The pension credit case review campaign is now under way, with the Department for Work and Pensions contacting selected claimants and, in some cases, asking for evidence including recent bank statements to establish whether their current award remains correct. The programme is intended to address incorrect payments and forms part of a government measure forecast to produce £370 million in savings between 2026/27 and 2030/31, while DWP stresses that receiving a review letter does not itself indicate wrongdoing, The WP Times reports.
The scale of the exercise could be substantial. DWP has not publicly disclosed how cases are being selected or how many people will ultimately be reviewed, but analysis reported by The Independent suggests roughly 95,000 to 100,000 claimants could eventually have their Pension Credit payments reduced during the programme. For 2026/27, the Treasury has booked £15 million of savings from improving the accuracy of Pension Credit claims; that rises to £85 million in 2027/28 and £135 million in 2028/29 before falling to £75 million and £60 million in the following two financial years. The reviews come after official figures showed the proportion of Pension Credit claims being overpaid increased sharply to 33 in every 100 claims in 2025/26.
How the DWP Pension Credit review campaign works
The DWP pension credit review campaign is an accuracy exercise rather than an automatic cancellation programme. Selected recipients are being contacted individually and may be asked to confirm details relevant to the calculation of their award. Depending on the circumstances, this can involve providing additional financial information such as recent bank statements.
DWP has said that being selected for a review does not mean that the claimant has done anything wrong. The purpose is to establish whether the information currently held by the department still reflects the person's circumstances and whether the amount being paid remains correct. Pension Credit is means-tested, so comparatively ordinary changes can alter an award. Savings may increase, another pension may begin to be paid, earnings can change, a partner's circumstances can alter or a claimant may spend a period outside Great Britain. A review can therefore establish that the existing award is correct, that it should be reduced or, depending on the evidence, that another adjustment is required.
DWP's latest official fraud and error figures help explain why Pension Credit has become a particular focus. In the financial year ending 2026, 37 in every 100 Pension Credit claims were found to be incorrect overall, including both overpayments and underpayments. The proportion overpaid increased from 28 in every 100 claims in 2024/25 to 33 in every 100 in 2025/26. That figure requires context. It does not mean one third of Pension Credit expenditure was wrongly paid. DWP estimated the actual overpayment rate at 10.0 per cent of expenditure, or around £620 million, broadly unchanged from 10.3 per cent in the previous year. More than half of the claims that were overpaid had an excess payment of less than £10 a week.
What could DWP ask a Pension Credit claimant to provide
The precise evidence depends on the individual case, but the information may be used to verify the financial and household circumstances on which Pension Credit is calculated. A person contacted as part of the campaign may therefore need to provide or confirm information relating to:
- recent bank statements or other evidence of capital;
- savings and investments;
- occupational or private pensions;
- earnings from employment or self-employment;
- State Pension and other relevant income;
- changes involving a partner;
- relevant housing costs;
- periods spent outside Great Britain;
- other changes that could affect the Pension Credit calculation.
Claimants should follow the instructions contained in the communication they receive rather than assuming that every review requires the same documents. DWP has said that where an award needs to change following a review, the claimant will be told the result and what happens next.
Why Pension Credit claims are being reviewed in 2026
The programme has a clear fiscal purpose. In the November 2025 Budget, the government introduced a measure described as improving accuracy in Pension Credit claims from April 2026. Treasury costings project savings of £15 million in 2026/27, £85 million in 2027/28, £135 million in 2028/29, £75 million in 2029/30 and £60 million in 2030/31. Together, those figures amount to £370 million.
| Financial year | Forecast saving from Pension Credit accuracy measure |
|---|---|
| 2026/27 | £15m |
| 2027/28 | £85m |
| 2028/29 | £135m |
| 2029/30 | £75m |
| 2030/31 | £60m |
| Total | £370m |
The official statistics point particularly to capital and time spent abroad as persistent sources of incorrect awards. In 2025/26, DWP said under-declaration of financial assets and claimants remaining abroad longer than permitted together accounted for more than half of the money overpaid through Pension Credit.
Capital-related claimant error increased notably. Pension Credit overpayments attributed to claimants incorrectly declaring financial assets rose to 2.5 per cent of expenditure, equivalent to about £150 million, from 1.8 per cent or £110 million a year earlier. Total claimant-error overpayments were estimated at £280 million, fraud at £210 million and official-error overpayments at £120 million.
There is also another side to the accuracy problem. DWP estimated Pension Credit underpayments at £80 million in 2025/26, or 1.3 per cent of expenditure. Four in every 100 claims were underpaid, with failures to include some additional entitlements — particularly the extra amount for severe disability — remaining an important source of official error. The campaign should therefore not be described simply as evidence that every reviewed claimant has been overpaid. The department's own data show errors can run in both directions, while DWP expressly says selection for review is not an accusation of wrongdoing.
How much Pension Credit is worth in 2026/27
Pension Credit is separate from the State Pension. Its Guarantee Credit component is designed to bring qualifying pensioners' weekly income up to a minimum level. From April 2026, the standard minimum guarantee is:
- £238.00 a week for a single person;
- £363.25 a week for a couple.
Those amounts are starting points rather than universal eligibility ceilings. Someone with income above the standard figure may still qualify where their circumstances include disability, caring responsibilities or certain housing costs. For people who qualify, additional Pension Credit amounts can materially change the calculation. The 2026/27 rules include, for example, an extra amount for qualifying carers, while severe disability and certain housing costs can also increase the appropriate amount used to determine entitlement. Savings Credit continues to exist for some older claimants who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016.
How savings affect Pension Credit
Savings are particularly relevant to the new reviews because Pension Credit does not simply stop when a claimant has money in the bank. Under the current rules, savings and investments of £10,000 or less do not affect Pension Credit. Above £10,000, the system assumes £1 of weekly income for every £500 — or part of £500 — above that threshold. That means:
| Savings and investments | Amount treated as weekly income |
|---|---|
| £10,000 or less | £0 |
| £10,500 | £1 |
| £11,000 | £2 |
| £12,000 | £4 |
| £15,000 | £10 |
| £20,000 | £20 |
This is deemed or “tariff” income rather than the actual interest earned on those savings. It is one reason a change in capital can alter the level of Pension Credit even where the claimant's State Pension has remained unchanged. The official 2026/27 rules retain the £10,000 disregard and the £1-for-every-£500 Pension Credit tariff. Income considered in a Pension Credit calculation can include the State Pension, workplace or private pensions, employment and self-employment earnings and most social security benefits. By contrast, benefits including Attendance Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Housing Benefit and Winter Fuel Payment are among those not treated as income for this calculation.
Pension Credit reviews and periods spent abroad
Time outside Great Britain is another significant issue identified by DWP's fraud and error statistics. The standard rule is that Pension Credit can normally continue while a claimant is temporarily absent from Great Britain for up to four weeks, subject to the relevant conditions and exceptions. Longer permitted absences can apply in particular circumstances, but claimants should not assume that Pension Credit can continue indefinitely while they are overseas.
DWP's 2025/26 figures show why this is relevant to the review programme: capital and excessive periods abroad remained the two largest causes of Pension Credit overpayments and together accounted for more than £5 in every £10 overpaid. A claimant who has spent substantial periods abroad, experienced changes in savings or started receiving another source of income should therefore ensure that DWP holds accurate information about their circumstances.
How many pensioners could have Pension Credit reduced
There is an important distinction between the government's published savings forecast and estimates of the number of people affected. The Treasury has published the financial impact of the measure but has not published a target saying that exactly 100,000 Pension Credit awards will be cut. DWP has also declined to disclose publicly how it is selecting cases, according to reporting by The Independent.
The newspaper calculated that roughly 95,000 to 100,000 claimants could eventually see their awards reduced, based on the government's projected savings and assumptions about average overpayments. It estimated that the £15 million saving scheduled for the current financial year could equate to about 10,700 reduced awards if the average adjustment were approximately £1,400. These are derived estimates rather than figures announced by DWP. That distinction matters. The number of people contacted for a review could be higher than the number whose entitlement eventually changes because a review can confirm that an existing award is already correct.
What should pensioners do if DWP contacts them
A claimant receiving a genuine Pension Credit case-review request should read the correspondence carefully and provide the information requested within the stated process. Because Pension Credit is calculated from current circumstances, records relating to income, savings and household changes may be relevant. In practical terms, a claimant should:
- Check what information DWP is asking for. Do not send unrelated financial records simply because bank statements have been mentioned in reports about other cases.
- Collect the relevant evidence. This may include recent bank statements, pension information or evidence about another change in circumstances.
- Check that savings and income figures are current. Pension Credit calculations can change when capital passes the £10,000 threshold or another source of income begins.
- Review periods spent outside Great Britain. Absence rules can affect entitlement.
- Keep copies of correspondence and evidence supplied.
- Read the final decision carefully. DWP says people whose awards need to change will be informed of the outcome and the next steps.
The Pension Credit helpline listed by the government is 0800 99 1234 for general Pension Credit enquiries and applications. Claimants should use contact information from GOV.UK or their genuine DWP correspondence rather than telephone numbers supplied in unsolicited texts, emails or social-media posts.
Pension Credit remains available to people who have not claimed it
The review campaign is taking place alongside government efforts to increase Pension Credit take-up. The two policies serve different purposes: one checks whether existing awards remain accurate, while the other seeks to identify pensioners who may qualify but are not receiving the benefit. Government guidance says a person may still qualify even if they have savings, own their home, live with adult relatives or receive a small private pension. As of 2026/27, the basic guide remains whether weekly income is below £238 for a single pensioner or £363.25 for a couple, although individual circumstances can produce entitlement above those figures. The distinction is particularly important given the official evidence of underpayments as well as overpayments. Pension Credit is a means-tested award whose value depends on a claimant's actual circumstances; the pension credit case review campaign is designed to test those circumstances against the information held by DWP rather than impose an automatic reduction on everyone contacted.
Materials used: Department for Work and Pensions, HM Treasury Budget 2025, GOV.UK Pension Credit guidance and technical guidance, DWP Fraud and Error in the Benefit System FYE 2026, The Independent.
