Benefit claimants heading abroad for a holiday are warned that their payments may be paused if they don’t inform the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The rules vary depending on the benefit you claim, making it vital to check this before embarking on any trips away. The reason for leaving and the length of the trip are all factors that can influence the decision the DWP makes when – and if – it needs to adapt payments. Here’s a rundown of the travel rules for benefits, such as Pension Credit, Personal Independence Payment (PIP), and Universal Credit, that people should be aware of.

Pension Credit

People claiming Pension Credit must inform the DWP before they head abroad for any length of time.

Guidance for Pension Credit claimants on GOV.UK says this applies if you’re going to leave Great Britain for any reason at all, even if you’ll only be away for a short time. This includes if you go to Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.

The DWP then states that it may pay Pension Credit for up to four weeks while you’re temporarily away from Great Britain, rising up to eight weeks if the absence is in connection with a death.

If the absence is solely in connection with medical treatment or medically approved convalescence, the DWP said it may pay Pension Credit for up to 26 weeks.

To report this, claimants are advised to contact the Pension Service Helpline on 0800 731 0469.

Universal Credit

Eligible Universal Credit claimants can continue receiving Universal Credit for one month if they go abroad.

To continue receiving your payments, you must be eligible for Universal Credit when you go abroad, remain eligible for it while you’re abroad, and tell your work coach that you’re going.

Like Pension Credit, you may be able to continue receiving your payments for longer in certain circumstances. According to Government guidance, Universal Credit claimants may be able to receive another month’s worth of payments if a close relative dies while they’re abroad, and it would not be reasonable for them to come back to the UK.

You may also get Universal Credit for up to six months if you go abroad for medical treatment; you go abroad for a period of recovery that’s been approved by a medical professional; or your partner or child is going abroad for medical treatment or recovery, and you’re going with them.

PIP, Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, and Carer’s Allowance

People claiming disability benefits, such as PIP, Attendance Allowance, and Disability Living Allowance, only need to let the office that pays their benefit know if they plan to go abroad for more than four weeks.

When abroad, people can continue to claim these benefits for up to 13 weeks, or 26 weeks if it’s for medical treatment.

Carer’s Allowance claimants can carry on claiming if they take up to four weeks’ holiday out of a 26-week period.

Jobseekers allowance

There are two different types of Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA): New Style JSA, and income-based JSA.

You cannot get income-based JSA abroad. However, you may get the New Style JSA in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland for up to three months if you:

• Are entitled to it on the day you go abroad
• Register as a jobseeker at least four weeks before you leave
• Are looking for work in the UK up to the day you leave
• Are going abroad to look for work
• Register at the equivalent of a Jobcentre in the country you’re going to
• Follow the other country’s rules on registering and looking for work
• Are covered by the withdrawal agreement.

For the full list of rules regarding claiming benefits while on holiday, you can read the DWP’s guidance here.

In a final warning, the DWP said you’ll be committing benefit fraud if you fail to:

• Tell the office that pays your benefit you’re going abroad, even if it’s just for a visit
• deliberately do not report a change in your circumstances while abroad, like buying a property, working, or claiming a pension or benefit from another country
• are dishonest in order to get benefits, like continuing to claim the pension or benefit of someone who has died overseas.