There are two types of ESA:
- Contributory – this is based on your own National Insurance contribution history.
- Income-related – this is means-tested and based on your circumstances, and those of your partner if you have one. You can no longer make new claims for this type of ESA.
How is contributory ESA affected by the introduction of Universal Credit (UC)?
If your claim for contributory ESA started before UC was introduced, then you can continue to receive it. At the moment, if your income is low and you are on this type of ESA, you can add a top-up of income-related ESA as well.
Once the UC system was rolled out, new claims for contributory ESA became known as New-style ESA. This type of contributory ESA runs alongside the UC system and so if your income from New-style ESA is not enough to live on, any top up would come from UC.
Neither type of contributory ESA will be replaced by Universal Credit and so these benefits are not affected by managed migration.
How is income-related ESA affected by the introduction of Universal Credit (UC)?
You can no longer make a new claim for income-related ESA. Instead, if you would previously have had to make a new income-related ESA claim, you would now claim UC instead.
If you are currently receiving income-related ESA and you have a change of circumstances that would previously have led to you claiming one of the 6 legacy benefits that are being replaced by UC, you would need to claim UC and your income-related ESA would end after a 2-week run on. This is called natural migration.
The 6 legacy benefits are: income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support, income-related ESA, Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit. Examples of times when you might move to UC from income-related ESA through natural migration include:
- If you form a couple with someone who is already receiving UC
- If you separate from a partner and have to make a new claim in your own right (although check first whether you have the right to stay on income-related ESA and whether you would be better off doing so)
- If you have your first child
If you don’t have a change of circumstances that triggers natural migration to UC, you can remain on income-related ESA until you receive a migration notice asking you to move to Universal Credit under a process called managed migration. You will have a deadline by which you should claim UC and if you do not do so, your income-related ESA will end after a 2-week run on. There is transitional protection in place to try and ensure that you are not worse off at the point of migration to UC. It is expected that everyone receiving income-related ESA will receive a migration notice between September 2024 and the end of 2025.
If you move to UC from income-related ESA by natural or managed migration (or you choose to move voluntarily), then any determination you have had from the Work Capability Assessment will move with you. So if you are in the support group on ESA, for example, you would move to the equivalent Limited Capability for Work and Work-related Activity (LCWRA) group under UC without needing to supply fit notes or attend another Work Capability Assessment.
