This page explains a type of transitional protection payment specifically for disabled people who receive a Severe Disability Premium (SDP) in their legacy benefits immediately before they claim Universal Credit. The SDP transitional element compensates these claimants because there is no equivalent to the SDP in Universal Credit.

The transitional element help page provides details about the transitional element when someone moves to Universal Credit via managed migration.

What is the SDP transitional element?

Between 16 January 2019 and 27 January 2021 a block was put in place stopping working age people who receive an SDP from moving to Universal Credit if they had a relevant change in their circumstances. The block was put in place to prevent a considerable loss in benefit income for SDP recipients.

The block was lifted on 27 January 2021 and, instead, a top-up payment called an 'SDP transitional element' was added to UC for SDP claimants. This extra element is only available to those who were entitled to an award of Income support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or income-related Employment and Support allowance that included an SDP, not those who only had an SDP in their Housing Benefit.

In January 2022 the government lost a judicial review into the fact it had failed to provide adequate transitional payments to disabled people who had been moved to Universal Credit. The challenge was based on the fact that, although people were compensated for the loss of the severe disability premium, they were not compensated for the loss of the enhanced disability premium and so were still worse off at the time than they would have been on legacy benefits.

This article from solicitors Leigh Day provides further information about the legal challenge. Because of this, from February 2024 additional transitional SDP payments were introduced to compensate SDP recipients who also receive/d an enhanced disability premium, disability premium or disabled child premium in their legacy benefits. 

SDP recipients who can move to Universal Credit from 27 Jan 2021

If you are receiving a SDP and have a change in circumstances that prompts a new claim to Universal Credit, you will now need to claim Universal Credit instead of your existing benefits. When you make your claim a top-up SDP transitional element will be included in the calculation of your Universal Credit award. 

If you move to UC after receiving a managed migration notice you will not get the SDP transitional element included in your Universal Credit award, this is because you could get a standard transitional element from the start of your Universal Credit claim instead, the same as other legacy benefit claimants who move to UC after receiving managed migration notices. See our transitional element help page for details about this.

From April 2024 the SDP transitional element amount in your first assessment period will be as follows:

Single	An LCWRA element is included in your UC award	£140.97 per month
	No LCWRA element is included in your UC award	£334.81 per month
Couple	The higher SDP rate was payable in your legacy benefit	£475.79 per month
	You weren’t getting the higher SDP rate and an LCWRA element is included in your UC award for either of you	£334.81 per month
	You weren’t getting the higher SDP rate and no LCWRA element is included in your UC award for either of you	£334.81 per month

From April 2024 additional amounts are also available as follows:

Single	Additional amount if you were getting an enhanced disability premium alongside your severe disability premium	£89.63 per month
	Additional amount if you were getting a disability premium alongside your severe disability premium	£183.52 per month
Couple	Additional amount if you were getting an enhanced disability premium alongside your severe disability premium	£128.04 per month
	Additional amount if you were getting a disability premium alongside your severe disability premium	£262.48 per month
Disabled child	Additional amount if you were getting a disabled child premium (or disabled child element in Child Tax Credit) alongside your severe disability premium and now get the lower rate disabled child element in Universal Credit	£188.86 per month

After the first assessment period, the SDP transitional elements are treated as if they were a standard transitional element, so can be lost or eroded/reduced over time, as described below.

If you move to UC after receiving a managed migration notice you will not get the SDP transitional element included in your Universal Credit award, you will instead get a standard transitional element from the start of your Universal Credit claim. See our transitional element help page for details about this.

How does the transitional element reduce over time?

Transitional elements are eroded/reduced penny for penny as your Universal Credit award increases. This means you won’t receive any increase in your Universal Credit award until your transitional element is reduced to £0.

Your Universal Credit award might increase if, for example:

• your rent increases, leading to an increase in your housing element
• a new element is added to your Universal Credit award (except the childcare element)
• annual uprating increases the Universal Credit rates (except the childcare element) and/or Local Housing Allowance rates for private renters

The transitional element doesn’t reduce until you have been receiving Universal Credit for at least a month but, from your second assessment period onwards, any reductions are made in the same period an increase occurs.

The transitional element won't change if your earnings fluctuate (unless your household earnings drop below a set threshold called the administrative earnings threshold, which is based on the national minimum wage for your age) but the amount of Universal Credit you are eligible for may change based on your earnings in the usual way.

Previous SDP recipients already on Universal Credit before 16 Jan 2019

If you were receiving an SDP in a legacy benefit (unless you were only claiming Housing Benefit) and you were moved over to Universal Credit before 16 January 2019, meaning your SDP stopped, you will have remained on Universal Credit and you should have received an additional amount to compensate you for the financial loss experienced as a result.

A lump-sum payment to cover the period since you moved to Universal Credit was issued to eligible claimants in the Summer of 2019 and additional monthly payments have been paid since.

The monthly payment depends on your circumstances and since 8 October 2020 it has been converted into a standard transitional element, becoming part of the overall Universal Credit award and treated in the same way as other transitional elements.