Personal Independence Payment

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a benefit for people in England and Wales aged between 16 and State Pension age who need help with daily living and/or mobility due to a health condition or disability. In Scotland you may be able to claim Adult Disability Payment instead.

Entitlement to Personal Independence Payment depends on the help you need. To qualify you must have needed the help for at least 3 months and expect to continue to need the help for at least a further 9 months unless you are nearing the end of your life.

Personal Independence Payment is not a ‘means-tested’ benefit. This means that your income and savings are not taken into account when assessing your entitlement. If you get Personal Independence Payment it won’t reduce any other benefits you get and may help you qualify for additional benefits and support (see here for Wales).

You can claim Personal Independence Payment whether you are in work or out of work. The payment is to help you with the additional costs associated with having a health condition or disability and is unrelated to whether you are working or not. If you are not working or have a low income you may also qualify for Universal Credit and/or New-Style Employment and Support Allowance to help meet your essential living costs.

There is a tool on the government website where you can check your eligibility for Personal Independence Payment.

Personal Independence Payment is made up of two parts – a daily living component and a mobility component. Each component has two rates. You may be awarded only one component or both components depending on your needs.

The rates are:

Daily living component:

• Standard rate £73.90 a week
• Enhanced rate £110.40 a week

Mobility component:

• Standard rate £29.20 a week
• Enhanced rate £77.05 a week

You may qualify for Personal Independence Payment if you need help with any of the following activities:

Daily living needs

• Preparing food
• Eating and drinking
• Managing medication or therapy
• Washing and bathing
• Managing toilet needs
• Dressing and undressing
• Communicating verbally
• Reading and understanding signs, symbols and words
• Socialising
• Managing money

Mobility needs

• Planning and following a journey
• Moving around

The help you need may be from another person or you may need aids and adaptations to carry out any of the above activities safely. Both supervision and physical support count as needing help. You do not need to be receiving help from another person to qualify for Personal Independence Payment – entitlement is based on the help you need, not the help you currently receive.

If you qualify for Personal Independence Payment it may help somebody who is caring for you to qualify for benefits as a carer.

You can make a claim for Personal Independence Payment by phoning the Personal Independence new claims phone line on 0800 917 2222 (Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm).

Alternatively, you can claim by post by writing to Freepost DWP PIP 1 (you don’t need a stamp) stating that you want to make a Personal Independence Payment claim. Remember to include your name and address in your letter.

In some areas you can apply online. Online applications are only available in some areas so you will need to check if you can apply online on the government website.

After you’ve applied you will need to fill in a form to provide more information about how your disability or health condition affects you. The form is quite long, and it may help to get support to fill it in. Citizens Advice website has lots of information to help you complete the Personal Independence Payment form.

If you need help to complete the form Citizens Advice may be able to help.

You can also search for other local organisations who may be able to help on the Advice Local website.

After you return your completed form you will usually be asked to attend a medical assessment before you get a decision about your Personal Independence Payment entitlement.

You can find tips to help you prepare for your assessment on Citizens Advice website.

You can find further guidance and information about Personal Independence Payment on Citizens Advice website.

This advice applies in England, Wales and Scotland. If you live in another part of the UK, the law may differ. Please call our helpline for more details. If you are in Northern Ireland you can visit the Labour Relations Agency or call their helpline Workplace Information Service on 03300 555 300.

If you have further questions and would like to contact our advice team please use our advice contact form below or call us

We would love your feedback

• 

  Would your employer benefit from support from Working Families?

  Would your employer benefit from some support & guidance from Working Families? If you would like to make your employer aware of how Working Families can help them, we have an introduction letter template available that you can give to the relevant person in your organisation.