Managed migration expected to complete March 2022

The migration of existing benefit and tax credit claimants onto Universal Credit was expected to be completed in March 2022, according to a Universal Credit rollout timetable published by the independent benefits information service Entitledto¹. The same timetable states that claimants without a change of circumstance would not begin to be moved across until July 2019¹.

The timetable sets out the sequence of the rollout. Universal Credit pilots began in a small number of Jobcentres around Manchester, expanding during 2013 and 2014 to cover the whole of North-West England, with six further Jobcentre areas also included: Hammersmith, Inverness, Bath, Rugby, Harrogate and Shotton¹. In those pilot areas eligibility was restricted to single and couple jobseekers, although from 24 November 2014 claims from people with children were allowed in Warrington and the Wirral¹.

National rollout began in February 2015 and initially affected only new claims by single jobseekers, with everyone else continuing to claim existing benefits¹. Rollout for new claims by single jobseekers across Great Britain completed on 27 April 2016¹. By September 2018, new claims by all groups were to be for Universal Credit rather than existing benefits and tax credits¹.

The page carrying this timetable is marked as out of date and has been left for reference, directing readers to a separate Universal Credit rollout guide¹. The timetable itself notes that the original schedule was based on an October 2013 start date and has been revised on a number of occasions¹.

Why it matters for households

Managed migration is the process by which people already receiving legacy benefits are moved onto Universal Credit, as distinct from making a new claim after a change of circumstances. The timetable indicates that claimants without a change of circumstance were not expected to be moved across before July 2019, with the process expected to finish in March 2022¹. That means the households affected are those on existing benefits and tax credits whose circumstances had not otherwise changed, rather than new claimants, who were already being routed to Universal Credit for all groups from September 2018¹.

For anyone moved across, the benefit being claimed changes, and with it the rules on how housing costs are paid and how awards are calculated. The timetable does not set out what happens to individual awards during migration, and no detail on transitional protection or payment arrangements appears in it¹.

What happens next

The timetable states that the migration process was to be completed in March 2022¹. The page carrying it is flagged as out of date and points to a separate rollout guide for current information¹. No further dates beyond March 2022 are given in the timetable¹.