Overview

• The Department for Work and Pensions has alerted more than 1.4 million Pension Credit recipients to report any travel outside Great Britain before departure.
• Claimants must inform the department before leaving for Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands even if they plan only a short trip.
• Payment continuance is capped at four weeks for standard absences, eight weeks after a bereavement and 26 weeks during medically approved treatment.
• Recipients who fail to notify the DWP risk suspended payments, fraud investigations and fines of up to £5,000.
• Pension Credit averages £4,300 in annual top-ups for over-66s on low incomes and unlocks support for housing costs, council tax reductions and energy schemes, yet about 760,000 eligible pensioners have not claimed the benefit.