PIP video 1 - An overview

What is PIP and who it is for?
PIP helps with extra living costs if you have a disability or long-term health condition and difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around because of your condition. For more information go to gov.uk/pip
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Transcript:

Personal Independence Payment. PIP - an overview. Personal Independence payment is also known as PIP. It is a benefit paid by the Department for Work and Pensions. PIP helps towards the extra living costs someone has because they have a disability or a health condition. This video will tell you more about the benefit and how to claim it. To get PIP, you must be over 16 and have a disability or a long term physical or mental health condition.

By long term, we mean that you expect to have the condition or disability for at least 12 months from when it started. You must also have difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around because of that disability or health condition. This is because PIP is given to people based on how their disability or condition affects their daily life.

It is not based on the disability or health condition itself. It does not matter if you work, or do not work, or if you have savings. You may not get PIP unless your disability or health condition makes it difficult for you to do everyday tasks or to get around. You also may not get PIP if you have a short term illness, disability or health condition which you are likely to recover from in less than 12 months.

To make a claim for PIP, you need to live in England or Wales and usually have lived in the United Kingdom for two out of the last three years. If you live abroad or you have recently returned from abroad or you are not a British citizen, please go to GOV.UK for further information. There are two parts to PIP: the daily living part and the mobility part.

You may get the daily living part if you need help with certain daily activities, such as: eating, drinking or preparing food, washing, bathing, or using the toilet, dressing and undressing, reading and communicating, managing your medicines or treatments, making decisions about money and socialising and being around other people. You may get the mobility part if you need help with certain activities, such as working out a route and being able to follow it, physically moving around or leaving your home.

For both parts, there are two rates: the lower weekly rate known as the Standard rate and the higher weekly rate known as the Enhanced rate. The amount you get depends on how difficult you find the everyday living and mobility activities. If you claim PIP, we will look at how difficult your disability or condition makes it for you to do those daily living and mobility activities.

We will look at if you can do the activities safely, how long it takes you and what help or support you may need from another person or from a piece of equipment. You may have a condition that changes regularly so we consider how you complete these tasks on both good and bad days. Depending on how your disability or health condition affects your daily life, you may get one part or you may get both parts.

However, before you apply for PIP, you may want to talk things through with someone to make sure PIP is right for you. Our other videos will help you apply for PIP. They explain the claim process, including how to complete the ‘How your disability affects you’ form and the evidence or supporting information you should send us.

There are different ways to make a claim for PIP. You can telephone us on our freephone number 800 917 2222, phone us on 800 917 7777 or use our British Sign Language BSL Video Relay Service. To find out more about PIP, go to the Personal Independence Payment website on gov.uk/pip. Please consider the information on gov.uk before applying for PIP.

You can also get help and advice from organisations such as Citizens Advice or your local support organisations. There is a special process for people nearing the end of life. To find out more, go to gov.uk/benefits-end-of-life. This video is a guide only.