Over three million people currently claim the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in the UK. The benefit, from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), may be available to people that suffer from any of 547 health conditions - but it depends on how your long term health condition affects your daily life and how difficult you find everyday tasks and getting around.
PIP is aimed to give people extra help because of an illness, disability or mental health condition. Those looking to claim will be assessed by a health professional to work out the level of help they can get and the rate will be reviewed to make sure they are getting the right support.
As reported by the Daily Record, a successful claim for PIP can be worth between £26.90 and £172.75 per week. It is paid every four weeks, amounting to between £107.60 and £691 every payment period.
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The independent advice and information forum, Benefits and Work, recently looked into the latest DWP data. They identified which of the 547 health conditions are most likely to get a payment of up to £691 each month.
The study found that the overall average success rate for PIP claims is 52 per cent. However, it's important to understand that awards depend on how a health issue impacts on a person's daily living and mobility needs.
Here is what the study found. The research doesn’t indicate levels of payment award or whether someone has been awarded one or both components - daily living or mobility.
Benefits and Work identified that awards for arthritis are above the average rate:
- Osteoarthritis of other single joint - 56.5 per cent
- Osteoarthritis of Knee - 64.2 per cent
- Osteoarthritis of Hip - 73.8 per cent
- Primary generalised Osteoarthritis - 74.0 per cent
- Rheumatoid arthritis - 74.7 per cent
It also found that some conditions are ‘extremely likely’ to get an award:
- Dementia - 94.1 per cent
- Motor neurone disease - 97.5 per cent
- Down’s syndrome - 99.6 per cent
- Creutzfeldt Jacob disease CJD) - 100 per cent
PIP breakdown - January 2023
- Scotland: 319,336
- England: 2,700,992
- Wales: 232,485
- Total: 3,252,818
Total number of PIP categories:
- Disability category - 21 (including unknown or missing)
- Disability Sub Group - 178
- Disability - 547
Five most commonly recorded disabling conditions
Psychiatric disorder - 37 per cent of claims
- This includes mixed anxiety, stress, depressive and mood disorders, OCD and cognitive disorders.
Musculoskeletal disease (general) - 20 per cent of claims
- This includes muscle or joint pain and arthritic conditions.
Neurological disease - 13 per cent of claims
- This includes muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, headache, multiple sclerosis, neuropathy and other movement disorders.
Musculoskeletal disease (regional) - 12 per cent of claims
- This includes neck, back, shoulders, elbow, wrists, hands, hip, knee and ankle pain.
Respiratory disease - 4 per cent of claims
- This includes asthma, diseases of the upper respiratory tract, pulmonary fibrosis and cystic fibrosis.
Some 35 per cent of all claims with entitlement to PIP at the end of January 2023 are in receipt of the highest level of award.
Disabling conditions and number of claimants - January 2023
These are the main disability categories, the umbrella term by which a total of 547 other conditions fall under. This list is only an overview of conditions, disorders and diseases and how the DWP lists the main disabilities being claimed for.
- Haematological Disease - 7,300
- Infectious disease - 9,897
- Malignant disease - 9,7426
- Metabolic disease - 4,667
- Psychiatric disorders - 1,166,695
- Neurological disease - 403,469
- Visual disease - 56,351
- Hearing disorders - 33,424
- Cardiovascular disease - 80,815
- Gastrointestinal disease - 27,840
- Diseases of the liver, gallbladder, biliary tract -11,328
- Skin disease - 20,835
- Musculoskeletal disease (general) - 635,450
- Musculoskeletal disease (regional) - 376,965
- Autoimmune disease (connective tissue disorders) - 17,596
- Genitourinary disease - 23,805
- Endocrine disease - 42,264
- Respiratory disease - 135,530
- Multisystem and extremes of age - 1,186
- Diseases of the immune system - 1,028
- Unknown or missing - 10,688
- Total - 3,252,818
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