Universal Credit if you receive a Migration Notice letter
If you currently get a benefit that is ending, you will be asked to make a claim for Universal Credit instead. The Department for Communities will send you a Migration Notice letter when it is time for you to claim Universal Credit to continue receiving financial support.
This information is only for people who have received a Migration Notice letter. If you have not received a Migration Notice letter you do not need to take any action.
Who will receive a Universal Credit Migration Notice Letter
The following benefits are ending and being replaced by Universal Credit. The Department for Communities will issue Migration Notice letters to people who currently get one or more of these benefits:
- Income Support
- Income - Based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income - Related Employment and Support Allowance
- Housing Benefit if you are working age and rent a home, excluding payments for rates
If you get other benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Carer’s Allowance (CA), Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Child Benefit, New Style Jobseekers Allowance and New Style Employment and Support Allowance, you will only receive a Migration Notice letter if you are also getting one of the benefits that is ending.
If you think you should not have received a Migration Notice letter you can contact the Universal Credit Service Centre.
If you receive a Migration Notice letter
If you receive a Migration Notice letter, you have three months to make a claim to Universal Credit before your benefit payments end.
If you do not make a claim by the deadline date on your Migration Notice letter, your benefit entitlement will end on the day before the deadline.
You may receive text messages (SMS) from the Department for Communities (DfC) about your move to Universal Credit. They will always be clearly marked as DfC and will never ask you to give, or click a link to give, personal information or financial details by message or email.
If you need help to claim Universal Credit
To make a claim you must first create a secure online account at Universal Credit online.
If you need help to claim Universal Credit, or you can't claim by the deadline date given on your letter, you can contact the Universal Credit Helpline:
You can visit your local Jobs & Benefits office
You can send an online request to the Move to Universal Credit team if you can’t use a phone due to a language, speech or hearing difficulty.
If you need an interpreter to help you to claim Universal Credit, you can ask for this through your online account, your local Jobs & Benefits office or the Universal Credit Service Centre.
You can find more information on how to manage your claim or get help with your claim at Universal Credit.
Transitional Protection
Transitional Protection payments are an additional amount to help with your move to Universal Credit. The payment will make up the difference if your Universal Credit entitlement is less than your previous benefits.
Example
Jane is entitled to £800 on her existing benefits.
Her Universal Credit entitlement is £600.
This means Jane’s Transitional Protection amount will be £200.
Her total Universal Credit entitlement is now £800.
If eligible, this protection means you can:
- get a Transitional Protection payment added to your Universal Credit entitlement if you receive more from your previous benefits
- claim Universal Credit if you’re a full-time student in higher education until you or your partner finish the course
If you have received a Migration Notice and are gainfully self-employed, you will be eligible for a 12-month start-up period before the Minimum Income Floor applies.
Eligibility
You do not need to apply for Transitional Protection.
You can only get Transitional Protection if you have received a Migration Notice letter from the Department for Communities asking you to claim Universal Credit and you claim within the three month deadline date on your letter.
You will only get more time to make a claim if you have a good reason. You must request this before the deadline date on your letter.
Changes to your circumstances before you claim
If you have a change of circumstances before you claim Universal Credit, you may not be entitled to Transitional Protection.
Find out about Changes you need to tell Universal Credit about
How long your Transitional Protection payments last
Transitional Protection payments are not permanent. They can decrease or end if your Universal Credit entitlement increases.
If you’re eligible, your Transitional Protection payments will continue until:
- your Universal Credit entitlement is the same or more than your previous benefits
- you have a significant change of circumstances
Changes that can decrease your Transitional Protection payments
Your Transitional Protection payments can decrease over time following a change in your circumstances. Changes can include:
- having a child
- starting to care for a child or disabled person
- an increase in housing costs (rent)
- a worsening health condition
- changes to government benefit rates
This is because these changes are likely to increase your Universal Credit amount.
How Universal Credit entitlement affects your Transitional Protection payments
If your Universal Credit entitlement increases, your Transitional Protection payment will decrease by the same amount. Childcare costs are the only exception.
Further increases to your Universal Credit amount can eventually end your Transitional Protection payments. This will only happen if your entitlement is the same or more on Universal Credit.
Changes that end Transitional Protection
Significant changes to your circumstances will end your Transitional Protection. The following are considered as significant changes:
- a partner moving into your household
- a different partner moving into your household
- a partner leaving your household
- your earnings drop below an agreed amount for three months in a row
- your Universal Credit claim ends
How to claim Universal Credit
To make a claim to Universal Credit you will need:
- your email address
- your bank or building society account you want your Universal Credit paid into
- documents to confirm your identity (for example, a UK driving licence and a household bill)
- any income from work, and any other income (for example, from an insurance policy)
- your savings, investments and assets
- information on any other benefits you get
- your housing costs (including any service charges, but not rates) and your landlord’s details, if you have one
- details of the people who live in your home
If you cannot claim online, call the Universal Credit helpline for free:
How to claim if you live with a partner
Both you and your partner will need to claim Universal Credit if you live together in the same household and are:
- married to each other
- civil partners of each other
- living together as if you are married
To begin, both of you need to create your own Universal Credit online accounts. The first person to create their account will be given a partner code, which will be displayed on screen.
This code will need to be input by your partner when they register for their Universal Credit online account. This ensures the accounts are joined together and you are correctly claiming as a couple.
You must make a joint claim for your household, even if your partner is not eligible for Universal Credit.
If you are in a “mixed age” couple
If you are in a couple and one of you is State Pension age and the other is under State Pension age, you will be a “mixed age” couple. The Department for Communities will send both you and your partner a Migration Notice as you will both need to make a claim to move to Universal Credit.
You can claim Universal Credit online.
Your benefits entitlement will end as soon as you make a claim to Universal Credit.
What to do after you have claimed Universal Credit
To make sure there are no delays in assessing your claim there are some things you need to do as soon as possible, such as confirming your identity and agreeing your commitment.
If you are unable to verify your identity online you can contact the Universal Credit Service Centre to make an appointment at your local Jobs & Benefits office. You will be told what documents you need to bring to confirm your identity.
If you are self-employed, you will be asked to go to a self-employed interview with a Work Coach in your local Jobs & Benefits office. If you do not come to this interview, you may not be able to get Universal Credit. You can find more information about Claiming Universal Credit when you're self-employed including the reporting of business income and expenses.
You can find more information on what to do after you have claimed Universal Credit.
If you have a health condition or disability which limits your capability for work, when you make your claim or while you are claiming you need to immediately complete a self-certification for up to the first seven days.
If you move from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) to Universal Credit and have already had a Work Capability Assessment this will last until a new Work Capability Assessment decision is made following a review.
You can find further information on Universal Credit if you have a health condition or disability | nidirect.
If your Housing Benefit includes money for your rates, this will stop when you claim Universal Credit. If you're entitled to Universal Credit and need help paying your rates you can find out more information including how to claim a Rate Rebate at Universal Credit payments for housing.
Your Universal Credit payments
You will get your first Universal Credit payment about five weeks after you claim, so it is important that you claim as soon as possible.
Universal Credit is normally paid to a household twice a month into your bank, building society or Credit Union account, but you can ask for payments to be made monthly.
If you get money to help pay your housing costs this is normally paid directly to your landlord each month.
You’ll keep getting your current benefit paid for two more weeks if you’re getting:
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Housing Benefit
Finance Support while waiting for a Universal Credit Payment
If you are entitled to Universal Credit you may be able to claim extra financial support while waiting on your payment to help with essential costs. You will get your first Universal Credit payment about five weeks after you claim.
You can apply for a Universal Credit New Claims Grant if you do not have enough money to live on until you get full payment of your first Universal Credit award and need additional financial support - you will not have to pay this back.
If you have applied for Universal Credit and do not have enough money to live on, you can apply for an Advance loan - you will have to pay this back from your Universal Credit payments
Discretionary Support is short-term financial support paid into your bank account as either an interest-free loan or a grant which you do not have to pay back.
You may also get help with childcare costs.
You can find more information on help while waiting for a Universal Credit payment.
If you are entitled to Universal Credit you may be eligible to claim extra support to help with essential costs. You can find more information on financial help if you get Universal Credit.
More financial help
If you are entitled to Universal Credit you may be eligible to claim extra support to help with essential costs, such as free school meals, help with school uniform costs and transport, rate rebate and help with health costs.
You can find more information on financial help if you get Universal Credit.
The eligibility rules for Universal Credit may be different from your existing benefits. You may lose access to some benefits if you don’t claim Universal Credit.
How work affects your Universal Credit payments
Your Universal Credit payments are based on your circumstances, including your income and how many children you have.
Your Universal Credit payments will reduce as you earn more, and once you earn too much your claim will close.
How often you are paid can also affect your payments. You can find more information on how work affects your Universal Credit payments.
Debt and deductions
Money can be taken from your Universal Credit payments to pay back money that you owe, for example:
- over-payments
- court fines
- rent arrears
- benefit debt (including advances)
- money owed to third-party suppliers (for example your gas or electricity suppliers or last resort deduction)
Normally the most that can be taken from your payment is 15 per cent of your Universal Credit Standard Allowance (the basic amount of Universal Credit you are entitled to before extra money for things like childcare and housing costs is added) - unless last resort deductions are being taken. If last resort deductions are being taken, deductions may be more than 15 per cent of your Standard Allowance.
If you don’t have enough money to live on because of deductions from your Universal Credit payments, you can contact the Department for Communities to ask for a ‘financial hardship decision’ to reduce your deductions.
You can find out more information on money taken from your Universal Credit payments or on who to talk to about deductions from your Universal Credit.
In exceptional circumstances the Department for Communities has the discretion to waive recovery of all or part of an over-payment and Recoverable Hardship Payments. For more information see over-payments of benefits and financial support.
Help and support
To find out if you are entitled to other benefits or financial support, you can contact the Make the Call Service.
If you would like independent help and advice on Universal Credit, or any of the other welfare changes, you can visit any independent advice office or contact:
If you have not received a Migration Notice letter
If you have not received a Migration Notice letter you do not need to take any action.
You will get a Migration Notice letter when it is your time to move.
If you are thinking about making a claim to Universal Credit before you receive a Migration Notice letter, you should seek independent advice.
The AdviceNI website and helpline provides free, confidential, independent advice.
You can also use a benefit calculator to check how much Universal Credit you may get. This calculator does not include any deductions for a debt.
You can also check with a local benefits adviser to find out what you could be entitled to.