Tax credits transfer to universal credit

[LovelyBath77]

Anyone know when this is actually going to happen? I saw online from 2019 to 2023 which is a bit vague. The migration I mean from tax credits to UC.

It will start March 2019 and finish in 2023, as yet they is no info about which families will be moved over first.

I work in housing benefit.

They have no idea. Universal Credit is on its 12 (I think?) delay and is 8 years late.

Also I would take the “ending in 2023” with a pinch of salt.

It all seems pretty vague! Yes the 2023 figure was changed from 2022 on the 'entitled' site, it seems to keep changing. It would be good to know for planning. Dh is self employed and it is quite different for UC.

Saw on another post tax credits lady had no idea either.

It says my area is due to move over at the end of this year. Am I to take it this is unlikely to happen?

It says 2019...would that not be after the end of the tax year when we usually do tax credits renewals, we just did ours and got the letter says till next April?

People don't need to worry about moving over as they will have transitional protection. It's the people who have to move over because of a change in circumstances or who claim for the first time and find themselves so much worse off under the new system that have the problems.

I am not clear on what consitututes a 'change of circumstances'...can you shed any light? For example, I have a child about to go up to high school so my childcare costs will reduce. Does that count?

Iam a single parent with 3 children and am very concerned I will struggle on Universal Credit

A change of circumstances would be for example a drop in income that was such that you needed to claim housing benefit as well as tax credits so you could not make a new claim for Housing benefit in a full service Uc area -so you would have to come off tax credits and go onto UC. Or if you are a lone parent and lost your job you could not make a new claim for income support, you would need to claim UC. Also moving to a new area which is full service UC, if you claim Housing benefit and therefore would normally claim Housing benefit under a different local authority then you would need to switch to UC if the area you are moving to is full service UC.
A change in childcare costs would not mean a move to UC. It is only if you need to make a new claim for a means tested benefit.

oh really - Change in childcare would not mean going onto UC, you would just update your new childcare figure with tax credits. If you lost your job and needed to claim Housing benefit or go onto income related Job seekers or Income support then you would need to claim UC.

It says my area is due to move over at the end of this year. Am I to take it this is unlikely to happen?
That’s means for new claimants not people cure tky on tax credits. So yes it will happen but only for new claimants.

Yes but it's not just the transitional protection which is an issue, it's the other stuff like the conditionality etc and things like the disability working element won;t be there, meaning that if people transition while on ESA for example, if coming off there will be no support- for example they'll expect full time work and no kind of allowances, I think.

I think it is still possible to get the LCWRA element of UC whilst working if for example you are only able to work a reduced number of hours due to disability.

I'm not sure of that Babyroobs, as if you were LCWRA they'd put you on ESA...if not they'd expect you to work as normal i think. I read it on this guide somewhere critiquing the changes to UC, think was citizens advice. will check though.

Yes, it is here, under Scenario 4: The impact of universal credit on people who have a disability which restricts their earning power but who are found ‘fit for work’ –loss of any equivalent of the disability element of working tax credit.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/corporate/disability-universal-credit-final-web.pdf

Also other stuff in their about disability and children which might be of use to people. What with these changes and also PIP etc it must be a nightmare..

I think if you supply a sick note which says for example you are only capable of working limited hours then I think they would have to accept that.

Yes but you lose the disability element when working.

Would need to claim the disability element and be working 16 hrs before the change I suppose.

The TC people told me a change to childcare costs would trigger UC. So I'm putting this summer's childcare on the credit card so I don't end up on UC which will be even worse. I'm terrified tbh.

meg - A change in childcare costs will not trigger a change to UC. It would only be if you were making a new claim for one of the legacy benefits that Uc replaces which it doesn't appear you are !

They told me it will, although I do realise they might be wrong.

There is a lot of wrong information being given out and a lot of people being told they need to claim UC when they don't ! It's important that people check carefully before switching as there is no going back. Some people are actually better off switching to UC so it's always worth checking with CAB or similar.

Will be another general election in 2022- wonder if that will change anything. Probably not.