Claim full disability payment of UC before cuts start

In July, cuts to the disability payment (“health element”) of Universal Credit (UC) for future claimants were voted through by MPs, despite the massive campaign which got the government to drop the PIP cuts from the same Bill in Parliament. The UC cuts and new rules start from 6 April 2026.

We opposed any cuts and are supporting calls to postpone this. People did win another change, that this cut will not affect people already getting UC disability payment (called LCWRA — limited capability for work-related activity). Claimants in this category are called “pre-2026 claimants”.

But you need to claim disability payment now if you are on UC basic amount, you are sick or disabled and you want to apply for the disability payment before the cuts and new rules come in. Or, if you are about to claim UC for the first time because of being low income. These short deadlines are because the process of applying and then actually getting the disability payment takes around four months.

If you are on UC already:

Your date to claim could be as soon as 6 December, depending on your Universal Credit month (the date of your monthly assessment period, which is specific to you). To work out if your entitlement to disability payment would start before the new rules, you can:

• Find the start date of your next assessment period — this is individual to you.
• Add on three months which is the lead-in time to get the disability payment (“health element”).
• Is it before 6 April 2026?

To start the process, you need to put a note on your UC journal and say I want to claim the health element of UC. Can you send me the WCA50 form.

See more info about the WCA50 form here.

You will quickly need to get a fit note from your GP to verify your ill-health or disability and the impact on your ability to do waged work. You will need to keep getting fit notes to cover the time until the DWP has made a decision that you can get disability payment of UC.

Claiming UC for the first time

If you are not getting Universal Credit yet and need to claim it because you are low income, to be accepted as a pre-2026 claimant for disability payment, you need to make a new claim for Universal Credit by 5 January 2026. This is because of the lead-in time for getting the disability payment.

More info

Contact (formerly Contact a Family) has some useful information on their website, including a webinar you can watch, information slides, and common questions answered.