What Happens to Your Benefits in Hospital — Rules Explained (2025)

How hospital stays affect disability benefits

If you receive Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Attendance Allowance (AA), or Disability Living Allowance (DLA), your payments may be affected after you have been in hospital for 28 days. The 28-day rule means that your daily living component (for PIP) or your Attendance Allowance payments will stop after you have been an inpatient for 28 days. The count starts from the day after you are admitted and includes weekends and bank holidays. The PIP mobility component is not affected by hospital stays — you continue to receive it regardless of how long you are in hospital. For DLA, the care component stops after 28 days, but the mobility component continues. The logic behind this rule is that the NHS is providing your care while you are in hospital, so the benefit intended to help with care costs is suspended. Importantly, if you leave hospital and are readmitted within 28 days, the two stays are linked and counted together. For example, if you are in hospital for 20 days, go home for two weeks, and then are readmitted for 10 days, the total of 30 days means your daily living payments would stop on the 29th day. However, if there is a gap of more than 28 days between stays, the count starts again from zero.

Impact on means-tested benefits and Carer's Allowance

Universal Credit is generally not affected by a hospital stay if you continue to have the same housing costs and other expenses. However, if your stay is very prolonged (typically over 6 months) and you are a single claimant, there may be adjustments to certain elements. If you are part of a couple, your partner can continue to receive UC as normal. Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) continues to be paid during a hospital stay. If you are a new ESA claimant and go into hospital during the assessment phase, the rules can be complex — it is worth seeking advice to check how your specific situation is affected. Carer's Allowance can be affected when the person being cared for loses their qualifying disability benefit after 28 days in hospital. If the person you care for has their PIP daily living or AA stopped, your Carer's Allowance may also stop because it depends on the other person receiving a qualifying disability benefit. However, there are linking rules — if the person you care for leaves hospital and their disability benefit is reinstated, your Carer's Allowance can be reinstated too.

What to do if you are going into hospital

If you are going into hospital, you do not usually need to notify the DWP yourself for short stays. However, for longer or planned admissions, it is a good idea to let them know. For PIP, you can call the PIP enquiry line. For Attendance Allowance, contact the Attendance Allowance helpline. For Universal Credit, leave a note in your journal. Notifying the DWP promptly can help avoid overpayments, which you might have to repay later. If you know in advance that you will be in hospital for more than 28 days, reporting it early allows the DWP to adjust your payments at the right time rather than creating an overpayment that is recovered later. When you leave hospital, contact the DWP to let them know, as your payments that were suspended should be reinstated. For PIP and AA, payments can usually restart from the day after you leave hospital. Make sure to keep a record of your admission and discharge dates, as this information may be needed. If you have been in and out of hospital multiple times, keeping a log of dates can help ensure the 28-day linking rules are applied correctly.

Related Benefit Pages

Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

For working-age adults whose health affects daily living or mobility.

Attendance Allowance

For people over State Pension age who need help with personal care.

Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

For children under 16 with a health condition or disability that affects daily life.

Employment & Support Allowance (ESA)

For people whose health limits their ability to work.

Universal Credit

Main means-tested benefit for working-age people on low income.

Carer's Allowance

For people who care for someone with a disability 35+ hours per week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do the hospital rules apply if I am in a care home?

If you move into a care home where your care costs are funded by the local authority, similar rules may apply to your disability benefits. Attendance Allowance and the PIP daily living component may stop after 28 days in a care home if the local authority is funding the placement. However, if you are paying for your own care (self-funding), your disability benefits usually continue.

What about children's DLA in hospital?

The DLA care component for a child stops after the child has been in hospital for 84 days (not 28 days, as the rules are different for children). The DLA mobility component for children is not affected by hospital stays. If a parent stays in hospital with a young child to provide care, the hospital rules may not apply — this depends on the specific circumstances.

Check what benefits you could be entitled to

Our free eligibility checker covers 20+ UK benefits. It takes around 15 minutes and there is no obligation.

Check eligibility

Check your eligibility for 20+ UK benefits

Bank-level securityGDPR compliant15-minute check

Important: Benefits Robin is not affiliated with the DWP or UK Government. We provide information and assistance, not legal or financial advice. These are estimates based on your answers. Final decisions are made by the DWP.