Universal credit managed migration thread

[ChristmasCatBells]

Anyone else waiting for a migration notice this year?
Looks like they are planning to move people on tax credits only onto universal credit this year but haven't released any detailed timetables about areas.
Thought it might be useful to share experiences and information on here for those affected.

How do you set it up? Can I just tell them it will be 4% of net pay every month?

Or 4% of gross pay but taken out of net I think? (The tax relief then grosses it up to 5%)

They take in info straight from hmrc.

I wonder why tax credits always have the wrong info from hmrc then and you have to manually work it out then phone up as it differs from what's on the p60?

Are you talking about pension deducted via employer in PAYE or self employment?

As PP have said, UC are informed of deductions via HRMC. You don't need to inform them of your monthly pension contributions unless self-employed.

Also, in terms of earnings, UC does not include your pension contributions.

https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/pension-contributions#:~:text=For%20Universal%20Credit%20all%20one,pension%20contributions%20made%20by%20employers.

It's not the employer pension contributions. My employer pays in 5% on top of wages, then I contribute 5% (actually 4% but tax relief makes it 5%) which comes out of my net pay.

Employee contributions are disregarded. See above link--it explains it better than I can!!

The amount used to figure out your UC entitlement is minus pension contribution (which makes your wage lower for the UC calculation).

I pay into a private pension not via payroll so assume I'd need to give the the info
Had a text message today saying they couldn't process my renewal and I need to phone them. Am assuming this is because of pension figures seems strange that UC can get the info but TC can't.

I don't think I have to move until 2024. We live on a rental and rent our house out so I think it's going to stop.

Enter the full amount of any payments and the calculator will automatically work out the disregard.
The link suggests that I do have to enter them. It does seem odd if UC know the info but TC don't.

I think maybe previous posters don't realise it's the fact that it is a pension from net pay that is the issue.

@DyslexicPoster I belive the property would be counted as capital and disregarded for a year.
Hopefully someone in similar circumstances can update the thread when they have been through the process and let us know what happens .

I think maybe previous posters don't realise it's the fact that it is a pension from net pay that is the issue

MymateDave said pensions from net pay were deducted automatically and they get the info from hmrc. Yet for tax credits they get only the p60 amount so you have to work it out and then they make you call them just to tell them it's because of a pension. Then that link upthread suggests you do have to enter it yourself for UC? I'm confused 😕. It doesn't help that if you spend two hours calling them they seem to be looking at the same online information as you and often give wrong information.

I had letter saying same thing, I had trouble getting through on the phone due to the computer asking what I was phoning for- cut me off twice because it decided I just wanted to renew and could do that online. In the end I said 'report a change' and managed to speak to a human being.

@EmeraldFox

I can only give you my experience of UC. I think when I did the UC application many moons ago, I had to state my annual salary. I may have been asked about occupational pension contributions--can't remember! This was just at the application stage.

(I know in the various benefits calculators it asks about what you pay into a work pension.)

Since being on UC, I have NEVER been asked for pension calculations but I do PAYE. They get all this information via RTI:

https://revenuebenefits.org.uk/universal-credit/guidance/entitlement-to-uc/rti-and-universal-credit/#What%20is%20Real%20Time%20Information?

I don't think tax credits uses RTI but I am not sure.

And, by pensions, I'm talking about employment pensions arranged through one's employer. Not private pension schemes. That I cannot advise on.

@starpatch I will do that tomorrow when I call them then. Was it because of pension for you? I can't think what else it might be, never had this happen before and its the first year I have private pension.

@DamnUserName21 Thanks, I'm thinking it might be because UC tapers on net pay while TC is gross. TC they use my P60 income but my deductions for my pension are only shown on my payslips. Also because TC is on gross income I need to gross up my pension shown on my payslip by the 25% tax relief before deducting it. UC could just use my take home pay as is. Don't know if that makes sense to anyone but me!

@ChristmasCatBells I've had to call the last two years because of my pension, I didn't know to deduct it before then. The system isn't at all clear, I think they just don't want people deducting pensions or they would have a section to enter it when you renew.

Not tax credits, but ESA. The various calculators say i'd be £100ish better off each month, but im not going to trigger a change over just incase they're wrong and i mis out on the transition guarantee. But then i've also read ESA only legacy recievers could not be switched til 2028, so i'm torn, as £1200 a year difference if the calculators are right, is a lot, and a potential loss of over £5k in total.

I won't qualify for UC but will be counting on transitional protection. I've had a renewal notice to complete by the end of July, I'm hoping it won't trigger migration.

@AlmostAJillSandwich if you've checked various calculators then I think I would be tempted to go for it. Maybe you could ask someone at a CAB centre to check for you if you are nervous. Seems a shame to miss out on a £100 a month that you are entitled to.

Does anyone know if they send a reminder letter after the first one? Just wondering what would happen if the letter was lost in the post and you had no idea you were supposed to apply and then missed the deadline.

I don't know @Symposium
Probably are reminders. When the deadline is reached the legacy benefits stop then you have extra time until the uc would start to still put an application which is a month or 4 weeks I think.

@ChristmasCatBells thank you. That's reassuring that there is extra time to apply once the payments stop.

The award difference for me is negligible so the 5 week wait is the main issue for me and accruing debt as a result (both through that and the inevitable tc over payment you'll
End up with from ending a claim mid year) however I'll also lose my NHS exemption for dentist and opticians. Not huge but still yet another expense I can't afford

If pension is deducted by the employer under a check off type system then UC should be able to pick up your net pay, after tax, NI and Pension via what your employer reports when running payroll. This is called Real Time Information and my impression is that for most people it's seamless and works.

If you pay it yourself then I guess you have to tell them the dates amounts etc Assessment Period (AP) by Assessment Period.

Agree with others that it's best to claim at a time when Banking Day shift can never mean you're at risk of being paid two lots of salary in one monthly AP. After being dragged through the courts with the DWP running a defence that was pretty much 'Computer Says No' they now have the means to allocate pay to the correct due day but it requires manual intervention and is the sort of hassle no sane person needs.

I had a reminder letter arrive today and I have to claim by mid August