What is the difference between Attendance Allowance and PIP?

Full answer

Attendance Allowance and PIP are non-means-tested, tax-free disability benefits, but they serve different age groups. PIP is claimed by people of working age (broadly 16 up to State Pension age) who have difficulty with daily living or getting around. Attendance Allowance is for people who have reached State Pension age and need help with personal care or supervision due to a physical or mental condition. Structure differs too. PIP has two components -- daily living and mobility -- each payable at a standard or enhanced rate, assessed through a points-based functional test. Attendance Allowance has only two rates (lower and higher) based on whether you need help during the day, at night, or both; it has no mobility component. If you already receive PIP when you reach State Pension age, you generally keep it rather than switching. Who it affects: neither benefit depends on your income, savings, or National Insurance contributions, so they sit outside the tax and contributory systems entirely. They are not taxable and do not reduce your Personal Allowance. Receiving either can also act as a 'passport' to extra amounts in other means-tested benefits such as Pension Credit or Universal Credit, and may exempt a carer-related premium. The specific weekly rates for both benefits are set by the DWP and are not in our verified rate card, so check the current figures on gov.uk -- the rates are uprated annually and we will not quote a number we cannot confirm. A practical point for 2026/27: the State Pension age is the boundary. The full new State Pension is GBP 241.30 per week (about GBP 12,548 a year). Reaching State Pension age is what moves a new claimant from PIP to Attendance Allowance territory, so confirm your own State Pension age before deciding which to claim.

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