UC - Deferral

olgadapolga

So, having received our migration notice, I have been researching UC as I know very little about it.

I came across some documents that seemed to suggest that managed migration should be deferred in some circumstances, one being if a child named on a Child Tax Credit Award was aged 19 and currently in non-advanced education (it suggested that MM should be deferred until the child had reached age 20).

Is this still the case or have things moved on/changed? The documents I looked at were dated this year but just wanted to check before I start investigating further/asking more questions. 

Yamor

This is indeed one of the deferrals in place.
Unfortunately, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that some cases are still falling through the net.
Although the law provides for cancelling the migration notice, and there is also guidance which states that falling within a deferral case is reason enough to get the migration notice cancelled using that law, there is again anecdotal evidence that this is difficult to make happen.

The reason for the deferral is because UC is less generous than TCs regarding 19-year-olds, in that they fall off the claim from the start of September after their 19th birthday.

However, there is a strong argument to make that transitional protection can apply in this case (despite the normal rule that transitional protection is calculated based on having the same number of children on UC as you had on TCs). If that is the case, you may well end up better off by claiming when you have a 19-year-old in this situation, as the transitional element could well continue long past their 20th birthday.

olgadapolga

My circumstances are that one if my sons is 20 at the end of November, so he'll be off the Child Tax Credit award before our UC migration claim date.

My second son is currently 18 but turns 19 in December. He has just started a L3 (non-advanced) course which will run until June 2025, when he'll be 20.

Our UC migration claim date is the end of January 2024.

I believe that we'd only get UC for a year anyway, as our savings are currently over £16k.

Hmm. Not sure how to handle this now. Is it worth talking to a benefits advisor?

poppy12345

olgadapolga said:

I believe that we'd only get UC for a year anyway, as our savings are currently over £16k.

That will depend on your savings. If they go below £16,000 then the disregard ends. Once you go above £16,000 again then entitlement to UC will end.

Yamor

olgadapolga said:

My circumstances are that one if my sons is 20 at the end of November, so he'll be off the Child Tax Credit award before our UC migration claim date.

My second son is currently 18 but turns 19 in December. He has just started a L3 (non-advanced) course which will run until June 2025, when he'll be 20.

Our UC migration claim date is the end of January 2024.

I believe that we'd only get UC for a year anyway, as our savings are currently over £16k.

Hmm. Not sure how to handle this now. Is it worth talking to a benefits advisor?

It is clearly in your interest to delay migration as late as possible, as you will likely only get UC for one year (unless your savings go down).

I would certainly give it a go at getting your migration notice cancelled on the grounds that you should have been deferred due to having a 19-year-old child in full-time non-advanced education.

If you do try this, do let us know how you get on!

olgadapolga

I'm certainly willing to try to get them to cancel the migration notice.

Do I just contact the DWP UC helpline?

huckster

Yes phone the helpline

tomtom256

You need to ring the number on your migration notice as they will need the ref number.

Normal UC agents will not be able to deal with this query or have any understanding of the migration process.

There are specialist teams in each area

olgadapolga

Thank you for the help, everyone. I will ring them this week, once I've dealt with the Tax Credits Compliance Interview in the morning 😳

olgadapolga

Quick update: I rang this morning (I kept forgetting, or life got in the way). The person I spoke to wasn't initially very helpful and just kept reiterating that if I didn't apply for UC then my Tax Credits would end. Once they actually listened to me and understood what I was trying to achieve, put me on hold and went to speak with someone else. They are going to call back once they have an answer for me, hopefully today.

If the result is not what I expect (want) then I will refer the issue my MP who has proved on two previous occasions that his office is very helpful with benefits problems.

Newcad

olgadapolga said:

They are going to call back once they have an answer for me, hopefully today.

I wouldn't hold your breath for too long.

Such promised call-backs from UC often have a habit of never happening.

Sometimes they do mean it and do call back.
(But often it's thought to be just a tactic to get you off the phone because that particular phone jockey doesn't know what to do next, and then when you call back yourself because they didn't call you it's a different phone jockey who can find no trace of the previous promise).