Personal Independence Payment

Personal Independence Payment is a new benefit to help people with disabilities live full, active and independent lives.

How will DLA change from 2013?

Personal Independence Payment will replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) from 2013 for eligible people of working age (16 to 64 years old).

Existing working age DLA customers will also be reassessed for the new benefit during the period October 2013 to March 2016.

Anyone of working age (16 to 64 years old) who receives DLA and who needs to be reassessed against the new entitlement criteria will be told in advance. They will be contacted individually with plenty of notice and given a full explanation about what will happen next and what they will need to do.

The change in name from DLA to Personal Independence Payment is to better reflect the intention of the new benefit - to treat each customer as an individual, to enable them to lead a full, active and independent life.

The new assessment being introduced will look at an individual’s ability to carry out a range of key everyday activities, including mobility. It is being developed in conjunction with a group of independent specialists in health, social care and disability, including people with disabilities.

Non-means-tested

Like DLA, Personal Independence Payment is a non-means-tested benefit and will be available to people with disabilities whether they are in or out of work.

The new benefit will help towards some of the extra costs arising from having a long term condition - this means ill-health or disability (expected to last 12 months or longer). Those found eligible for Personal Independence Payment can choose to spend it in a way that suits them best.

Customers aged 65 and over on DLA will not be moved to Personal Independence Payment. Those getting Personal Independence Payment when they reach State Pension Age will be able to continue receiving their benefit.

The new benefit will not be extended to new or existing claims for children, and current arrangements for claiming DLA will apply to this age group.

What will the rates of the new benefit be?

Personal Independence Payment will have two parts or components:

daily living component
mobility component

Awards will be made up of one or both of these components. Each component will have two rates:

standard
enhanced

The exact value of the different rates has yet to be confirmed. However, the government’s intention is to pay the enhanced rate for both components at no less than the higher rate mobility and highest rate care components currently paid under DLA.

Awards of Personal Independence Payment will be based upon the individual, the impact of the disability or health condition, and the extent to which they are able to live independently.

The special rules for terminally ill customers (those who are not expected to live longer than six months) will remain to provide a fast track service to the enhanced rate of the daily living component.

It is intended that existing ‘gateway’ or ‘passporting’ arrangements will be maintained wherever possible – for example, Blue Badge, Carer’s Allowance and Motability schemes, as well as public transport concessions.

Assessment

The assessment for the new benefit will be carried out by an independent health professional (assessor). The assessor will consider the evidence provided by the person claiming and professionals that support them on a regular basis.

Most people will also be asked to a face-to-face consultation with this assessor as part of the claim process.

Following this assessment, a decision upon your entitlement to Personal Independence Payment will be made by a Social Security Agency Decision Maker, having regard to all available evidence, including the results of the assessment. As with DLA, the benefit Decision Maker will then use all of this to decide entitlement.

Face-to-face consultations may not be appropriate in every case, particularly for those individuals with the most severe impairments. In these circumstances, it is expected that a decision on entitlement to Personal Independence Payment would be made entirely on the basis of paper evidence, with such individuals receiving an ongoing award of Personal Independence Payment. These decisions would, however, be taken on a case by case basis.

Qualifying for Personal Independence Payment

There will be a three month qualifying period and the health condition or disability must be expected to last for a further nine months as well.

Customers will not necessarily have to wait three months, as the qualifying period starts from when the individual’s eligible needs arise and not from when they make a claim. For example, someone might have had difficulty walking for three months or more when they apply for Personal Independence Payment, and the condition is expected to last a further nine months.

People of working age who already receive DLA who are invited to apply for Personal Independence Payment will have met the three month qualifying period because of the time they have already spent receiving DLA. Those with a terminal illness will be fast tracked on to a guaranteed payment of the enhanced rate of the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment and will also be able to apply for the mobility component.

I receive DLA – will I be entitled to Personal Independence Payment?

Everyone will be assessed against the new entitlement criteria, or rules. This means that consideration will be given to your personal circumstances and the impact your condition or disability has on your ability to live an independent life.

Entitlement will depend on how your ability to carry out daily living and / or mobility activities is affected by your condition or disability.

The new benefit will have different entitlement criteria to those for DLA to better reflect the needs of those with mental health, intellectual, cognitive and developmental impairments.

The new entitlement criteria are still being designed and it is too early to say who will get the benefit and who will not.

What will happen to my DLA award/payments?

No awards will be reconsidered under these proposals before October 2013 and you will be given plenty of notice about when this will happen. It is not yet possible to say how this will affect individual awards.

The work to reassess people who get DLA for Personal Independence Payment is expected to start in October 2013 and be completed in March 2016.

If you satisfy the entitlement criteria for the new benefit, you will be transferred from DLA to Personal Independence Payment.

If you are not entitled to Personal Independence Payment, or you choose not to claim it, you will not be able to retain your DLA as an alternative.

How do I apply?

Personal Independence Payment is not scheduled to be introduced until 2013. Until then you should continue to submit claims for DLA in the normal way.