People who don’t report these changes could risk being taken to court or having to pay penalties
Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are designed to assist disabled individuals with the extra living costs associated with their conditions. The eligibility for this benefit largely hinges on how their condition impacts their daily life and mobility, but other lifestyle factors can also influence the entitlement.
This includes circumstances such as entering care, travelling abroad for a certain period, or being locked up. The Department for Work and Pensions cautions: “You could be taken to court or have to pay a penalty if you give wrong information or do not report a change straight away.”
Such changes can alter the amount you’re entitled to receive from PIP, or even your overall eligibility. Receiving benefits when you’re not entitled to them is termed a benefit overpayment, and you may be required to repay it or potentially face prosecution for benefit fraud.
To report these changes, claimants must get in touch with the PIP enquiry line via telephone, textphone, Relay UK or the British Sign Language video relay service. These services operate Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.
More details can be found on the Gov.uk website, along with a comprehensive list of changes in circumstances that must be reported to the DWP.
Entering care
This could involve admission to a hospital, hospice, nursing home, or care home. Those entering a care home will also need to keep the DWP updated about any other changes during their stay.
You must notify any changes in how your care home fees are funded, such as starting or stopping receiving funding from the NHS or local council, or if you move to a different care home.
The DWP also needs to be informed if you’re admitted to hospital from a care home or if you’ve transitioned from being a temporary resident in a care home to a permanent one.
Being in prison
PIP is among the benefits that are paused while recipients are in prison, meaning it can resume once they are released. These payments are only halted if the recipient is in custody for more than 28 days within a 12 month period. More information can be found here.
Travelling abroad
The current PIP Handbook on GOV.UK advises: “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 plan to be out of the country, which country they are going to, and why they are going abroad.”
PIP claimants who are travelling abroad for more than four weeks need to inform the DWP. You can still claim the benefit for up to 13 weeks abroad, or 26 weeks if you’re away for medical treatment.
People who permanently relocate to an EEA country or Switzerland may still be eligible to receive their PIP if they meet certain criteria, but they will no longer be able to get the mobility component of PIP.
The DWP also needs to be informed if your immigration status in the UK changes and you’re not a British or Irish citizen.