If you claim either Child Tax Credits or Working Tax Credits you may get a letter in September telling you that you need to move over to Universal Credit as part of ‘managed migration’ – here’s what you need to do…

Managed Migration is the final phase of the roll out of Universal Credit. Many of our customers already claim Universal Credit. However, a large number are still getting what are called ‘legacy benefits’ – these include:

• Working-age Housing Benefit
• Income-related Employment & Support Allowance
• Income Support
• Income-based Job Seekers Allowance
• Child Tax Credits
• Working Tax Credits

From September those of you who receive either Child Tax Credits or Working Tax Credits (but not if you get any of the other legacy benefits too) may get a ‘migration notice’. This letter invites you to claim Universal Credit and gives you 3 months to make the claim. Whether you make a claim for Universal Credit or not, your Tax Credits will stop at the end of the three months, so it’s important to take action.

You can find more infomation about managed migration in this useful booklet.

What do I need to do?

You may have read about Universal Credit and be worried about claiming it, but the government has set up a Help to Claim Service to provide advice, and of course our own Money Advice & Benefits team can also help.

If you get one of these letters – please don’t ignore it – get advice as soon as possible. We can advise you on when would be best to claim, and why. If you do leave it to the last minute (maybe you overlooked the letter), please don’t think it’s too late – contact us and explain it’s about managed migration. Just as importantly as not leaving it too late, is not doing it too soon! If you haven’t received a Managed Migration letter, then you don’t have to claim Universal Credit – but you might find you would be better off on it? Again – contact us and seek advice.

If you have received a Managed Migration notice, and make a claim before the deadline, you could be entitled to something called ‘transitional protection’. These is a measure the government’s put in place to protect against loss of income caused by the switch over and may apply where:

• Your benefits will be lower on Universal Credit than on Tax Credits
• Where you have more than £16,000 in savings – which would usually mean that you can’t claim Universal Credit
• You are a student getting Tax Credits but wouldn’t be entitled to Universal Credit

Remember – seek advice as soon as you can. You can contact our Money Advice and Benefits team by contacting us and say it’s about the managed migration of Universal Credit.