PIP claimants issued warning over five vital facts before applying
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has highlighted the top five things people should know before making a claim for Personal Independence Payments (PIP). It is meant to help people decide whether they actually qualify as the application process can be long, with around 47 per cent being rejected in the end.
A new video created by the DWP highlights that PIP is not based on a health condition or disability. This means you will not necessarily be eligible just because you have a diagnosis and don’t specifically need one to qualify on the other hand.
Instead, the benefit takes into account how your physical and mental health affects your daily life and mobility. These are separate sections under PIP so you do not necessarily need to be struggling with both to be eligible as you can claim just one.
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The second vital note emphasises that the condition or disability must have been present for at least three months before you apply. It must also be expected to continue for at least another nine months.
An important part of the application process is the functional assessment. This will consider how an applicant’s health affects their daily life and mobility. There are 12 everyday activities that are evaluated as part of the assessment.
These activities include:
Preparing food
Eating and drinking
Managing treatments
Washing and bathing
Managing toilet needs
Dressing and undressing
Communicating
Reading
Mixing with other people
Making decisions about money
Going out
Moving around
Daily Record notes it’s unlikely an applicant will be awarded PIP if they can manage to do the activities repeatedly, safely, in a reasonable time, without support and to an acceptable standard.
Finally, the fifth fact the videos highlighted was around relevant information. This is needed as part of the application process and could potentially cut out the need for a face-to-face or virtual consultation with a health professional as part of the application.
This could provide a quicker decision but will require some effort to collect all the documents. This information will explain a bit more about your condition and how it affects you, for example medical records and doctors notes.
However, people are advised not to request new documents as this can sometimes incur a fee. For example when collecting documents from a GP.
PIP provides a higher and lower rate for both the daily living and mobility aspects. The lowest weekly rate is the standard mobility aspect at £28.70 while the highest total a person can get from PIP is £184.30 from getting both enhanced rates.