6 days ago
Major update as 600,000 households owed up to £12k in PIP cash following errors – could you be owed cash?
HUNDREDS of thousands of benefit claimants could still be owed cash from the Government after a payment error.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has spent years reviewing the cases of hundreds of thousands of people who could have been underpaid.
In a new update, it said an estimated 633,338 households receiving Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are thought to have been affected.
The Government department says it has reviewed 308,665 records in the time up to March this year.
A huge £250million has already been paid out to PIP claimants who were missing cash.
But that leaves a whopping 324,673 cases still expected to be reviewed.
The review was launched after a Supreme Court judgment in July 2019 that changed the way the DWP defines 'social support' in one of the assessed PIP categories.
Dubbed the "MM judgement", the DWP realised that hundreds of thousands could now be due additional support.
It means that people may not have been given one of the two elements of PIP when they were actually entitled to it.
Others may have been awarded the standard rate but should have received the enhanced rate, which is a higher amount.
The DWP began its review in 2021, looking at PIP claims since April 6, 2016 to check whether claimants may be eligible for more support.
By March last year it had reviewed 219,080 cases.
The latest figures suggest it's managed to get through a further 89,585 cases in the last year.
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People who are found to have been underpaid have been receiving back payments.
The amount each person receives will vary but the average payout works out at around £5,285 per claim.
The Sun previously reported on one couple on PIP who had been left "shell-shocked" after learning that they were due £12,000 in back payments.
What is PIP?
HOUSEHOLDS suffering from a long-term illness, disability or mental health condition can get extra help through personal independence payments (PIP).
The maximum you can receive from the Government benefit is £187.45 a week.
PIP is for those over 16 and under the state pension age, currently 66.
Crucially, you must also have a health condition or disability where you either have had difficulties with daily living or getting around - or both- for three months, and you expect these difficulties to continue for at least nine months (unless you're terminally ill with less than 12 months to live).
You can also claim PIP if you're in or out of work and if you're already getting limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) payments if you claim Universal Credit.
PIP is made up of two parts and whether you get one or both of these depends on how severely your condition affects you.
You may get the mobility part of PIP if you need help going out or moving around. The weekly rate for this is either £29.20 or £77.05.
While on the daily living part of PIP, the weekly rate is either £73.90 or £110.40 - and you could get both elements, so up to £184.30 in total.
You can claim PIP at the same time as other benefits, except the armed forces independence payment.
Make a claim by calling the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on 0800 917 2222.
Who is affected?
There are two elements to PIP - a daily living part if you need help with everyday tasks, and a mobility part if you need help with getting around.
Claimants eligible for each element are then awarded a standard or enhanced allowance.
You can get the daily living part of PIP if you struggle to carry out "daily living activities" such as bathing or preparing food.
Claimants are scored on how able they are to do each task.
This determines whether you're able to receive the PIP payment, and if you have a high score you're more likely to be awarded the enhanced payment.
The standard allowance for the daily living part of PIP is currently worth £73.90 a week and the enhanced rate is worth £110.40 a week.
The 2019 Supreme Court judgment decided that PIP claimants could receive additional points for one of the activities scored - socialising and being around other people.
It means that people may have not been entitled to the daily living element of PIP when they were actually entitled to it.
Others may have been awarded the standard rate but should have actually received the enhanced rate.
The DWP is now reviewing the cases of people who might have been affected by this.
However it won't review your claim if:
The enhanced rate of the daily living part of PIP has been awarded continuously since April 6, 2016
A Tribunal made a decision on a claim since April 6, 2016
A decision not to award PIP was made before April 6, 2016.
New PIP errors
The DWP also revealed it had discovered two "new" errors in the last year relating to PIP payments.
This includes PIP claimants without a National Insurance number not having their application progressed correctly – 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.
How do I appeal a PIP decision?
If you've been contacted by the DWP or think you are affected by the MM judgement, you'll need to appeal your PIP decision.
If you think a PIP decision was wrong, you can challenge it.
If you've been contacted by the DWP or think your PIP payments may be affected by the MM judgment, you should ask for a "mandatory reconsideration notice".
This is where the DWP looks at your claim decision again.
If you are still unhappy with this outcome, you can then appeal to an independent tribunal.
You must send your appeal form within one month of the date shown on the mandatory reconsideration notice.
Be aware that it usually takes up to six months for an appeal to be heard by the tribunal.
Before it gets to the tribunal, the DWP can make a revision to the original claim.
If you're unhappy with the decision you get from the tribunal, you may also be able to get the decision cancelled - known as "set aside". You'll be told how to do this at the time.
Another option is to appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) if you think the tribunal wasn't able to give you proper reasons for its decision, or back up the decision with facts, or if it failed to apply the law properly.
