On tax credits, triggers to UC? Help please

[MinnieMouse1976]

Hi, this may have been asked before, sorry if it's been answered. I am hoping for some advice. Hubby currently claims income support in his name for us both and we get tax credits. My question is, what triggers a move to UC? I've been offered a little job cleaning, two hours per week. Will this mean we would need to cancel current benefits and put in a claim for UC instead? Thank you all.

Getting a job would just mean updating tax credits and income support/housing benefit etc. Only if new claims for legacy benefits are needed to be made mean a change to universal credit. This means new claims for housing benefit/income support/jobseekers/tax credits etc

Thank you, that's what I was hoping!

It’s worth bearing in mind that you will eventually be moved from TC to UC

You could stock up food cupboard for two weeks worth of tinned meals
Overpay your rent by £5 each week will soon add up

Then when you do get transferred from one to the other you’ll be in a better position

Also you should get a two week run on from HB which is helpful

If you started working over 24 hours a week then child tax credit can be expanded to include working tax credit and this is still not a trigger for UC.

I’m not sure but you can get more help through UC than you can tax credits. Use the entitledto calculator it’s accurate & itll tell you how much tax credits & UC you can get x

Hey, this may sound like a silly question but why is everyone worried about switching from HB to UC?

Do they pay a considerable amount less?

I ask because i'm currently getting part HB and will have to update my circumstances soon which will trigger a switch?

Am I heading into a war zone?

Sorry I don't know about HB as we are stuck in an expensive mortgage so don't get any help with that. I am just worried from reading horror stories of people moving from tax credits to UC and being worse off in general.

The biggest problem with UC is that you dont get any money for 5 weeks whilst you switch over.

I havent switched over yet but live in an area that means it should happen this year and I will go from £77 CTC/WTC a week to nothing under UC. I have been saving like mad and had a promotion a 6 months ago so hopefully it wont affect me too much.

Thank you for the clear up. Also, hope things have worked out for OP too.

Thank you Sunshine 😀

Simgleandproud, how do you find out when you will be moved across to UC?

I used the turn2us website to check difference if I changed to UC.

Would be £367 less each month! Fuck that for a laugh

Calma that's a hell of a drop! I mean I know we'll all switch over eventually but isn't there some kind of protection so we get the same on UC as we do on tax credits? We couldn't survive on a drop that much? Am very scared.

Unless you are in one of the trial areas you won't be forced to move over until at least 2020. And that date has been put back many many times, so while its something to be aware of and it will happen eventually I wouldn't worry about it too much.