Universal Credit, PIP, and other benefit claimants may find their payments affected by the bank holiday next month.
Monday, August 26, is a bank holiday, meaning payments from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) wonât be made on this day.
If you are due to receive a DWP benefit payment on this day, you may find you receive it early.
If your payment is due on August 26, you will receive it on August 23.
If youâre payment is due on a different day, it will arrive in your account as normal and the amount you are due to be paid will remain the same.
While being paid earlier sounds like a positive, the money will also have to last you longer, as payment dates will return to normal following the two May bank holidays.
These are the benefits that may be affected by the bank holiday weekend:
- Attendance allowance
- Carerâs allowance
- Child benefitÂ
- Disability living allowance
- Employment and support allowanceÂ
- Income support
- Jobseekerâs allowanceÂ
- Pension creditÂ
- Personal independence payment (PIP)
- State pensionÂ
- Tax creditsÂ
- Universal credit
DWP Universal Credit holiday warning
Those in receipt of Universal Credit are being alerted that they must inform the DWPÂ if they are planning to travel abroad this year.
Government advice to claimants outlines what changes people receiving Universal Credit must tell the DWP about.
Failing to alert the DWP of key changes to your circumstances could lead to Universal Credit claimants losing their benefit entitlement and having payments either paused or stopped altogether.
Included in the changes that must be reported is leaving the country, or planning to leave the country.
Even if you are leaving for an extended holiday rather than a permanent move, it is a change you must alert the DWP of.
Government advice says: âIf you go abroad, you can continue to get Universal Credit for one month.
âYou must:
- be eligible for Universal Credit when youâre going abroad
- remain eligible for it while youâre abroad
- tell your work coach that youâre going
âYou cannot get Universal Credit if youâre moving abroad permanently.
âYou cannot apply for Universal Credit if youâre already abroad.â
In some instances, you will be able to receive Universal Credit while abroad for up to six months.
They include:
- you go abroad for medical treatment
- you go abroad for a period of recovery thatâs been approved by a medical professional (also known as âapproved convalescenceâ)
- your partner or child is going abroad for medical treatment or âapproved convalescenceâ and youâre going with them
If you are planning a trip, you can inform the DWP on 0800 121 4433 to report a change of circumstances.
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