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 includes a Transitional Element?
On your Universal Credit online account there is a ‘Payments’ 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.
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.
What changes will mean I lose it altogether?
The Transitional Element will be lost if:
- You are claiming UC as a couple and separate and so change to having a single claim.
- You are claiming UC as a single person and move in with your partner and so change to having a couple claim.
- Your award drop to nil due to your (or any partner’s earnings) and this lasts for 3 months in a row.
- You are no longer entitled to UC eg. your savings go over £16,000, or you go abroad for more than a month
- 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.
When this happens, you will lose the Transitional Element from the beginning on the Assessment Period in which the change takes place.
Example:
Tracey claimed UC in 2026 after receiving her Migration Notice. Her UC award includes a Standard Allowance of £424.90, a Housing Costs Element of £700, and Transitional Element of £220. 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.
What changes will erode it?
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.
The only exception is the addition of, or increase to the Childcare Costs disregard.
So erosion can happen when.
- You move home and become liable for rent, or your rent increases – as you will become entitled to a Housing Costs Element, or higher Housing Costs Element.
- You have a baby, or become responsible for a child – as a Child Element will be included in your UC award.
- You are found to have (or treated as having) a Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activities – as the LCWRA Element will be included in your award.
- The annual uprating of benefits means that the Elements included in your award are increased.
- Your rent increases and this means a higher Housing Costs Element.
Note: this is not a full list.
Example:
Chris claimed UC in 2024 after receiving his Migration Notice. His UC award includes a Standard Allowance of £424.90, a Housing Costs Element of £500, and Transitional Element of £315. 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 £424.90, a Housing Costs Element of £550, a Carer Element of £209.34 and a Transitional Element of £105.66.
Chris’s UC award does not increase. This is because the additional Element was worth less than the Transitional Element.
Example:
Ayesha claimed UC in 2025 after receiving her Migration Notice. Her UC award includes a Standard Allowance of £424.90, a Housing Costs Element of £600, and Transitional Element of £245. 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 £424.90, a Housing Costs Element of £600 and a Child Element of £303.94.
Ayesha’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.