British households who receive Personal Independence Payments (PIP) have been warned they could be stopped if you don't follow the correct rules.
Claimants on PIP have been told they must notify authorities about key changes to their circumstances. Changes, such as going abroad or going into hospital or care home, must be told to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
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Otherwise your payments could be stopped. So with this in mind, government officials have now revealed new advice to claimants – making them aware of what changes they must tell the DWP about.
Failing to inform the DWP of key changes could lead to PIP claimants losing their benefit entitlement and having their payments either paused of stopped completely.
Key changes the DWP should be informed of
- Planning to leave the country for more than four weeks – even for just an extended holiday
- A change to your personal details – such as your name, address or doctor
- If the help you need or your condition changes
- If your condition has worsened and you are not expected to live more than 12 months
- You go into hospital or a care home
- You're imprisoned or held in detention
- Your immigration status has changed, if you aren't a British citizen
Citizen’s Advice say that if you aren't sure whether or not you need to report a change to the DWP, it is worth telling them anyway.
The Government’s 2023/24 PIP handbook explains: “The PIP decision letter gives details of how and when the claimant needs to tell DWP about any changes in their circumstances. We need to know if the claimant’s condition, the amount of help they need or their circumstances change. This is because it may change how much PIP they can get.
“It is important the claimant tells DWP straight away about any changes in their life that could affect their benefit.
“Based on these changes their benefit may go up, go down, stay the same or it may stop. If the claimant is overpaid, they will normally have to repay the money. Failure to tell DWP about any of these changes may result in prosecution.”
How can I report changes?
You can report changes to the DWP by calling the PIP helpline free of charge on 0800 121 4433. The helpline operates from Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.
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