What is PIP?
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a UK benefit for adults with a long-term health condition or disability that affects daily living or getting around. It is not means-tested, so earnings and savings do not matter. From April 2026 it pays between £30.30 and £194.60 a week.
PIP replaced Disability Living Allowance for working-age adults from 2013. You can claim from age 16 up to State Pension age. Your condition must have lasted three months and be expected to last at least nine more. You can claim whether or not you work. The rules are different for children, who claim Disability Living Allowance, and for people over State Pension age, who may claim Attendance Allowance.
PIP has two parts. The daily living part covers help with things like washing, dressing and preparing food. The mobility part covers planning journeys and moving around. Each part has a standard and enhanced rate. From 6 April 2026 daily living pays £76.70 or £114.60 a week, and mobility pays £30.30 or £80.00. The highest possible award, both enhanced rates together, is £194.60 a week. Awards are usually reviewed after a set period.
Claims are scored through an assessment, usually by phone, video or in person. Points are awarded for each activity you struggle with. Scotland has replaced PIP with its own Adult Disability Payment. Spending on PIP has risen fast as claims for mental health conditions have grown. That has made it a target for reform and heated political debate.
- Pays the state pension
- Runs Universal Credit
- Pays disability benefits such as PIP
- Runs Jobcentres and employment support
- Sets child maintenance and health and safety policy
Budget: About £300bn a year, mostly benefits and pensions. Staff: About 90,000
What it runs or funds
Jobcentre Plus, Child Maintenance Service, Health and Safety Executive, The Pensions Regulator, Money and Pensions Service
Did you know? The state pension is the single biggest benefit, costing well over £100bn a year.
The left tends to defend PIP as essential help with the extra costs of disability and opposes tightening the assessment.
The right tends to argue that fast-rising costs need tighter eligibility, more reassessment and more support into work.
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Is PIP means-tested?
No. Your income, savings and whether you work do not affect PIP.
Does PIP affect other benefits?
PIP is not counted as income for most benefits, and it can unlock extra amounts in other benefits or Carer's Allowance for a carer.
How often is PIP paid?
PIP is usually paid every four weeks into a bank account.
What makes the DWP stand out among departments?
It spends more money than any other department. The DWP spends more than any other department, mostly on benefits and pensions.
What is the single biggest benefit?
The state pension. The state pension is the biggest, costing well over £100bn a year.