Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2016 to Question 50587, on state retirement pensions, by what means overseas claimants are audited.

The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) operates a proof of life programme (referred to as a Life Certificate) where State Pension customers residing permanently outside the United Kingdom are required to provide independent evidence, in the form of a witness statement, confirming that they are alive. The Life Certificate also provides verification of a customer’s address and contact telephone number and forms an integral part of DWP’s strategy to reduce fraud and error by ensuring that State Pension is paid to the right person at the right time. In addition to the Life Certificate, DWP has agreements in place with some countries to exchange data when a customer is deceased.