Personal Independence Payment, commonly known as PIP, is designed to help people meet the extra costs associated with a long-term illness, disability or mental health condition. It is tax-free and non-means-tested, and more than four million people in Britain currently receive the benefit.
The maximum weekly payment is £194.60, depending on the level of support awarded across its Daily Living and Mobility components. The Government is reviewing the way PIP operates as ministers consider how to address rising welfare spending and changes in the pattern of claims.
According to reports, recommendations from the review are expected to be presented to the Government before the end of the year. Final decisions on any changes have reportedly been delayed until next year.
Anxiety and Depression Claims Have Risen Sharply
Mental health-related claims are one of the main areas being examined as part of the wider PIP review. Around 360,000 people reportedly receive PIP for anxiety and depressive disorders, with claims linked to those conditions increasing considerably during the first half of this decade.
According to the interim review document quoted by Birmingham Live, “all conditions groups have shown some increase over time with the exception of all other psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions group; however, the extent of increase varies across conditions”.
The same document said anxiety and depression showed “the most significant increase”, rising from 5.9 per cent in 2020 to 8.1 per cent in 2025. That increase has placed anxiety and depression at the centre of the debate over how PIP should operate in future. The reports say a revised system could make it harder for people with those conditions to qualify for payments.
Existing claimants could also be affected when their awards are reassessed. Depending on the final rules adopted, some people may lose part or all of their entitlement when their cases are reviewed.
How PIP Currently Works
PIP is available to people aged from 16 to State Pension age who have difficulties with everyday activities or mobility because of a long-term health condition or disability. To qualify, a claimant must have experienced those difficulties for at least three months and expect them to continue for at least another nine months.
The benefit is divided into two parts. The Daily Living component is paid at £76.70 a week at the standard rate and £114.60 at the enhanced rate. The Mobility component is paid at £30.30 a week at the standard rate and £80 at the enhanced rate. A person’s income and savings do not determine whether they can receive PIP.
The review comes as Prime Minister Andy Burnham has acknowledged that the welfare bill needs to come down. Ministers now face decisions over how far eligibility rules should change and how any new approach would affect both new applicants and people already receiving payments. For now, the existing PIP rules remain in place. The review process is still under way, with recommendations expected before ministers decide what changes, if any, will be introduced.
