PIP Eligibility: Who Can Apply For PIP?

Everything You Need to Know About Personal Independence Payment Eligibility

What Qualifies You For PIP?

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is the benefit paid to people between the ages of 16 and 64 to help with the extra costs of living with a disability or long-term health condition.

There are a number of PIP eligibility criteria that anyone claiming the benefit must meet. In this PIP eligibility guide, we’ll outline all of the criteria you need to meet to start claiming the PIP benefit.

What is PIP? Who can apply for PIP? What qualifies you for PIP? How is PIP tested? We’ll answer all your Personal Independence Payment eligibility questions.

Here’s what you need to know…

What is PIP Payment?

PIP is a benefit that helps people aged 16 and over with the extra costs of a long-term health condition or disability. It provides those with disabilities or conditions with payments between £23.60 and £151.40 each week.

PIP comprises two different parts: the daily living part and the mobility part. Whether you receive one or both of these, and how much you’ll get, depends on how severely your condition affects you.

Daily living part of PIP

You might get the daily living part of PIP if you need help with everyday tasks, such as:

Eating, drinking or preparing food
Washing, bathing and using the toilet
Dressing and undressing
Reading and communicating
Managing your medicines or treatments
Making decisions about money
Socialising and being around other people

If you have less than six months to live, you will automatically be entitled to the daily living part of PIP.

Mobility part of PIP

You might get the mobility part of PIP if you need help with getting around and tasks such as:

Working out a route and following it
Physically moving around
Leaving your home

You do not have to have a physical disability to be eligible for the mobility part of PIP. You might also be eligible if you have difficulty moving around because of a cognitive or mental health condition, like anxiety or depression.

What Qualifies a Person for PIP?

You are entitled to PIP if all of the following eligibility criteria apply to you:

– you’re 16 or over
– you have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability
– you have difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around
– you expect the difficulties to last for at least 12 months from when they started
– you must also be under State Pension age if you’ve not received PIP before.

When you put in a claim for PIP, a health professional will assess your ability to carry out a range of everyday activities that are essential for getting by in day-to-day life.

The health professional will then write a report for the DWP, who will then make a decision on whether you’re entitled to PIP – including how much you’re entitled to and for how long.

If your claim is successful, the PIP you receive will be subject to regular reviews.

What Conditions Automatically Qualify You For PIP?

So, now we know what the PIP eligibility criteria includes, are there some specific conditions that automatically qualify you for PIP?

Figures show that 82% of new PIP claims are recorded as having one of these four most common disabling conditions:

Psychiatric disorders
Musculoskeletal disease
Neurological disease
Respiratory disease

The two most commonly recorded conditions in claims under normal PIP eligibility criteria are psychiatric disorders (37%) and musculoskeletal disease (20%). However, the conditions that are most likely to be awarded PIP following an assessment are neurological disease and musculoskeletal diseases.

The DWP also reveals that, of those with psychiatric disorders, only around half are awarded PIP after an assessment, the lowest number of the four categories above.

Can You Get PIP and State Pension at the Same Time?

Do you qualify for disability benefits if you’re already claiming State Pension?

You cannot make a new claim for PIP if you have reached State Pension age. However, if you were already claiming PIP, you won’t lose your payments.

Is PIP Means Tested?

No, PIP is not means tested. This means that PIP isn’t based on your National Insurance contributions, and it doesn’t matter how much income or savings you have.

Can You Work and Claim PIP?

Yes, you are still eligible for PIP if you are working or studying. Given that PIP is not a means-tested benefit, people can claim it whether they work or not, and regardless of the amount they earn. The number of hours you work also won’t affect the amount of PIP you get.

Are You Entitled to PIP if You Have Savings?

Again, PIP is not a means-tested benefit, which means that there is no savings limit to claim it. You can have as much money in the bank as you like.

There is also no limit on income – you are still eligible for PIP even if you have a regular income.

What are the PIP Rates?

How much PIP you get depends on how difficult it is for you to do certain daily activities, such as preparing food and drink, dressing and undressing, or moving around.

Daily living part

Lower weekly rate – £60.00

Higher weekly rate – £89.60

Mobility part

Lower weekly rate – £23.70

Higher weekly rate – £62.55

PIP is usually paid every 4 weeks, and all benefits are paid into your bank, building society or credit union account. You will receive a decision letter through the post soon after your assessment. Your decision letter will tell you: