DWP issues update as 630,000 households owed up to £12,000 after PIP error
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) benefit claimants could still be owed cash from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) following a major payment error.
PIP is a benefit that is awarded to people who may need extra help with day-to-day activities due to an illness, disability or mental health condition.
It comes in two parts - the daily living rate, and the mobility rate - and you can be entitled to both or just one of these, depending on how your condition affects your life.
Most people must undertake a health assessment where a point system is used to determine how much PIP you are eligible for.
However, a Supreme Court ruling in July 2019 - known as the MM judgement - changed the way the DWP defines "social support" in relation to one of the daily living questions.
Following the ruling, the DWP had to change how it assesses the need for social support when engaging with other people face to face, as part of the PIP assessment.
It means hundreds of thousands of PIP claimants were due additional points for this activity. The DWP launched an administrative exercise back in 2021 - but in a new update, it has been revealed that hundreds of thousands of cases still need to be reviewed.
An estimated 633,338 households receiving PIP are thought to have been affected. Of this figure, the DWP has reviewed 527,745 cases and paid out £250million.
This means there are still 105,593 cases waiting to be reviewed. The average payout is £5,285 each - however, some payments will be higher, and some lower. One claimant was entitled to a £12,000 back payment.
There are other PIP errors also being corrected by the DWP. This includes PIP claimants who did not have their claim processed because they didn't have a National Insurance – despite an NI number not being needed for a claim.
Some 455 cases of this were reviewed in the last year with £500,000 paid out. The DWP has also paid out £13million to Scottish PIP claimants who mistakenly saw a "loss of entitlement" when they tried moving over to the Adult Disability Payment (ADP).
Almost 4,700 records of this have been reviewed, with another 176 cases still to be looked at.
The daily living rate of PIP is worth £73.90 a week if you're awarded the lower rate, or £110.40 a week for the higher rate. The mobility rate is worth £29.20 a week for the lower rate, or £77.05 a week for the higher rate.
PIP is paid every four weeks, so if you're awarded the maximum rates for both the daily living and mobility elements, then you would get £749.80 every four weeks.
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