Millions of benefit claimants face ‘intrusive’ investigations, experts warn

Millions of benefit claimants are facing “stressful” investigations by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) under powers that are set to be expanded, new research has warned.

Targeted Case Reviews are used to reassess over one million Universal Credit awards every year with claimants given little understanding of why they are being reviewed, research group the Administrative Fairness Lab have said.

These investigations also force claimants to submit evidence to support their award within 14 days, often requiring them to find years’ worth of documents, or else risk losing their benefits.

While the initiative is set to save £13bn by the end of the decade, only 21 per cent of reviews find any incorrect payment. This means hundreds of thousands of people are subject to the reviews unnecessarily.

The Administrative Fairness Lab has called for changes to the anti-fraud initiative as plans begin to roll it out to low-income pensioners from 2026 onwards.

This includes limiting repeat reviews, so that no claimants faces more than one a year, better explaining to claimants why their case is being reviewed, and capping the scope of investigations so that they are not forced to find extensive documents at short notice.

The department has said it is introducing the reviews to pension credit cases beginning in 2026 to 2029 following the success of the Universal Credit campaign.

Hundreds of thousands of pensioners are set to be contacted in the drive which is set to cut £370m from the benefits bill over the next four years.

Around 95,000 to 100,000 claimants are expected to see their payments reduced over the course of the work, estimates calculated by The Independent suggest.

Pension Credit provides a financial top-up to those above pension age who are on a low income. It can boost weekly income to £238 for single claimants (or £363.25 for couples).

Jed Meers, co-director of the Administrative Fairness Lab, said: “This scheme has quietly become a key part of our social security system, with around a million Universal Credit claims reviewed every year - about one in eight claimants.

“Most people going through the process will turn out to have been paid correctly, but will face weeks of stress, tight deadlines and the threat of losing their income to prove it. These problems need fixing, especially as the same approach is being rolled out to Pension Credit claims, which supports low-income pensioners across the country.”

The expansion of targeted case reviews comes after the DWP gained new powers in late 2025 to to request banks to share financial information with its agents.

In 2025/26, the department’s overall overpayment rate was 3.2 per cent of total benefit spending, for an overpayment sum of £9.9bn.

A DWP spokesperson said: “Targeted case reviews help ensure people receive the right support while protecting taxpayers’ money.

“The programme has already saved more than £1 billion, while correcting overpayments and ensuring customers do not miss out on money they are entitled to.

“Customers may be asked for relevant evidence, with every request considered individually and required to be reasonable and proportionate.”