The UK’s House of Commons published a report which led the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to suggest an increase in the Personal Independence Payment (PIP). As per the DWP’s recent updates, the PIP scheme isn’t effectively achieving its intended purpose.
DWP Latest News On PIP:
The UK government is thinking about increasing the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) after a report from the House of Commons. The PIP program, which helps people with long-term health problems or disabilities by covering extra costs like special equipment and therapy, isn’t working as intended. Right now, people are using their PIP money for basic living costs because other benefits, like Universal Credit, aren’t enough. This isn’t what the PIP program was designed for.
PIP Payment Schedule 2024:
PIP is usually paid into your bank account every four weeks. Your decision letter will tell you when your first payment will be, what day of the week you’ll usually be paid, how long your PIP payments will last, and when your claim might be reviewed.
How much you’ll receive from PIP?
The amount of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) you can get depends on how your health or disability affects your daily life and mobility. Your income or savings don’t affect PIP, and it’s tax-free. PIP has two parts, each with different weekly rates:
Daily Living:
- Lower rate: £72.65
- Higher rate: £108.55
Mobility:
- Lower rate: £28.70
- Higher rate: £75.75
Healthcare professionals review your medical information. Over 200,000 people were found to be healthier and no longer qualified for PIP. But, PIP is still available for those who face serious daily health challenges.
How to claim PIP Process?
You can apply for PIP online, by phone, or by mail. For online applications, you need your national insurance number, phone number, and email address. You’ll need to check if you’re eligible on the official website.
To apply by mail or phone, visit the GOV.UK website. You can call 0800 917 2222 to apply by phone. Before you start, make sure you have:
- Your contact details
- Your birth date
- Your national insurance number, if you have one
- Your bank details
- Your doctor’s name, phone number, and address
- Dates and places of your hospital stays and treatments
- Dates and places of any trips abroad that lasted more than four weeks
PIP Payments Eligibility Criteria:
- Be aged between 16 and the state pension age.
- Have a long-term health problem or disability that makes daily tasks or moving around difficult for at least three months, and is expected to continue for at least nine more months.
- Live in the UK, and have lived there for at least one day this tax year and two of the last three years.
- Usually, you should be able to get PIP for at least 12 months, but there might be some exceptions.
PIP Government Initiatives and Upcoming Changes:
The House of Commons committee has asked the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to review the Personal Independence Programme (PIP) in the UK. The committee suggests that the DWP should clarify what extra costs PIP covers and plan to improve the benefits.
The committee also appreciates the government’s plan to set up an Extra Costs Taskforce, as announced in its 2024 Disability Action Plan. This taskforce will study the additional financial burdens that people with disabilities face every day.
The DWP will use the taskforce’s recommendations to decide what health and disability costs PIP should cover. Changes will be made every year to meet this standard.
Adjustments to PIP and Universal Credit:
The study suggests that the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) system should offer more levels of help to better reflect the different needs of people who receive it.
The paper also talks about future changes to Universal Credit. From 2026-2027, people who get PIP will no longer need to have job capability assessments. Instead, there will be a new Universal Credit Health Element.
This change aims to help people who can’t work due to health problems or disabilities by making sure they can afford their daily expenses.