There are several changes in circumstances recipitants of Personal Independence Payments (PIP) must tell the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about - or they might lose benefit entitlement and have payments paused or stopped. You do not need to tell the DWP about changing your name, doctor, health professional or address, as these will have no impact on your payments or your award.
However, leaving the country or planning to leave the country for a period of more than four weeks, even for a holiday, could affect claimants' entitlement. As reported by the Daily Record, guidance in the 2023/24 edition of the PIP Handbook on GOV.UK states: “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.”
If you’re planning on enjoying a long holiday this summer, make sure you contact the DWP with the details they have asked for as soon as possible - and keep it in mind when booking.
