"Managed migration" to Universal Credit.

[Dougella]

I don't mean to frighten anyone with this but I think it's better to be prepared. The government are starting up the process of moving people on legacy benefits on to universal credit. This involves the person being sent a letter informing them that they need to apply for UC and have to do that within 3 months.

https://thewelfaretimes.com/2022/05/...5OZaYf5fnrhn3g

If anyone has already been through this process it would be really good to hear your experiences.

[Dougella]

The other thing that we need to be aware of is that when we apply for universal credit they make us go through the 5 week waiting period where we receive no money, even though we had already qualified for the legacy benefits. So it can be a good idea to plan ahead for that and put some money aside (not easy now) for atleast one rent payment and some for bills and food to cover that period.

[far north]

Originally Posted by Dougella

I don't mean to frighten anyone with this but I think it's better to be prepared. The government are starting up the process of moving people on legacy benefits on to universal credit. This involves the person being sent a letter informing them that they need to apply for UC and have to do that within 3 months.

https://thewelfaretimes.com/2022/05/...5OZaYf5fnrhn3g

If anyone has already been through this process it would be really good to hear your experiences.

I could be wrong in this, but I think that this 'migration' is being applied first to those who receive Tax Credits (I believe around 50% approx of the total) , and the majority on Legacy Benefits for Health Reasons would not be transferred for some time. The impression I got was that the folk in that category would be transferred next year or the year after. Could even be as late as 2025 for some (these things always tend to overrun)

I hasten to add though, thats just the way Ive read the information, and the timings Ime suggesting are just an educated guess.

I may well be wrong...

[Dougella]

^ You may be right about that, I think I did read that they are starting with a smaller group. I'm sure it will take much longer than they are predicting because things like this always do!

I just saw the article and thought others might like to know and have plenty of time to prepare themselves for when the change does arrive.

[Quietman]

I’m really nervous about this, surely as we already qualified for the legacy benefits we aren’t being accessed so we should still receive the payments?

[Dougella]

We should yes, we don't have to be assessed again to qualify (as far as I know) but for some reason the government have decided that people need to apply for universal credit rather than just moving them over automatically.

[Quietman]

So I guess that means another medical?

[Dougella]

^ No I don't think it involves having another medical assessment, atleast I'm hoping not!

[Quietman]

^ Thats the problem, I bet there's a twist somewhere there normally is some sort of clause for the DWP, I wouldn't be surprised if they say that they want another medical assesment off you to allow you onto the Universal Credit as there regulations are different than the legacy benefits.

[Dougella]

^ Yeah, there usually is some sort of catch. But I have read recently that they are so behind on assessments because of the pandemic that they're not doing any reassessments at the moment, they're only doing assessments of people making a brand new claim.

[Quietman]

^ That's a relief I don't think I could take anymore at the moment.