The six DWP legacy benefits that could be stopped unless claimants act now

Half a million people could lose their benefits in the next three months if they do not take action, as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) continues a long-planned overhaul of the benefits system.

This overhaul, which will see all 22 million benefit claimants moved over to Universal Credit, aims to bring everyone into the same system - which replaces six "legacy" benefits with one simplified payment. Now, Migration Notice letters are being sent to 500,000 benefit recipients, informing them that they will have to move to the new system.

Anyone who receives one of these letters has three months to make the switch from their legacy benefits before their money will be stopped. A deadline will be included in any letter you receive.

READ MORE: DWP state pension rise means millions better off from today

The switch to Universal Credit was due to be completed by 2023, but due to the pandemic, the full rollout of the one-for-all benefit system was pushed back to 2028.

The six legacy benefits that are being replaced are: Housing Benefit, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit.

Claimants of Income Support, Tax Credits, and Housing Benefit will be contacted from this month (April), while those claiming ESA and Child Tax Credits will receive a Migration Notice letter by July.

The DWP will reach out to people of pension age claiming Tax Credits from August and those claiming just Jobseekers Allowance from September. Those who will not be contacted will be people claiming ESA only.

Once you have made a claim, you'll have to wait five weeks for your first Universal Credit payment to arrive. The DWP has reiterated