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Turn2us PIP Helper course - Module 1: What is PIP?


Module 1 contents

In this section, you will learn the following: 

  • What is PIP?
  • How does PIP work?
  • How does getting PIP help your clients?

What is PIP?

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a non-means tested disability benefit for working age people in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. 

PIP helps towards extra living costs someone has, because they have a disability or health condition.

How does getting PIP help your clients?  

It’s extra money – the Joseph Rowntree Foundation research found getting a PIP award lifts disabled people out of deep poverty.  

It is a gateway benefit – it opens the doors to lots of other help.  

  • Benefits for the carer.
  • Motability scheme.
  • More generous treatment by means tested benefits.  
  • A range of discounts.

Key Points of PIP

There are four key points of PIP we must consider:  

Click each item in order to learn the details. 

PIP is non-means tested. This means:      

  • It doesn't matter if your client has savings.
  • Your client can get it regardless of household income. 
  • It doesn't matter if your client or their partner are working or not. 

PIP is a benefit for working-aged people. This means:

  • PIP is for people aged 16 years to pension age.
  • Your client can't make a new claim after reaching pension age, but if they're already getting PIP they can stay on PIP once they're over pension age. 

PIP is available in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

  • It has been replaced in Scotland by a new benefit called Adult Disability Payment. The Turn2us PIP Helper and this training do not cover Adult Disability Payment.
  • Claims processes are a bit different in different parts of the UK. The Turn2us PIP Helper asks where in the UK your client lives – make sure you enter this for accurate information. 

PIP is given to people based on how their disability or condition affects their daily living and/or mobility. This means:    

  • They have difficulty doing certain everyday activities or getting around because of that disability or health condition. 
  • PIP is not awarded based on a diagnosis but rather on how a person’s ability to manage the pre-defined PIP activities is affected by their health condition or disability. 
  • The exception to this is if someone has been told they are approaching end of life and are likely to die in the next 12 months. In this case they can apply for PIP using a special form from their doctor called an SR1 form. 

Who is entitled to PIP?  

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) uses a PIP test to decide whether your client is entitled to PIP.

If your client is accepted for PIP, it is paid in components:

  • Daily Living (if your client needs help with everyday tasks).
  • Mobility (if your client needs help with getting around).
  • Or both.

Your client needs at least eight points in either component (daily living or mobility) to get a PIP award.

Qualifying for PIP: Activities

Qualifying for either PIP component depends on an assessment of your client's ability to perform specific activities related to daily living and mobility. These are displayed below.

Daily Living Activities:

  • Preparing food.
  • Eating and drinking.
  • Managing medication.
  • Washing and bathing.
  • Managing toilet needs.
  • Dressing and undressing.
  • Communicating verbally.
  • Reading.
  • Engaging with other people.
  • Budgeting.  

Mobility Activities

  • Planning and following journeys.
  • Moving around.

Qualifying for PIP: Descriptors

Each activity contains a number of statements describing various levels of help a person might need in doing that activity. Descriptors score between 0 to 12 points.

For each activity, the highest scoring descriptor that describes your client's situation for the majority of the time is awarded.

See below some examples of what descriptors look like.

Daily Living Activities 

Preparing food

Descriptor Points
Can prepare and a cook a simple meal unaided. 0
Needs to use an aid or appliance to be able to either prepare or cook a simple meal.  2
Cannot cook a simple meal using a conventional cooker but is able to do so using a microwave. 2
Needs prompting to be able to either prepare or cook a simple meal.  2
Needs supervision or assistance to either prepare or cook a simple meal.  4
Cannot prepare and cook food. 8

Mobility Activities 

Moving around

Descriptor Points
Can stand and then move more than 200 metres, either aided or unaided. 
0
Can stand and then move more than 50 metres but no more than 200 metres, either aided or unaided.
4
Can stand and then move unaided more than 20 metres but no more than 50 metres. 
8
Can stand and then move using an aid or appliance more than 20 metres but no more than 50 metres. 10
Can stand and then move more than one metre but no more than 20 metres, either aided or unaided.
12
Cannot, either aided or unaided: (i) stand; or (ii) move more than one metre.
12

Interpreting the descriptors 

Interpreting descriptors is often challenging. It helps if you keep in mind the DWP is only interested in how your client's needs, which relate directly to their health condition or disability, affect their ability to carry out the activity.

 Let's have a look at one of the descriptors in the activity 'Preparing Food'. See below how to interpret each item highlighted in this example descriptor:

'Needs to use an aid or appliance to be able to either prepare or cook a simple meal' (Time) (Standard)

  • Needs = PIP looks at the help someone needs, not the help they have. It might be that your client doesn’t use any aids and just avoids cooking, but with the right aids would be able to manage it fine. 
  • Aid or appliance = means any device which improves, provides, or replaces the claimant's impaired physical or mental function; and includes a prosthesis. 
  • Prepare = In the context of food, means make food ready for cooking or eating.
  • Cook = Means heat food at or above waist height.
  • Simple meal = A simple meal means a cooked one-course meal for one using fresh ingredients. 
  • (Time) = More than half of days out of a year. 
  • (Standard) = Being able to do this activity safely, to an acceptable standard, without it taking more than twice as long as for someone without your client's disability or health condition, and repeatedly.

How is PIP scored?

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) uses a PIP test to decide whether your client is entitled to PIP.

Select each question to find out more. 

Your client needs at least eight points in either component (daily living or mobility) to get a PIP award.

Points are awarded based on the descriptors a person satisfies. The descriptors are organised into activities. 

  • Between eight and 11 points for either component of PIP gets a standard rate for that component.
  • At least 12 points in total for either component of PIP gets an enhanced rate for that component. 

Points cannot be moved between the components: someone with six points for daily living and six points for mobility cannot get a PIP award. 

If you cannot fit your client’s needs into one or more of the descriptors, your client won’t be awarded any PIP points.

Decision makers have no discretion to award PIP outside of the points system. 

Knowledge check

Question 1: Can your client make a new claim for PIP if they are over pension age? 

  1. Yes
  2. No

Question 2: Does having savings affect whether your client can get PIP?

  1. Yes
  2. No

Question 3: A client comes to you and tells you they have cancer. Is this enough for you to know if they can get PIP or not?

  1. Yes
  2. No

Question 4: What are descriptors in relation to PIP, and what role do they play in the application process?

  1. Descriptors are personal stories shared by applicants; they determine eligibility.
  2. Descriptors are legally defined criteria attached to points, influencing PIP awards.
  3. Descriptors are financial records required for means testing in PIP applications.

(2) Your client can't make a new claim for PIP if your client is over pension age, but they can stay on PIP after they turn pension age.

(2) No, having savings does not affect whether your client can get PIP.  

(2) No, you’d need to explore with them how they’re affected in their everyday life, unless they also tell you they’re terminally ill and likely to die in the next year.  

(2) Descriptors are legally defined criteria attached to points, influencing PIP awards.

Module 1 summary 

You have completed Module 1.  These are the key takeways:

  • PIP is a disability benefit in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland for working-age individuals. It's granted based on the impact of health conditions on specific activities, not just on diagnosis, except in end-of-life cases. 
  • PIP offers additional funds, doubling the chances of escaping deep poverty and acting as a gateway to other assistance. 
  • PIP is paid in components - daily living or mobility. Points are awarded based on descriptors, and a client needs at least eight points in either component to receive an award. 
  • Navigating PIP is tough, with rigid descriptors based on points that often don't match real-life experiences of disability.