{"id":234026,"date":"2025-07-03T06:40:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T06:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/234026\/"},"modified":"2025-07-03T06:40:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T06:40:13","slug":"government-confirms-date-when-workers-and-retirees-will-face-bank-account-monitoring-personal-finance-finance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/234026\/","title":{"rendered":"Government confirms date when workers and retirees will face bank account ‘monitoring’ | Personal Finance | Finance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this year, Labour unveiled ‘the biggest fraud crackdown in a generation’, aiming to staunch the flow of funds lost through criminality and mistakes in the welfare system.<\/p>\n

The Department for Work and Pensions<\/a> (DWP<\/a>) has projected that the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill will safeguard \u00a31.5 billion for the taxpayer over the forthcoming five years.<\/p>\n

The crackdown introduces stringent measures such as driving disqualifications extending up to two years for persistent benefit<\/a> fraudsters who neglect repayment duties, alongside new powers for the DWP<\/a> to seize funds directly from offenders’ bank accounts. Additionally, Eligibility Verification will empower third-party entities like banks to highlight suspicious benefit claims.<\/p>\n

While the State Pension<\/a> has been explicitly excluded from these measures, 1.4 million older Brits claiming Pension Credit<\/a> could have their bank accounts monitored under the fraud<\/a> crackdown.<\/p>\n

The DWP<\/a> has released 11 detailed factsheets providing deeper clarity on the operation, safety, and supervision of these new measures. These factsheets confirm the UK Government’s plans to roll out the proposed actions starting in 2026.<\/p>\n

These documents further elaborate on the checks and balances, reporting systems, and regulatory oversight designed to guarantee the “appropriate, proportionate, and effective use of the powers”.<\/p>\n

Official guidance on GOV.UK notes: “The Government will begin implementing the Bill measures from 2026. For the Eligibility Verification Measure, the Government will implement a ‘test and learn’ approach to ensure the new powers to tackle public sector fraud are being used proportionally and effectively.”<\/p>\n

“DWP<\/a> and the Cabinet Office will continue to work with industry to implement the new measures, consult stakeholders on Codes of Practice and publish guidance.”<\/p>\n

The DWP<\/a> is set to expand its capacity to gather information from additional third-party organisations, including airlines, to monitor if individuals are claiming benefits from abroad, which could breach eligibility rules, the Daily Record<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

Eligibility Verification Measure<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to be aware the DWP<\/a> will not have direct access to the bank accounts of millions of people on means-tested benefits including Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Employment and Support Allowance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The DWP<\/a> will work with banks to identify people who may have exceeded the eligibility criteria for means-tested benefits, such as the \u00a316,000 income threshold for Universal Credit – and get that information to then investigate that claimant to prevent possible overpayments and potential cases of fraud.<\/p>\n

The legislation only allows banks and other financial institutions to share limited data and excludes the sharing of transaction data, which means DWP<\/a> will not be able to see how people on benefits spend their money.<\/p>\n

In fact, the factsheet explains how banks and other financial institutions could receive a penalty for oversharing information, such as transaction information.<\/p>\n

It adds: \u201cAny information shared through the Eligibility Verification Measure will not be shared on the presumption or suspicion that anyone is guilty of any offence.\u201d<\/p>\n

New DWP measures to tackle fraud<\/p>\n

The new Bill will deliver on the UK Government\u2019s manifesto commitment to safeguard taxpayers\u2019 money – ensuring every pound is spent wisely and effectively:<\/p>\n