Benefit claimants issued warning after 184,000 payments stopped

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that over 180,000 benefit payments have been stopped after a deadline passed. Those previously claiming one of six benefits were urged by the government department to switch over to Universal Credit as part of a migration campaign.

A notice would have already been sent out to many benefit claimants informing them they are required to switch. The DWP said it sent out over 800,000 migration notices since March 2024.

However, 184,120 claimants failed to carry out the switch between July 2022 and March 2024. This resulted in them losing their benefit payments.

The only people who will get migration notices from the DWP are those claiming the following legacy benefits which are being replaced by Universal Credit:

The DWP highlighted that people will have three months to switch to Universal Credit from the date a migration notice letter is sent out.

If you're told you need to claim Universal Credit via a migration notice, you will first need to create an account. Through this account, a claim will need to be completed within 28 days of its creation - otherwise you will need to start the process all over again.

If you live with a partner

The DWP stressed that both partners will need to make a claim if they live in the same household and meet one of the following:

Both partners will also need to create their own Universal Credit account with one receiving a partner code. The other partner can then use the code to create their own account, thus joining the claim together.

Before you create an account online, you will need to have the following documents on hand:

You will also need information on: