The Government is raising benefit payments to help low-income households struggling with the cost of living crisis. Those in receipt of PIP from the DWP will be among the many to benefit from this hike.
What is PIP?
This payment is the DWP’s primary benefit support for people with a long-term disability or health condition.
It provides financial assistance for those of working age who are in need of help, while pensioners with disabilities can apply for Attendance Allowance.
PIP is split into a daily living component and a mobility component, which are delivered either at a higher or lower rate.
Whether someone gets a higher or lower rate depends on the severity of their health condition or disability.
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How much is PIP?
As it stands, PIP’s daily living component has a lower weekly rate of £61.85 and a higher rate of £92.40.
Comparatively, the mobility part is a weekly amount of £24.45 for the lower rate and £64.50 for the higher rate.
Claimants are allowed to claim both components e able to claim both components of PIP if they qualify for the living standard and mobility support.
Someone claiming both the higher weekly rates of both components would get £627.60 for the month.
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How much will PIP rise by?
The vast majority of benefit payments from the DWP, including PIP, are getting a 10.1 percent boost next week.
This will be applied from the start of the new tax year, which is April 6, at the same rate as September’s CPI inflation figure.
After this is implemented, PIP’s higher and lower rates for the daily living component will come to £101.75 and £68.10, respectively.
The mobility component will be £71.05 weekly for the higher rate and £26.95 for the lower rate.
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This pending hike to payment rates comes as the processing times for the benefit have also been reduced, making PIP more accessible.
Recent figures from the DWP show that the number of people claiming PIP in the UK has risen to 3.25 million.
Earlier this month, DWP Minister Tom Pursglove MP confirmed that processing times for the disability benefit have fallen from 16 to 14 weeks.
At its week in August 2021, processing times for PIP were as high as 26 weeks for the applicants.
Ciarán Norris, head of campaigns and public affairs at Macmillan Cancer Support, praised the Government’s action regarding reducing how long people wait but called for more to be done.
He explained: “While it’s positive to see waiting times have come down slightly, we know there are still thousands of people with cancer waiting too long to receive the vital support they need.
“This is devastatingly impacting people who are already facing the huge financial burden of their diagnosis and the rising cost of living.
The increase to DWP benefit payments will be introduced from April 6, 2023.
