DWP PIP payments: How to know you're entitled to £737 every single month

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has released the latest figures, revealing that a staggering 3.5 million adults in Great Britain are now recipients of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), with 218,859 of these claimants residing in Scotland. It's crucial to note, however, that for Scots, Adult Disability Payment (ADP) has taken over as the new system for PIP claims.

Administered by Social Security Scotland, ADP mirrors PIP in terms of payment rates and largely similar eligibility criteria, but it's essential to recognise that this article serves merely as a guide - comprehensive details on ADP can be found on the official website.

Understanding the PIP claims process is vital; awards are determined based on the impact of one's condition, illness, or disability on their daily life, rather than the condition itself, as emphasised in the DWP's 2024 edition of the PIP Handbook available online.

The GOV.UK website provides further clarification, stating: "As the assessment principles consider the impact of a claimant's condition on their ability to live independently and not the condition itself, claimants with the same condition may get different outcomes. The outcome is based on an independent assessment and all available evidence."

When you apply for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), a health professional will assess your ability to perform various daily living and mobility activities. They will evaluate how your health condition or disability affects your ability to carry out these tasks and the level of assistance you require, reports the Daily Record.

The health professional will then compile a report for the PIP decision maker, who will use all the evidence to determine your eligibility for the benefit, the rate at which it should be paid, and the duration for which it should be granted. PIP consists of two components: the daily living component and the mobility component.

Each can be paid at either a standard or enhanced rate.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) PIP decision maker will decide whether your ability to carry out the component is limited, in which case you will receive the standard rate, or if it is severely limited, in which case you will receive the enhanced rate. In Scotland, applications for ADP do not involve independent health professionals; instead, the entire application process is handled internally by Social Security Scotland.

Daily Living Component

For people who need help with:

• 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

Mobility Component

For people who need help with:

• working out a route and following it
• physically moving around
• leaving your home

According to guidance on GOV.UK, you do not need to have a physical disability to qualify for the mobility part.

You may also be eligible if you struggle with mobility due to cognitive or mental health conditions, such as anxiety.

The DWP evaluates the difficulty you encounter with daily living and mobility tasks, similar to the guidance on ADP for those in Scotland.

For each task, the DWP will consider:

• whether you can do it safely
• how long it takes you
• how often your condition affects this activity
• whether you need help to do it, from a person or using extra equipment

The descriptors

If you've reached this point, you should have a basic understanding of how PIP is awarded. The next section discusses descriptors, how they are scored, and how that determines the pay award.

Your ability to perform each activity is measured against a list of standard statements describing what you can or cannot do - this is largely the same for ADP, but presented differently with images and examples on the application form to help people understand the question being asked - you can view this (and download it) on mygov.scot.

These are known as the descriptors. The health professional will advise the DWP which descriptor applies to you for each activity.

The Citizen's Advice website has an entire section dedicated to this along with a downloadable guide to all the points awarded for each response - you can view this here. An example they use is there are six descriptors for 'Dressing and undressing', ranging from 'Can dress and undress unaided' to 'Cannot dress or undress at all'.

Each descriptor carries a points score ranging from 0 to 12.

Using aids or appliances

Citizens Advice has issued guidance on how the use of aids or appliances can impact the assessment for Personal Independence Payment (PIP). They clarify that your ability to perform daily living and mobility activities will be evaluated as if you were using any reasonable aids or appliances, regardless of whether you normally use them.

This could potentially increase your points tally.

The organisation further explains, "An aid is any item which improves, provides or replaces impaired physical or mental function. It doesn't have to be specially designed as a disability aid. Examples include a stool you need to sit on when cooking, or a walking stick to help you stand."

Daily living criteria 

To qualify for the daily living component of PIP, individuals must demonstrate that a physical or mental condition hampers their ability to carry out certain activities, with Citizens Advice listing the maximum PIP points available for each activity.

Similarly, eligibility for the mobility component of PIP requires evidence of how a condition affects mobility-related activities, with a corresponding points system in place.

The points awarded after completing questions related to daily living and mobility activities determine the payment rates under PIP, following a similar scoring scale to the Adult Disability Payment (ADP).

Maximum points that can be awarded

• Preparing food - 8
• Taking medication - 10
• Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition - 8
• Washing and bathing - 8
• Managing toilet needs or incontinence - 8
• Dressing and undressing - 8
• Communicating verbally - 12
• Reading and understanding symbols and words - 8
• Engaging with other people face to face - 8
• Making budgeting decisions - 6

PIP and ADP payment rates for 2024/25.

ADP is paid at the same rates as PIP. Both benefits are typically paid every four weeks unless you are terminally ill, in which case it is paid weekly.

It will be paid directly into your bank, building society or credit union account.

A successful claim for PIP or ADP can provide between £28.70 and £184.30 each week in additional financial support. As the benefit is paid every four weeks, this equates to between £114.80 and £737.20 every payment period.

From April 8, you will receive the following amounts per week, depending on your award level:.