Exporting benefits

Hi,
I’m on PIP and Contributory ESA. I would like to move to Spain. I realise with Brexit things might change, but I’m wondering what the rules are at the moment.

I stopped working in August 2017 and claimed contributory ESA. I was placed in the support group. I have no ER ESA as my work pension amount means that I have a large deduction from my ESA amount.

I know I won’t be able to export my PIP Mobility.

I thought that PIP care component was exportable, but I’ve talked to someone who said that they tried to have it exported to Spain, but they were refused as they hadn’t been working and making NI contributions in the previous years. He wasn’t sure how many years they look back on or if it is just the previous year.

Will I be affected like this when wanting to export my PIP care component?

Does my having ESA credit to my NI record for my Old Age Pension? If so, would this non contributory credit be sufficient to provide for me to be able to export my PIP care component if I am out of the “employed years” as the person I spoke to is?

Can I export my ESA benefit?

My partner would come with me. He has been receiving his old age pension for several years. He is now quite disabled. Is it possible for him to claim Attendance Allowance and export it, or is there again some NI requirement. Could he claim it after we move to Spain?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Ola, contact the Exporting team thru Gov.uk, and they will help you.
You have to contact each and every benefit dept to explain what you wish to do, they may say we will do it all, but in fact that does not happen and you can get landed with a problem.
Do not leave it to chance.
I have recently got all mine exported, with relatively little problem.
The exporting team were lovely.
My S1 arrived last week, it took nearly 2 months to arrive.
Ensure that whatever country you go to, you get your legal Residencia sorted out along with any other legal papers you require as soon as you get there, this will help you to get a GP with the use of your S1, but the basics have to be accomplished first and do so all of this before the B word for the end of October.
I have still to get all the above sorted out myself however I need some paper work to come out from the UK which is arriving this weekend.
You will find you need a plethora of paperwork to be dealt with which does take time.
Good luck

Thanks BIS,
I’ve done that but I think there are “hidden rules”, it states
“You may be able to continue getting contribution-based ESA abroad if you’ve paid enough National Insurance contributions.” It doesn’t tell me what years I need to have made contributions. Possibly this is why the person I spoke to didn’t get his PIP exported.

Thanks Pusscatsmum,
I’d rather get all my fact together before I phone them so that I know what I’m talking about. I’ve had to correct the DWP a couple of times (with information I’d been given by the wonderful mods on here!) by insisting that they check with a supervisor as they were basically spouting nonsense. I appreciate your reply and passing on your experience.

Has anyone else had experience of trying to export their PIP and/or ESA?

If you were on ESA C/B S/G and had no breaks , i.e went from working straight into the system then there are no NI breaks and you can continue to receive it abroad.
This is Not applicable to IR ESA as it is not pass portable.
PIP ordinary/high rate care component is payable if in receipt only if receiving another benefit, i.e ESA IIB, but obviously mobility component ceases.

I have all the paperwork and had my MP involvement and discussed it with each and every dept for ESA, PIP and IIB.
Initially I just contacted the export team online as asked for my benefits to be pass ported, however I discovered you have to do it for each and every one, so you start with ESA before you check with PIP.
You do it once you have moved abroad within a month of getting your Spanish stuff done and then you do not lose out or have a problem with overpayments as they call it.

All mine has literally been completed within the last 6 weeks and is still ongoing as I had a huge overpayment due to incorrect advice provided by DWP call staff on more than one occasion over the preceding years in trying to get the correct advice and information. DWP agreed it was predominately their incorrect information that caused a lot of the problems but it still had to be paid back.

The website information is misleading as is most of what the call centre staff give out and they do Not put information on your records following a discussion. So please follow it thru slowly clearly and with a paper trail as it is far from easy. However following my proven track records they have said they will sort it all out better, I regret I cannot see that happening.

However if you deal with it methodically you will get it all sorted out fairly easy and payments are sorted out but on a different day from when you receive them in the UK.

You will never have all the correct information before you wish to start as it depends on your circumstances and who you get to start the ball rolling, but the Export team are marvellous.

Good luck