If your Income Support has stopped

Your Income Support might have stopped because:

• you didn’t report a change in circumstances - for example, your partner moved in with you

• the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) thinks you’re earning more than you told them

• you didn’t reply when the DWP wrote to check certain details of your claim

• the DWP thinks you're no longer caring for someone

• your child turned 5

The DWP should have written to tell you that your Income Support is being stopped - and the date it will end. The letter will say something like ‘you’re no longer entitled to Income Support’ and should tell you why.

If you can’t find the letter, you can call the DWP to find out why your Income Support has stopped.

Make a note of the date and time you call. Also write down the name of the person you spoke to. You might need these details when you ask for your Income Support to start again. 

Income Support ends on 31 March 2026

You’ll need to move to Universal Credit when you get a letter telling you to claim by a certain date. This is called a 'migration notice'. You should have got a migration notice by now.

You should claim Universal Credit by the date on the letter to keep getting financial support.

If you think you should have been sent a migration notice, contact the DWP. The DWP might eventually contact you, but it’s a good idea to speak to them as soon as you can. This is so you can move to Universal Credit without a gap in payments.

Universal Credit migration notice helpline

Telephone: 0800 169 0328

Relay UK - if you can't hear or speak on the phone, you can type what you want to say: 18001 then 0800 169 0328

You can use Relay UK with an app or a textphone. There’s no extra charge to use it. Find out how to use Relay UK on the Relay UK website.

Access a live interpreter on the Video Relay Service if you use British Sign Language (BSL).

You can find out how to use video relay on YouTube.

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm

Calls are free from mobiles and landlines.

Challenging the DWP’s decision to stop your Income Support

If you disagree with the DWP’s reasons for stopping your Income Support, you can ask them to change the decision. For example, if they stopped your Income Support because they think you live with your partner when you don’t.

To do this, you’ll need to ask for a ‘mandatory reconsideration’. Check how to ask for a mandatory reconsideration.

If you get Housing Benefit

Tell your local council that you're challenging the decision to stop your Income Support. Telling them why the DWP decision is wrong should help prevent your Housing Benefit from stopping too.