Disability Allowance and Personal Independence Payment



The government is replacing Disability Living Allowance (DLA) with Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for people of working age. DLA is a benefit for children and adults aged under the State Pension Age who, because of disability or illness, need help with personal care or with mobility. PIP helps with some of the extra costs caused by ill-health or disability. According to the government: “The amount you get depends on how your condition affects you, not the condition itself.” Those in receipt of DLA and born before 8 April 1948 will continue to get it as long as they are eligible. DLA will end for those born on or after 8 April 1948. They get a letter telling them when that will happen and continue to get DLA until that date. Otherwise, anyone over 16 must now apply for PIP instead of DLA and “an independent healthcare professional” will assess them to help the DWP decide the level of help they need.


The aim of PIP is supposedly to target support on those most in need, but it is a money-saving exercise.
The coalition government predicted savings of £2.2 billion by May 2016, compared to projected spending under an unchanged system. Charities warned that around 600,000 people would eventually lose their financial support because of reassessment and stricter eligibility criteria and disability groups condemned the introduction of PIP. DLA was one of the most effectively targeted benefits with an officially-estimated fraud rate of just 0.5%. 


As DLA is replaced by PIP, there are new rules and assessments to judge who can claim assistance.