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  2. Benefits and money
  3. Benefits and financial support
  4. Guide to benefits
  5. After claiming benefits

Benefits: report a change in your circumstances

To make sure you get the right amount of benefits, you need to report any changes to your circumstances. Your claim might be reduced or stopped if you don’t report a change straight away or you give incorrect information. If you deliberately don’t report changes, you are committing benefit fraud.

Changes you need to report

Changes you may need to report include:

  • change of name
  • change of address
  • change of bank account details
  • going into hospital, a care home or sheltered accommodation
  • travelling or going abroad
  • getting married or divorced
  • starting or ending a civil partnership
  • moving in with a partner
  • people moving into or out of the place you live (for example, your partner, a child or lodger)
  • your rent going up or down
  • finding or finishing a job, or working different hours
  • your income going up or down
  • starting or stopping education, training or an apprenticeship
  • having a baby
  • if you become ill
  • changes to your medical condition or disability
  • your partner or someone you live with dying
  • starting or stopping caring for someone
  • change of doctor
  • changes to your pension, savings, investments or property
  • inheriting or unexpectedly coming into money / capital
  • changes to other money you get (for example, student loans or grants, sick pay or money you get from a charity)
  • changes to the benefits you or anyone else in your house gets
  • you or your partner getting back-pay (sometimes called ‘arrears’) for salary or earnings you’re owed
  • volunteering

If you claim Child Benefit you also need to report changes to your child’s circumstances.

How to report changes

Who you tell depends on which benefits you get. If you get more than one benefit, you’ll need to report your change to more than one organisation.

Universal Credit

You must report changes by signing in to your Universal Credit online account .

Personal Independence Payment

Report changes to the Personal Independence Payment Centre.

Employment and Support Allowance

Report changes to the Employment and Support Allowance Centre. 

Incapacity benefit

Report changes to the Incapacity Benefit branch.

Carer's Allowance

Report changes online or contact the Disability and Carers Service.

Other disability and carer benefits

If you get Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance or Carer’s Credit, report changes to the Disability and Carers Service.

Bereavement benefits

If you get Bereavement Support Payment, report changes to the Bereavement Service.

If you get Widowed Parent's Allowance, report changes to the Bereavement Benefits section.

Housing Benefit

Report changes to the Housing Executive.

Child Benefit

Report changes using the Child Benefit online service or contact the Child Benefit Office.

State Pension and Pension Credit

Report changes to the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

War Pension

Report changes to Veterans UK.

All other benefits

For all other benefits, including Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance, report changes to your local Jobs and Benefits office. 

Reporting a death

If someone dies when they’re receiving benefits, contact the Bereavement Service.

If you don’t report changes

If you don’t report a change or mistake, you might be paid too much and you may have to pay the money back.

If you deliberately don’t report changes, you are committing benefit fraud. If you are prosecuted, you could be fined or get a prison sentence.

More useful links

  • Understanding the benefits system
  • Care and Support
  • Appeal against a benefits decision
  • Retiring abroad
  • Rates Housing Benefit and Rate Relief
  • EU Exit and benefits
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After claiming benefits

  • Appeal a benefits decision
  • Becoming an appointee for social security benefits
  • Benefit appeal hearings
  • Benefits: report a change in your circumstances
  • Going abroad
  • Information for prisoners about benefits
  • Overpayments of benefits and financial support
  • Standards Assurance Unit review to check your benefit payment

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What to do next

Comments or queries about angling can be emailed to anglingcorrespondence@daera-ni.gov.uk 

If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit.  Contacts for common benefits are listed below.

Carer's Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912
Email 
dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Discretionary support / Short-term benefit advance

Call 0800 587 2750 
Email 
customerservice.unit@communities-ni.gov.uk

Disability Living Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912 
Email dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Employment and Support Allowance

Call 0800 587 1377

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Contact your local Jobs & Benefits office

Personal Independence Payment

Call 0800 587 0932

If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

Comments or queries about the Blue Badge scheme can be emailed to bluebadges@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk or you can also call 0300 200 7818.

For queries or advice about careers, contact the Careers Service.

For queries or advice about Child Maintenance, contact the Child Maintenance Service.

For queries or advice about claiming compensation due to a road problem, contact DFI Roads claim unit.

If you can’t find the information you’re looking for in the Coronavirus (COVID-19) section, then for queries about:

  • Restrictions or regulations — contact the Department of Health
  • Travel advice (including self-isolation) — contact the Department of Health
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations — contact the Department of Health or Public Health Agency

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk and for queries about your certificate, email covidcertni@hscni.net.

For queries or advice about criminal record checks, email ani@accessni.gov.uk

Application and payment queries can be emailed to ema_ni@slc.co.uk

For queries or advice about employment rights, contact the Labour Relations Agency.

For queries or advice about birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and research, contact the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) by email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk

For queries about the High Street Spend Local Scheme,  email HSSS.mail@economy-ni.gov.uk.

For queries about:

  • Car tax, vehicle registration and SORN
    contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Swansea
     
  • Driver licensing and tests, MOT and vehicle testing
    contact the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA), Northern Ireland

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk.

 

For queries or advice about passports, contact HM Passport Office.

For queries or advice about Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), including parking tickets and bus lane PCNs, email dcu@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about pensions, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

If you wish to report a problem with a road or street you can do so online in this section.

If you wish to check on a problem or fault you have already reported, contact DfI Roads.

For queries or advice about historical, social or cultural records relating to Northern Ireland, use the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) enquiry service.

For queries or advice about rates, email LPSCustomerTeam@lpsni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about  60+ and Senior Citizen SmartPasses (which can be used to get concessionary travel on public transport), contact Smartpass - Translink.

If you have a question about a government service or policy, you should contact the relevant government organisation directly.  We don't have access to information about you.

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