A recent report by the Child Poverty Action Group revealed that a worrying number of recipients of the Universal Credit managed migration letter do not act upon it and lose out on entitlement as a result. CPAG reported: “The data reveals that 16,000 people sent a migration notice did not make the transition to UC and had their legacy benefits terminated. This equates to 27 per cent of those who have been sent a migration notice and reached their deadline.” Their data comes from the latest DWP data.
The report goes on to explore the main reasons why people aren’t claiming:
- Some claimants made a conscious decision not to claim. Where the amount they would receive was particularly small, they did not see it as worthwhile to claim.
- Some claimants believed they were not eligible for UC, as their circumstances had recently changed, and their tax credits had already stopped.
- Some claimants felt a stigma attached to claiming UC.
In our October newsletter we urged people to take action if they receive a migration letter. If you receive a letter from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) regarding your benefits it’s important to act upon it. The DWP are providing support but transition to UC will not happen automatically, you have to make a claim. If you fail to claim you could lose out on income.
The Citizens Advice national website provides help and information on migrating your benefits to Universal Credit. Even if the amount you recieve is small it’s important that you claim as this will passport you to a range of additional support with your living costs.
