PIP claimants planning a summer holiday abroad may need to contact the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) before traveling, or risk having their payments stopped.
Short trips under four weeks
If you are out of the country for less than four weeks, you generally do not need to tell the DWP. Such short and temporary travel is not considered a change of circumstances and usually does not affect PIP eligibility.
Travel lasting more than four weeks
Claimants must inform the DWP if they plan to travel abroad for more than four weeks. You can normally continue to claim PIP for up to 13 weeks abroad, extendable to 26 weeks if traveling for medical treatment.
According to guidance on the Gov.uk website, cited by the Daily Record: “This change may affect the claimant's entitlement to PIP. We will need to know the date the claimant is leaving the country, how long they are planning to be out of the country, which country they are going to and why they are going abroad.”
Going abroad permanently
In some cases, you or a family member may be able to claim benefits if you work in the UK or pay National Insurance there, have paid enough National Insurance for contribution-based benefits, are getting State Pension, Industrial Injuries Benefit, contribution-based ESA or bereavement benefits, or are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement. However, you cannot claim the PIP mobility component if you are abroad permanently.
How to report a travel change
To report a holiday of more than four weeks, call the PIP enquiry line on 0800 121 4433, open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Other changes of circumstances that must be reported include changes in your condition, a medical professional saying you may have 12 months or less to live, entering a hospital, hospice, nursing home, care home, residential school or college, entering foster care or local authority care, imprisonment or detention, immigration status changes, or starting or stopping certain EU or EEA benefits.
