PIP is the main disability benefit in the UK, and the payments help with the extra costs of having a disability or medical condition and around 3.6million people claim it
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed which four groups of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants get “ongoing” awards of up to £737 a month.
According to its latest figures – and first reported by the Daily Record – over 1.5 million (41%) of all 3.6million PIP claimants have been granted a benefit award for five years or more. PIP is the main disability benefit in the UK, and the payments help with the extra costs of having a disability or medical condition. It is not an out of work benefit, and you can receive the payments whether you have a job or not.
If your claim is accepted, you are awarded the benefit for a certain amount of time, such as two or three years. An “ongoing” award – also known as an “indefinite” award – is when the claimant has a condition that is likely to either stay the same or get worse over a long period of time. The maximum is a 10 year award, although the DWP reports them as being “five years or longer”.
As of the end of October, a total of 1,501,215 people across Scotland, England, Wales, and those living abroad were in receipt of an ongoing award due to their disability, long-term illness, or physical or mental health condition.
The DWP’s data revealed that more than 58% of PIP recipients with visual impairments received up to £737.20 monthly for at least five years. Additionally, over half of the claimants with general musculoskeletal issues (50.8%), such as arthritis or joint pain, and nearly half (49.5%) of those with neurological conditions like epilepsy or multiple sclerosis, secured longer-term awards.
The amount you can be paid is dependent on the impact your health condition or disability has on your ability to do day to day tasks. So the more your ability is impacted – the more money you will receive.
PIP – which is paid every four weeks – is made up of two components – a daily living rate and a mobility rate – and you can be entitled to both or just one of these. These components are then split again, into the standard rate and the enhanced rate. How much you will be paid will also be rising from April by 1.7% – here is how PIP rates are changing this year:
Daily Living
Mobility
Six conditions with PIP award of five years or longer
Visual disease – Total claimants: 58,685 – Five year plus awards: 34,692
Musculoskeletal disease (general) – Total claimants: 682,391 – Five year plus awards: 341,434
Neurological disease – Total claimants: 468,113 – Five year plus awards: 230,412
Respiratory disease – Total claimants: 138,376 – Five year plus awards: 64,835
Autoimmune disease (connective tissue disorders) – Total claimants: 19,542 – Five year plus awards: 8,697
Musculoskeletal disease (regional) – Total claimants: 426,038 – Five year plus awards: 185,916
If you have one of the medical conditions listed as having high levels of going awards, you should be aware that most PIP awards are regularly reviewed. According to DWP guidance, most PIP claims are regularly reviewed “regardless of the length of the award” to ensure “everyone continues to receive the most appropriate level of support”.
