Overview
- Income Support and income‑based Jobseeker’s Allowance will close on April 1, 2026, with DWP migration notices giving most households three months to claim Universal Credit and extensions available in some cases.
- The DWP plans to finish moving income‑related ESA claimants to Universal Credit by March 2026, shifting them to the UC Health Element and mirroring rate changes for any who have not migrated by April.
- From April 2026, the Universal Credit Act raises the standard allowance above inflation and sets a £50‑per‑week health top‑up for new claims, while existing health‑element recipients keep higher payments under protections such as the ‘Right to Try’.
- The new Eligibility Verification Measure begins phased use this year for Universal Credit, Pension Credit and ESA, with banks providing limited account identifiers and eligibility flags; full transaction data is not shared, a human reviews any flags, and State Pension accounts are out of scope.
- The DWP has confirmed there will be no further Cost of Living Payments in 2026, and it expects to identify 50,000–100,000 overpayments a year under the new checks, with savings estimated at about £2.1bn over five years and independent reporting to Parliament.