Some claimants may have been entitled to Transitional Protection when they moved from the legacy benefit system onto UC.
They may have been entitled to:
- A Transitional Element (if they would otherwise had been worse off when they moved onto UC)
- A Transitional Capital Disregard (if they moved onto UC through the managed migration process, were previously on Tax Credits and had over £16,000 in savings at the point of the move).
- Student Protection (if they moved onto UC through the managed migration process, and were a full-time student that would not normally be entitled to UC at the point of the move).
Certain changes in circumstance can cause this protection to be lost altogether, or could mean the erosion of the Transitional Element.
So when advising a UC claimant about any change in their circumstances, it is important to find out if their UC award includes a Transitional Element (this will be shown in their latest payment statement) or if they are entitled to a Transitional Capital Disregard or Student Protection and consider what impact, if any, that change would have on this.