Going Abroad Temporarily And Claiming Pension Credit

If you are planning to temporarily go abroad, it’s important to know which benefits you can still claim and how long.

The country you are visiting, the reason for visiting and how long you plan to stay determine what benefits you qualify for.

Generally, you can still claim most benefits if you plan to stay for four weeks or less and you are moving to an EEA (European Economic Area) country.

Here’s a quick look at how different benefits will be affected with you go abroad.

Make sure you contact the office that pays your benefits before going abroad (it’s fraud if you don’t). Inform them of the circumstances of your trip and ask for clarification on how your benefits are going to change.

Read on to learn more about going abroad temporarily and claiming pension credit.

Pension Credit

If you are just going temporarily and don’t plan to stay longer than four weeks, you’ll receive pension credit for up to four weeks.

If you stay longer because of the death of your child or partner who is with you, payments can be extended to eight weeks.

If you are going to seek medical treatment abroad, you may qualify to receive pensions for up to six months.

Attendance Allowance, Carer’s Allowance and Disability Living Allowance

You will receive disability living allowance and attendance allowance for 13 weeks.

If you will be accompanied by a carer who receives a Carer’s Allowance, payments for this benefit will continue for up to 13 weeks. But you must qualify for all three benefits.

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Bereavement and Widowed Benefits

Bereavement Support Payment and widows benefits will be paid no matter where you go regardless of how long you stay there. You’ll need to contact the International Pension Centre to keep receiving these benefits.

Note that you may not get annual increases in some of the benefits if you move to a non-EEA country or a county not covered by a UK reciprocal agreement.

Constant Attendance Allowance

You’ll keep getting these benefits if you move to an EEA country, a country with a reciprocal agreement with the UK, Iceland or Norway.

For other countries, benefits are payable for up to six months.

Housing Benefit

You’ll keep getting the housing benefit for up to four weeks unless you have sublet your home or you plan to be away for more than four weeks.

If you are going abroad to seek medical treatment, payment will continue for up to 26 weeks unless you sublet your house.

Winter Fuel Payments

You can keep claiming winter fuel payments if you are moving to an EEA country or Switzerland no matter how long you plan to be away.

If you are going to one of the following EEA countries – France, Gibraltar, Cyprus, Portugal, Malta, Greece or Spain – you’ll not receive the payments.