State pensioners are set to receive a letter in September which could mean they lose their benefits if they fail to take action.
Thousands of people across the UK are being ‘migrated’ by the DWP from ‘legacy benefits’ to Universal Credit.
One of the benefits being targeted for the changeover to Universal Credit is Pension Age Tax Credit.
In July, the DWP began sending letters to state pensioners whom it wanted to move from Pension Credit and from September, it will begin sending letters to more state pensioners who will be moved to Universal Credit instead.
But when you receive the letter, you must respond or you face the prospect of losing your benefits.
A total of two million people on these legacy benefits are slowly being moved to Universal Credit.
The process sees the DWP send a migration notice to someone on one of the old benefits. That benefit claimant then has to take action within three months to avoid losing their benefits entirely.
A total of 1.1 million migration notices were sent out by the DWP between July 2022 and Jul 2024, but 284,660 people have lost their benefits after failing to act.
Those moving to Universal Credit will begin to receive notices on September 1.
Pension Credit is a ‘qualifying benefit’ which can also allow you to claim various other entitlements, such as a free TV Licence, Warm Home Discount and Council Ta reductions.
The government has also warned that this could lead to bill rises for pensioners.
It said: “Those who are currently eligible for pension-age Council Tax Reduction but who move to UC have the potential to see their council tax bills rise. This is because the Council Tax Reduction Schemes Regulations 2012 specifically exclude people who receive Universal Credit from receiving pension age council tax reduction.”
Instead, those affected would have to apply for a local council working age scheme which “may provide a smaller reduction.”
