Payments to increase for many people who claim these DWP benefits

DWP sends update to claimants on certain benefits

Hundreds of thousands of people on six DWP benefits have been told to expect increases to their payments as part of an overhaul of the welfare system. So-called legacy benefits are being phased out by the Government to be replaced by Universal Credit (UC).

The six benefits are: working tax credit, child tax credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment Support Allowance and Housing Benefit. They are all being phased out at different times.

Claimants will have to apply for UC when they get their migration notice in the post and will have three months to do so or risk losing their benefits. People do not need to act until they receive their migration notice and some may have already moved over to UC.

READ MORE: Martin Lewis tells millions of drivers they are making same 'costly' car insurance mistake

Get our best money saving tips and hacks by signing up to our newsletter

The DWP has confirmed over half of claimants affected (around 55%) should see increases to their payments as a result of the move to UC and be better off. The "majority" of people going through the changes have been told they should not lose out.

The DWP issued a reminder to affected claimants this week, six months before tax credits are closed completely in April 2025. It said: "Anyone affected will be sent a ‘migration notice’ by DWP to apply for Universal Credit as the department continues to transition over a million claimants on legacy benefits to Universal Credit.

"Legacy benefits - such as tax credits, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance - are being phased out to bring government financial support into one place and, importantly, the majority of people will not be worse off under Universal Credit."