Big benefit you miss if you leave claiming until pension age. BE WARNED!

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I didn't quite believe this until I looked into it for a guy who's 81 and struggling a bit with car costs as he needs to buy a compliant one, etc. I mentioned it before but it's worth setting out. You & your partner could lose £300,000 or so + inflation, if you delay, really. It's not means-tested or taxed.

The benefits available have changed over the years. A key one, mobility allowance, stopped in 2013. "Use the Personal Independence Payment PIP instead" they said. Another scheme was supposed to come along to replace that with Disability Living Allowance DLA, which is still running for those who qualified for it back in the day. You can't apply for DLA now.
But there is an age after which you can't claim PIP, which is the age when you draw pension. Currently 66.
PIP has two elements, Daily Living and Mobility, and there's a lower and upper level for each.

One you reach pension age, Attendance Allowance is supposed to replace PIP, but it only covers the Daily Living part, not the Mobility part.
If you get awarded either part of PIP before Pension age, it continues, forever.


Lower weekly rateHigher weekly rate
Daily living part£68.10£101.75
Mobility part£26.90£71.00

To be clear - If you wait until you've reached pension age, You cannot claim PIP or increase the level you're on. AA would only take over the DL part and it's harder to get.

Harder - to get the lower level of PIP DL, you only need to say you need some sort of aid like a support to do 4 basic things such as cooking, washing, dressing, or using a loo. But to claim AA you need to say you need help to do them , more than quite a lot of hours a week (30?), which is a much higher bar. (Even if you actually have nobody Attending you.). For the higher level of AA you would need help at night as well.

Is it worth it - yes. The lower level of PIP DL is most of the money for that part.
The lower level of PIP Mobility is only £26.90 a week but it's indexed, so look it up. It automatically gives you a blue badge, access to the scrappage scheme and/or 4 years' grace on driving in the ULEZ , and a 50% discount on car tax.
The higher PIP Mobility level is currently £71 a week. Massively important if you need it though, is that it gives you access to the Motability scheme, which provides you with a car, forever, paid for instead of the £benefit. It includes insurance, servicing, tyres and charging point installation. (Better cars need a cash input). Also 100% car tax whether taking Motability or not.

To qualify for lower Mobility PIP, you have to have trouble walking to 50m, with or without an "aid". For the upper level, that's 20m. There are powerful "but also's" though. You have to be able to do it at at least half normal walking pace, and whenever you want, and safely, and repeatedly. That gets complex so you'd need to look it up. There's a lot about it online, but if/when you get into a Mandatory Reassessments or Tribunal, there are many details, it will take a matter of hours to read all there is.

So at (currently) 65 you could snag yourself a free car for life, but leave it to 66, you're on your own and no cash. The cash amount (if you don't take the car) at £71 a week, which for say 20 years would be £73,840. The Lower part of Daily Living PIP comes to £70,824, though you would probably be able to claim AA at some point when you satisfy the higher bar.

It's obviously not "fair", so everyone exaggerates, and the Dept of W and P pushes back, so you have to exaggerate to allow for the push-back....

It's easier than it was to apply, in that they're understaffed so they practically never come to you or ask you to go to them. It's all online/ on the phone - at least to start with.

If this is you, then try posting here if I can answer any Q. I'm not an expert but I can point you to some sites or may have seen an answer somewhere.. Start with .gov, but many others such as Citizens' Advice site.

One tip - A report from a sympathetic GP could help a lot.

If there's anything unclear/wrong here other than the numbers which WILL change, let me know by PM and I'll edit the post.
 
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My experience of people who have tried claiming PIP, (friends or relatives, not me), is that the majority of claims are dismissed on first application, and you then have to go to appeal. This can take up to 12 weeks and they demand FRESH evidence to support your original claim. Because most people have already declared everything they need to, and provided supporting evidence, it becomes very hard to find new material so they give up. Of a few that do go for appeal, most of them have won but all they have done is to re-arrange the support evidence from the original claim.
My wife used to be a senior manager at the DWP, a number of years ago, and is still in touch with some friends who work there. She said they simply skim first applications and dismiss them to meet targets the government have set.
 
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most elderly people are too proud to claim help they are entitled to
i suspect most who havent claimed would rather die than claim
perhaps exaggerate is the wrong term maybe it should be do not downplay you disability so much admit you need help you deserve it
 
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My wife used to be a denior manager at the DWP,

Freudian slip for denier?

My experience of people who have tried claiming PIP, (friends or relatives, not me), is that the majority of claims are dismissed on first application, and you then have to go to appeal. This can take up to 12 weeks and they demand FRESH evidence to support your original claim. Because most people have already declared everything they need to, and provided supporting evidence, it becomes very hard to find new material so they give up. Of a few that do go for appeal, most of them have won but all they have done is to re-arrange the support evidence from the original claim.
That fits exactly with what I've read on advice sites, and from one who's South African, married a Brit, and has been resubmitting much the same evidence for a matter of years now.
The diagnosis of her rare conditions keeps changing between syndromes and diseases and conditions, so the DWP ask for a new assessment. One leg is pretty useless so she falls over, which she told them. They said she didn't have any evidence from a Falls Clinic that she falls over, so they couldn't accept that she falls over. FFS!
She can walk a few steps to and from her wheelchair. So they said that must be 20metres. So she has to say she can't walk - that's the sort of thing I mean by exaggerating. Even though, their definition of "walk" requires being able to do so whenever she likes and as many times, at more than half normal speed (!) and without risk. Risk of, for example, falling over.

Another hurdle some have to address is if they avoid doing something because it would be too distressing - like some who have problems face- to face with new people. Ah , well, they never have the distress then, do they? No problem!
There's a number of similar examples to that.

I've read a load of historical tribunal records, where the claimant has been capable of digging out and analysing the strict terms of the requirements. As Conny says, those who resist the fobbing-off process have a very high rate of success in their claim.
 
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My experience of people who have tried claiming PIP, (friends or relatives, not me), is that the majority of claims are dismissed on first application, and you then have to go to appeal. This can take up to 12 weeks and they demand FRESH evidence to support your original claim.
That's how it used to be, but those in the know about these things tell me that during and since the scamdemic PIP has been a lot easier to claim.

This is borne out by ONS figures that show there were 1.97 millions long term sick pre-scamdemic whilst now there are 2.5 million.

Give it another try Conny!
 
That's how it used to be, but those in the know about these things tell me that during and since the scamdemic PIP has been a lot easier to claim.

This is borne out by ONS figures that show there were 1.97 millions long term sick pre-scamdemic whilst now there are 2.5 million.

Give it another try Conny!
Never tried applying Andy. When I worked full time I was earning too much anyway, and now I'm semi-retired, (66), drawing my government pension and a company pension plus working part-time, I am still getting as much as I was working full time.
 
Never tried applying Andy. When I worked full time I was earning too much anyway, and now I'm semi-retired, (66), drawing my government pension and a company pension plus working part-time, I am still getting as much as I was working full time.
pip isnt means tested
 
scamdemic

Bingo!!

covidiots.png
 
as benefits come from the NI tax you have paid why not claim for them, its your money. that's why it is called national insurance...
 
That's how it used to be, but those in the know about these things tell me that during and since the scamdemic PIP has been a lot easier to claim.

This is borne out by ONS figures that show there were 1.97 millions long term sick pre-scamdemic whilst now there are 2.5 million.

Give it another try Conny!
Conny CANNOT give it another try.

Andy's writing rubbish. Nothing new there.
Andy doesn't know, invents people who are "in the know" and invents what those imaginary people are"telling him".
All so he can be a troll on a forum.

Look at the PIP claimants and percentage of successful/rejected claims. It's much the same.
During lockdown face to face contancts were reduced, as were periodic reassessments. They're mostly back to previous, now.

This has got nothing to do with being "signed off" for long-term sickness.

Ignore anything from Andy Troll. Now he'll try to "save face" :rolleyes: .


Sorry Conny, as gasser has right (!) it's not means tested and has nothing to do with your ability to work.
You've reached pension age so you've missed out.
That's the point of the thread - there are obviously several here around pension claim age who probably don't know there's a barrier.
I assume you (your wife) has a blue badge , as that's a distinct thing too, which from what you've said, you're entitled to and can get.

There's a separate disablement provision in Scotland, which I don't know anything about. England never replaced the DLA.


Probably the most meaningful benefit, is the hassle-free provision of a small car for those seriously impaired, who would otherwise be housebound because they'd not have money to spare for one or want the responsibilities. Taxis might be cheaper, but they aren't likely to use those for going shopping, & getting to friends.
 
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No it isn't, but you are very limited on what you may earn.
NO YOU ARE NOT.

It doesn't ask anything about what you earn, or how much capital you have.
And it's tax free.

I wrote that in my first paragraph of post #1.
 
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