Personal Independence Payment
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a benefit for people who need help with daily activities or getting around.
Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is a monthly, tax-free benefit for disabled people, which is gradually being replaced by Personal Independence Payment.
Disability Living Allowance is a monthly payment to help with care and mobility needs if you're living with a disability.
It's a tax-free, monthly payment that is paid at different rates depending on the level of help you need.
You can't make a new claim for Disability Living Allowance. You'll instead need to apply for Personal Independence Payment or Attendance Allowance, depending on your age.
You can claim Disability Living Allowance if:
To continue to claim DLA you will need to show that you meet the criteria for either or both of the two components – the ‘care component’ and the ‘mobility component’
If you don't fall into one of those categories, you should make a claim for a different benefit depending on your age - either Personal Independence Payment or Attendance Allowance.
If you haven’t already claimed DLA then you’ll need to find out which benefit you should claim, as there are different ones depending on your age.
You should make a claim for Personal Independence Payment. Find out more about Personal Independence Payment.
You should make a claim for Attendance Allowance. Find out more about Attendance Allowance.
Do you know what benefits you are entitled to? Our Benefits Calculator can help you, quickly and easily, to find out what you could be claiming.
If you're already claiming DLA and want to know how much you should be getting, here are the weekly payment rates from April 2022.
You might be eligible for the care component if you require help with everyday tasks, such as cooking or dressing. You'll be assessed on the help you need rather than any help you may or may not be getting.
Care component | Weekly rate | How much support you need |
---|---|---|
Highest rate | £92.40 | Constantly need help day or night |
Middle rate | £61.85 | Frequently need help day or night |
Lowest rate | £24.45 | Need help only some of the day or with cooking meals |
You might be eligible for the mobility component if you have severe difficulties walking without assistance.
Mobility component | Weekly rate | How much support you need |
---|---|---|
Higher rate | £64.50 | You're only able to walk a short way before feeling out of breath, dizzy or unsteady, or if you're not able to walk at all outdoors |
Lower rate | £24.45 | You need help walking outdoors in places you don't know because of a physical or mental disability, such as deafness or dementia |
If you’re already claiming DLA, you may be wondering about what will happen as the benefit is replaced. It all depends on your age:
If you need to move over to Personal Independence Payment, you’ll get a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about this.
If you already claim Disability Living Allowance and your circumstances change you might want your award to be reassessed. What happens next depends on your age, as outlined above. If you contact the DWP to report this change, you might be asked to make a claim for Personal Independence Payment instead.
Once you're invited to make this switch you'll have 4 weeks to do claim Personal Independence Payment. This process can't be reversed, and if you fail to claim your DLA award will also be ended.
Before contacting the DWP to have your claim reassessed it's a good idea to get independent advice to help make the best decision for you.
We offer support through our free advice line on 0800 678 1602. Lines are open 8am-7pm, 365 days a year. We also have specialist advisers at over 125 local Age UKs.
You might want to know more about some of the other benefits you might need to claim.
Find out more about Personal Independence Payment
Find out more about Attendance Allowance
Find out more about transport concessions that might be available to you
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a benefit for people who need help with daily activities or getting around.
Attendance Allowance can help you if you have an illness or disability. Find out more.
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