Universal Credit if you’re a ‘mixed age couple’ and get Migration Notice letters
If you’re in a couple where one of you is State Pension age, and you get a Migration Notice, you both need to move to Universal Credit as your benefits will end soon.
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
Only read this guidance if you’re in a couple where one of you is State Pension age and you get Migration Notice letters
If you’re in a couple and one person is over State Pension age, you’re known as a ‘mixed age’ couple. State Pension age is 66 for both men and women.
If you receive a Migration Notice letter, you can make a claim even if you:
- are working
- are part of a mixed age couple
- have renewed your tax credits
- have money, savings and investments of more than £16,000
- are receiving a pension
To continue getting financial support, you must claim Universal Credit by the deadline date in your letter.
If you have not received a Migration Notice letter visit the Universal Credit guidance.
If you get a Migration Notice letter, but are not in a mixed age couple
There are different eligibility rules and guidance if you get a Migration Notice letter and:
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you’re State Pension age, or in a couple who are both State Pension Age
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you’re under State Pension age, or in a couple who are both under State Pension age
Benefits that are ending
The following benefits are ending and are being replaced by Universal Credit:
- tax credits: Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Your Housing Benefit will be ending
If you receive Housing Benefit, it will be ending. However, if you’re eligible, housing support will be added to your entitlement when you claim Universal Credit.
Your benefits will end even if you decide not to claim Universal Credit.
Under certain circumstances you may be eligible to reclaim Housing Benefit.
When you need to apply
To continue receiving financial support you must claim Universal Credit by your deadline date.
If you cannot claim by the deadline date on your letter, you should contact the Universal Credit Migration Notice helpline as soon as possible.
You may be able to get more time to make a claim if you have a good reason. You must request this before the deadline date on your letter.
Transitional protection
As your benefits are ending and you need to move to Universal Credit some of the normal eligibility rules for claiming are different. This is known as ‘transitional protection’.
To get transitional protection you must claim by your deadline date.
You will not get transitional protection if you claim before you get a Migration Notice letter.
Transitional protection top up payments
If the amount you are entitled to on your existing benefits is more than you’ll get on Universal Credit, a top up is available.
You can only get this additional amount if you have received a Migration Notice and claim by your deadline date.
If you have debt from your existing benefits, this will be recovered when you move to Universal Credit and deducted from your Universal Credit amount. See what you’ll get for more on deductions.
You do not need to apply for transitional protection. It will be paid to you automatically if you get a Migration Notice and make a Universal Credit claim by your deadline date.
Money, savings and investments
You can claim Universal Credit even if you have money, savings and investments over £16,000 for 12 assessment periods (about 12 months).
After this, you will not be eligible for Universal Credit if you still have more than £16,000 in money, savings and investments.
If you apply after your deadline date and have money, savings and investments of more than £16,000 you will not be able to claim Universal Credit.
Change of circumstances
If you have a change in circumstances, such as separating from your partner, you may not be eligible for transitional protection. If your circumstances change after you’ve made your claim, any transitional protection you receive may stop.
If you have a temporary increase in earnings, this could end your Universal Credit entitlement. If your earnings reduce to Universal Credit eligibility levels again within the next 3 assessment periods, and no other circumstance changes, you can reclaim Universal Credit. Your transitional protection will then be reinstated.
Work Capability Assessments
If you’re State Pension age and have a health condition or disability, you will not need a Work Capability Assessment (WCA) when you move to Universal Credit.
If you’re below State Pension age and you have a health condition or disability, you will not need another WCA if when you move to Universal Credit if all the following apply:
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you were claiming Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) the day before making a claim to Universal Credit
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you’ve already completed a WCA
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you were assessed as having ‘limited capability for work’ (LCW) or ‘limited capability for work and work related activity’ (LCWRA)
You may need to have another assessment in future as part of your Universal Credit claim.
Find out more about health conditions, disability and Universal Credit.
You may be eligible to reclaim Housing Benefit
You could reclaim Housing Benefit if you’ve received it as a mixed age couple continuously since 14 May 2019 if:
You claim Universal Credit
You can reclaim Housing Benefit if you claim Universal Credit by your deadline, receive Universal Credit, then stop claiming. You must reclaim Housing Benefit within 3 months of your Universal Credit ending.
You do not claim Universal Credit or you’re not entitled to it
You can reclaim Housing Benefit if you do not claim Universal Credit, or you claim before your deadline but are not entitled to Universal Credit. You must reclaim Housing Benefit within 3 months of your previous Housing Benefit ending.
You can get advice from your local council about backdating your Housing Benefit claim.
Find out more about Housing Benefit eligibility.
What you’ll get
On Universal Credit, most people will be entitled to the same amount they received from their previous benefits, or more. If your circumstances change before you make your claim, this may affect the amount you get.
Your Universal Credit payment is made up of a standard allowance and any extra amounts that apply to you, for example if you:
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have children
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have a disability or health condition which prevents you from working
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need help paying your rent
Find out more about what you’ll get.
Benefits calculators
You can use an independent, free and anonymous benefits calculator to estimate how much you could get on Universal Credit.
Benefit calculators give estimates so may not be accurate.
The entitledto and the Policy in Practice Better Off calculators:
- calculate transitional protection (top up payments) available
- take into account if you’re State Pension age
- can be used if you receive tax credits and have money, savings and investments of £16,000 or more
Calculations do not include any deductions that may be taken from your Universal Credit amount.
DWP is not responsible for information given by the calculators.
How Universal Credit is worked out
Your Universal Credit award is calculated based on your circumstances each month. These are called your ‘assessment periods’. This is different to tax credits which are calculated yearly.
How much you can get will depend on your partner’s circumstances, as well as your own.
Earnings
How much Universal Credit you get will depend on your earnings. This includes income from:
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full time work
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part time work
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employed or self-employed work
Changes in your circumstances can affect how much you’re paid for the whole assessment period – not just from the date you report them.
Find out how your wages affect your payments.
Deductions
Money can be taken from your Universal Credit payments to pay for things like:
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court fines
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rent arrears
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overpayments or arrears from tax credits, Council Tax, Housing Benefit, Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
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utility debts, like electricity, gas, water
Money cannot be deducted from things like your child allowance, childcare, and housing costs.
Find out more about money taken off your Universal Credit payment.
If you’re claiming a pension
You can still claim Universal Credit if you’re accessing your pension. However, the amount of pension you receive will be deducted from your Universal Credit amount and treated as income.
If you have delayed (‘deferred’) your State Pension
If you had delayed taking your pension before you received your Migration Notice, we will not treat your deferred pension as income for 12 assessment periods.
If you then decide to take your pension within this period, it is treated as income.
After 12 assessment periods, the amount of pension you’re entitled to is counted as income, even if you’ve decided not to take it. This is known as ‘notional’ income. This can affect how much Universal Credit you get.
Once you move to Universal Credit, you will not be able to continue building up any:
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extra State Pension
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State Pension lump sum (if you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016)
Read more about delaying your State Pension.
How to claim Universal Credit
You can apply for Universal Credit online.
You each need to create an account to make a claim. You must complete your claim within 28 days of creating your account or you’ll have to start again.
When you or your partner make a claim to Universal Credit your existing benefits that are being replaced by Universal Credit will stop. You cannot go back to those benefits, because they are ending.
If you cannot apply online, you can claim by phone. Call the Universal Credit Migration Notice helpline.
What you’ll need to apply
To apply online you’ll need:
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your bank, building society or credit union account details
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an email address
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access to a phone
To prove your identity, you’ll need some documents such as your:
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driving licence
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passport
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debit or credit card
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payslip or P60
To complete your claim you’ll need to provide information about:
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your housing, for example how much rent you pay
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your earnings, for example payslips
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any disability or health condition that affects your work
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how much you pay for childcare if you want help with childcare costs
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your savings and any investments, like shares or a property that you rent out
You might need an appointment with the Universal Credit team if:
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they need more information
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you cannot verify your identity online
You’ll be told if this appointment will be in a jobcentre or on the phone.
Apply for Universal Credit online
Steps to getting Universal Credit
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One of you sets up an Online Universal Credit account. Make a note of your ‘partner code’. You’ll need to give this to your partner.
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The other partner will need to set up their online account and use that partner code to link the accounts together. This ensures you’re correctly claiming as a couple.
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Once you’ve both created your accounts, you can complete and submit your online claims.
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Prove your identities.
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Provide documents and evidence to support your claim.
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Agree the activities in each of your claimant commitments.
When you prove your identity we will know you have received a Migration Notice letter and your information will be linked up automatically.
If you need help to make your claim you can get free support from the Citizens Advice Help to Claim service:
How you’re paid
Universal Credit is paid once a month, usually into your bank, building society or credit union account.
If you’re not able to open a bank, building society or credit union account, call the Universal Credit Migration Notice helpline for advice about how to arrange a different way of getting paid.
Your payment can include an amount for housing costs, which you’ll usually need to pay to your landlord. If your landlord was being paid your housing costs directly, you’ll need to discuss the change of payment arrangements with them.
Final payments for existing benefits
The date of your final payments from your existing benefits depends on whichever is first:
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the deadline date on your letter
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when you make a claim to Universal Credit
If any further payments are due, they will be made shortly after your entitlement ends.
Moving from tax credits
If you claim tax credits, your entitlement will end as soon as you make a claim to Universal Credit.
If you do not make a claim by your deadline date, your tax credit entitlement will end on the day before the deadline.
Moving from other benefits
If you’ve applied for Universal Credit, you’ll keep getting your current benefit paid for 2 more weeks. You must still be eligible for your current benefit. You will not need to pay back these extra payments and they will not affect the Universal Credit you might get.
This only applies if you’re getting:
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Housing Benefit
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income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
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income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
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Income Support
If you do not make a claim to Universal Credit by the deadline, your last day of entitlement to your existing benefits will be 2 weeks after the deadline.
If you receive both tax credits and any of these benefits, your tax credits will end as soon as you make a claim, or the day before your deadline date (whichever is first). Your other benefits will continue for 2 weeks.
Help while waiting for your first payment
Your claim starts on the day you submit it in your account, however it usually takes around 5 weeks to get your first payment.
If you need help with your living costs while you wait for your first payment, you can apply for an advance within your Universal Credit online account.
You’ll need to pay back your advance in instalments from your future Universal Credit payments.
Find out more about how you’re paid including payment dates, if you live with a partner, and alternative payment arrangements.
Your responsibilities
Your responsibilities will depend on your circumstances.
When you have made your claim to Universal Credit you’ll need to manage your own finances and maintain your claim online. This includes:
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updating your account
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attending jobcentre appointments, if appropriate
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managing your own rent and other housing costs, unless you have another payment arrangement in place
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reporting changes in circumstances
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if you’re self-employed, you’ll need to report your earnings every month
To get Universal Credit payments, you’ll need to accept an agreement called a ‘claimant commitment’. Find out more about claimant commitments.
Changes in circumstances you must tell us about
You need to report changes to your circumstances so you keep getting the right amount each month.
Changes can include:
- changing your bank details
- changes to work and money, such as earnings, pension income, jobs, rent and savings
- change to your health
- household changes, including children, care, partner and immigration status
Find out more about changes in circumstances you must tell us about.
You could be taken to court or have to pay a penalty if you deliberately give wrong information or do not report a change in your circumstances.
Claiming Pension Credit instead of Universal Credit
You could choose to claim Pension Credit instead of Universal Credit if you’ve been getting Housing Benefit as a mixed age couple continuously since 14 May 2019.
If you claim Pension Credit instead, you will not get Pension Credit or Universal Credit transitional protection. This could mean you receive less financial support.
If you then decide to withdraw your claim for Pension Credit and apply for Universal Credit by your deadline date, you’ll still get Universal Credit transitional protection if you’re eligible.
Find out more about Pension Credit.
Support
Universal Credit Migration Notice helpline
Phone: 0800 169 0328
Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 169 0328
Video relay service for British Sign Language (BSL) users. Watch the video to find out how to use the Video relay service on mobile or tablet
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
0800 phone numbers are free to call from mobiles and landlines.
Other financial help and support
If you get Universal Credit, you could be eligible for other benefits or financial support. You should check what you can get.
You might be able to get different support in Scotland.
If you’re in financial difficulties, you can get help and advice from the government, local councils, and other organisations, such as advicelocal.uk.