A huge change to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) could see thousands of people who currently claim the sickness benefit no longer able to claim their £812 per month payments. Labour has promised to slash £5 billion from sickness and incapacity benefits, including a review of PIP which could see the assessments for the benefit moved to a points-based system with tougher eligibility criteria after Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announced a consultation on sweeping reforms to benefits.
But for now the Department for Work and Pensions still offers payments for PIP as it always has, and from April the monthly payments will go up by 1.7% for inflation, from £798 a month to £812.28 a month up to a total of £9,747.40 a year for someone claiming the maximum allowances for both parts of PIP.
The DWP will hand out the boost next month to increase the amount paid to people claiming PIP and although a potential reform of the system is being mooted, the current scheme is still valid and still paying out cash to claimants battling health conditions.
It means that if you have a health condition or disability that affects your daily life, you could see benefits totalling a maximum of £110.40 a week for daily living costs and £77.05 a week for mobility costs.
Eligibility for the benefit depends on an assessment, so having one of these conditions isn’t a guarantee of being able to claim the cash, and having a health condition not listed here could still see you eligible.
But as a starting point, those with these 27 NHS recognised conditions are likely to have a good chance of qualifying for some level of PIP cash.
To be eligible for PIP, you need to have a health condition or disability that has caused problems with daily living or getting around (or both) for three months. The problems must be expected to continue for at least another nine months and you need to stay in the UK.
27 conditions that could qualify you for Personal Independence Payments (PIP):
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Sleep apnoea – obstructive
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Upper respiratory tract – other diseases of/type not known
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
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Chronic bronchitis
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Cystic fibrosis
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Emphysema
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Empyema
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Epilepsy
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Bronchiectasis
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Asthma
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Asbestosis
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Extrinsic allergic alveolitis
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Fibrosing alveolitis
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Sarcoidosis
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Silicosis
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Granulomatous lung disease
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Pulmonary infiltration
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Pulmonary fibrosis – other/type not known
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Pneumoconiosis
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Pulmonary fibrosis
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Pleura
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Pleural effusion
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Pneumothorax
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Pulmonary embolus
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Pneumonia
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Lung transplantation
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Heart and lung transplantation
The PIP payments are made up of two elements for living and two for mobility:
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Standard rate for daily living: £73.90 per week from April
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Enhanced rate for daily living: £110.40 a week
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Standard rate for mobility: £29.20 a week
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Enhanced rate for mobility: £77.05 per week
