Glossary · UK
What is Personal Independence Payment (PIP)?
A non-means-tested benefit for people under State Pension age with a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability, made up of a daily living component and a mobility component, each payable at a standard or enhanced rate based on an assessed points score.
Full Definition
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a tax-free benefit for people aged 16 or over and under State Pension age who have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability that makes everyday life or getting around harder. Like Attendance Allowance, PIP is not means-tested and is not affected by income, savings, or whether the claimant is in work, since it is intended to help with the extra costs of a disability rather than to replace lost earnings; it can be claimed alongside Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, or ordinary employment. PIP is made up of two separate components that are each assessed independently: a daily living component, covering difficulties with everyday activities such as preparing food, washing, dressing, and managing medication, and a mobility component, covering difficulties with planning and following journeys or physically moving around. Each component can be awarded at a standard or enhanced rate depending on the claimant's score against a set of descriptors during a functional assessment, usually carried out by a health professional on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions, and a claimant may qualify for one component only, both components, or neither, and at different rates for each. Awards are usually reviewed periodically, and claimants must generally have had their condition, or the effects of it, for at least three months and expect it to continue for at least a further nine months, except under special rules for people who are terminally ill, who can claim without meeting the underlying qualifying period. Worked example: a claimant with a progressive neurological condition is assessed as needing substantial help with daily living tasks such as cooking and washing, and also struggles to plan or follow unfamiliar journeys due to cognitive effects, but can physically walk reasonably well; they are awarded the enhanced rate of the daily living component and the standard rate of the mobility component, receiving both weekly amounts in combination, entirely unaffected by their partner's income or by any savings the household holds, since PIP eligibility depends solely on the functional impact of their condition.