or capital you may have. Most income is ignored (apart from earnings ). This step includes:

  • all of the ‘contributory’ DWP benefits – e.g. Contributory ESA–  that depend on you having paid the right National Insurance (NI) contributions.
  • It also includes a couple of DWP benefits that don’t need any NI record  (e.g. Carer’s Allowance) and
  • the statutory payments paid via an employer (e.g. Statutory Sick Pay).

You can usually only get one of these at the same time so they are often also called ‘overlapping benefits’. So advisers look at which one pays the most, would be the  least hassle and that  fits with what you want

Step 2:  Means tested benefits

Step 2 benefits are a “safety net” that either 

  • tops up anything you might get at Step 1 or
  • are paid instead if you can’t get anything at Step 1.

Step 2 benefits also help with other costs not covered in Step 1 (e.g. children, rent, council tax).

These benefits are all “means tested” (i.e. most other income and savings affects how much you get) and are claimed jointly with any partner.

Step 2 is where Universal Credit (UC) fits in , and is where it takes over from the ‘legacy benefits within Step 2, but none of the other Step 2 benefits which carry on as before.

Advisers check that you are getting any top up that you should at Step 2 and can check that you are getting the right amounts.

Step 3:  extra “non-means tested” benefits

Step 3 benefits pay extra amounts on top of anything you get at Steps 1 and 2, or indeed any other income (eg earnings).

They are there to help with certain extra costs for families – eg Child Benefit – or for those living with a long term illness or a disability eg Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

They are all claimed individually and are all non-means tested, like Step 1 . But unlike Step 1, none of the Step 1 benefits depend on you having paid any NI , they can always be paid on top of any other income or benefits. Step 3 benefits are also ignored as income in the sums at for Step 2 benefits and can sometimes increase your entitlement at Step 2.

So, Universal Credit (UC) is …

… a big change for “working age” benefits, but only within Step 2 as it replaces just those legacy benefits within Step 2. All the other benefits – within Step 2 and over in Steps 1 and 3 – stay the same as you start to claim UC.  There may be a need to tell other benefits about your claim for UC as e.g . there may be some forms needed to adjust your Council Tax Reduction

The table below shows a typical benefits mix – before and after UC – for someone who has been too unwell for work:

  under legacy benefits under UC
Step 1 Earnings replacementContributory ESAContributory ESA
Step 2 Means tested BenefitsIncome-related ESA   
Housing Benefit  
Discretionary Housing Payment Council Tax Reduction
Social Fund
discretionary one-off payments		Universal Credit    

Discretionary Housing Payment Council Tax Reduction
Social Fund
discretionary one- off payments
Step 3 Extra non-means tested benefitsPersonal Independence Payment (PIP)Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

So in this example UC just replaces Income-related ESA and Housing Benefit in Step 2. CTR may need a bit more information, but otherwise your benefits largely stay the same when you claim UC.  

For a carer, UC would just be replacing Income Support and Housing Benefit at Step Two  

UC does alter Contributory ESA a little

It is only Income-related ESA that is merging into UC and disappearing after April 2026. Contributory ESA – over at Step 1 -carries on as before. If you are getting C-ESA when you claim UC you carry on getting it and it is also open to new claims and will be even after April 2026.  

However there are some slight changes. DWP use the term ‘New-style ESA’ to distinguish claims for Contributory ESA made since 2017-18. The only difference is that New-style ESA does not have the old link to Income-related ESA. However, an Ns-ESA claim can happily co-exist with all the other legacy benefits or with one for Universal Credit. A new claim for New-style ESA  also involves accepting an ESA claimant commitment, but this is much simpler than one for UC.  DWP haven’t fully  thought about the technical changes to any Contributory ESA you may be getting when you start to claim UC , but your award just carries on.

Q6 . Do I have to look for a job when I get Universal Credit?

Unlike Income-related ESA, UC is not just a benefit for people who are unwell. It covers everyone from those already in work or  actively seeking work to those who cannot work at all because of health or caring commitments. So UC takes in all the different levels of work requirements from all the legacy benefits: Your ‘work requirements under UC will depend on which group UC puts you in:

  • ‘no work requirements’: you won’t need to do anything about work; this includes, for example, carers and people who are/were in the ESA Support Group;
  • ‘work focussed interview requirement’: you will have to attend interviews from time to time to discuss your circumstances in relation to work, for example some parents;
  • ‘work preparation requirements’: you will both need to attend interviews and get involved with some work-related activity but that will be far short of actively looking for work, for example people who are/were in the ESA Work Related Activity Group and some parents;
  • ‘all work requirements’: you will have to actively look for work; for example jobseekers, some part time workers, those still awaiting their first Work Capability Assessment

You will be allocated a DWP ‘work coach’ whichever category you are put in.  However, if you are in the ‘no work requirements’ group, you may not need to have much contact with your allocated work coach.

 For more information about work requirements see Part C

Q7. Where can I find more information about UC?

This website (bigbookofbenefits.com)

Other pages about UC:

  • Part C: How UC works & How do I claim it? : for everyone claiming UC (whether they moved from legacy benefits or not). Frequently asked questions about UC in general: How to claim UC?; What happens next? ; How to keep your claim going?; How much UC might I get?

  • Part D: Further Information about UC: also for everyone claiming UC . frequently asked questions about specific areas of UC, such as: How does UC deal with sickness and disability; What if I feel ready to try working?; How does help with the rent and council tax work?; How does UC work with English prescription charges.
  • Sickness and Disability changes : In recent years both the last Conservative Government and the current Labour Government have been talking a lot about changes to benefits for sickness and for disability, often talking about those living with mental health issues in particular. So this new page cuatches up with the changing plans and emerging details for these key benefits. Nothing has changed so far, but the first changes – affecting Universal Credit – are due from April 2026.

Other resources on this website

These also appear on our general Downloads page along alongside all the other resources about other benefits , free updaters to the Big Book etc.

Please feel free to download , print, use or make into paper aeroplanes on a wet afternoon.

Useful migration resources:

  • A general single-sided flowchart of when a change in circumstances might mean you have to switch from “legacy benefits” to UC via a ‘natural migration’   here
  • A more detailed table of examples situations of changes leading to a natural migration ( in collaboration with Newcastle Welfare Rights).- available here
  • An example of a Managed Migration Notice – here
Tips when making a UC claim:
  • Surviving a claim for UC : Top Tips – a run through of potential pitfalls and suggestions when you make a claim for UC – available  here 
  • A DWP video following a trouble free claim offers useful screenshots of the claim pages and process as it should happen and the online journal and other resources to check your claim and keep it going. It is available here.
  • Trying a practice claim – if you want to have a run through the form, without actually making a claim, follow the link here
How much UC can I get?
  • UC Calculation Sheet – April 2025-26 – all the figures and a template – to help you do UC sums on just one side of paper – available here
If in doubt, do GET advice before claiming UC

If you are new to means tested benefits, you might still need help through the process, advice about timing your claim and in checking that your UC award is correct.

If you are “migrating” from legacy benefits, there may be extra issues: checking and taking any action to maximise your legacy benefits, timing your claim and extra protections that go with a migration including any top ups if the usual UC sums will pay less than you had been getting.

Links to other useful websites

Official information from the DWP

Independent information from advice organisations and campaigns

  • Age UK focuses on older people but their website includes information on UC (because many over 55s and some over pension age will claim UC).  You can download their Factsheet on UC
  • Benefits and Work have lots of free  UC information, some free and some only if you subscribe
  • Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) is where advisers get much of their information and training. There is free material on UC at  CPAG – Universal Credit
  • Citizens Advice gives information on UC which is free and impartial. See: Citizens Advice – Universal Credit
  • National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers (NAWRA) – News posts, video and other links -mainly for NAWRA members here
  • Newcastle City Council Welfare Rights Team has lots of useful UC information, including ‘UC Guide’, ‘the Move to UC’. You could also look at your local council’s website which may have information which is more local to you.
  • Rightsnet is mainly for advisers but there is a lot of information on UC, the WCA, PIP and other benefits on their Resources Page  .
  • UniversalcreditInfo is a separate website run by the same team as Rightsnet.

UC and Mental health

Here ends Part A

Where next?

To continue your journey through our pages on UC:

  • If you are moving over from legacy benefits to UC: you might want to go to Part B: Moving to UC before then rejoining everyone else at Part C and then Part D.