Possible disadvantages of choosing to be migrated early. 

Hi

I have a client who is currently receiving Income-Related ESA.  I have calculated that she will be approximately £20.00 a week better off under Universal Credit. 

She can choose to be migrated over early because she is in a full service area. 

The only possible disadvantage I can think of in her case would be that she could be waiting a while for her first payment. 

Can anyone think of any other disadvantages to her being migrated over?

Thanks

A major disadvantage is irreversibility. If your client’s situation changes in the future such that she would be better off under legacy benefits (e.g. if she becomes entitled to the SDP), there will be no way of getting back onto those benefits.

Another disadvantage is the online claim management process and monthly payments which your client might not be used to and may cause difficulty.

You also have to bear in mind that any difficult questions relating to her claim (e.g. right to reside, whether she is renting her home on a non-commercial basis etc) will be re-opened and will need to be re-argued.

There may also be quirks of UC that won’t always get picked up on a quick calculation - for instance if she has a 22 year old son living with her who claims JSA, she has suddenly picked up a non-dependent deduction (re-branded as housing costs contribution).

I assume she’s better off because she’s in the support group - if she got reassessed into the work-related activity group she would no longer be better off, though not worse off either.

She doesn’t have the options for permitted work on UC - the work allowances are nowhere near as generous - so if she might be able to do some work that needs to be taken into account.

Might she be eligible for PIP - if she might it would be better to claim now while she is on ESA and get premiums, if applicable, in place. She then may be better off on legacy and it would be worth hanging on for managed migration with transitional protection.

Also there is the issue that DWP do not seem to be picking up effectively when someone migrates from ESA and it can be a battle to get the appropriate component paid so, while that can be resolved, it might cause a fair bit of stress.