PIP Decoded — Personal Independence Payment in plain English

A street scene in London, England. — A London street. PIP is a UK-wide benefit for England and Wales, with separate arrangements in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

A street scene in London. — London streets. PIP follows the person, not the postcode: the same rates apply across England and Wales. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

A red postbox in the English countryside. — A red postbox. Most PIP business still travels by post, including the claim form and the decision letter. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is the main disability benefit for people of working age in England and Wales. It is paid to help with the extra costs of living with a long-term health condition or disability. It is not means-tested: your income and savings do not affect the amount, and you can be paid whether you are in work or not. What matters is how your condition affects your daily life and your ability to get around — not the name of your condition, and not how much you earn.

PIP has two components. The daily living component is for help with everyday tasks such as preparing food, washing, dressing and communicating. The mobility component is for help with planning and following journeys and with moving around. Each component is paid at a standard rate or an enhanced rate, depending on the points you score in an assessment. You can receive one component, or both.

Key 2026–27 numbers at a glance

Daily living, standard: £76.70 a week (£306.80 every 4 weeks).
Daily living, enhanced: £114.60 a week (£458.40 every 4 weeks).
Mobility, standard: £30.30 a week (£121.20 every 4 weeks).
Mobility, enhanced: £80.00 a week (£320.00 every 4 weeks).
Maximum combined (both enhanced): £194.60 a week (£778.40 every 4 weeks).
Paid: every 4 weeks, tax-free; bank-holiday payments come early.
Scale: 4.09 million people entitled at 31 July 2026; 37% receive both components at the enhanced rate.

The rates above are the 2026–27 rates, in force from 6 April 2026. They are weekly amounts paid every four weeks. This site deliberately gives weekly and four-weekly figures only: GOV.UK pays weekly and every four weeks, and monthly figures in other articles use inconsistent conversions, so they are not repeated here. Rates for 2027–28 had not been announced when this site was written, and no future rate is projected anywhere on it.

Three things people get wrong about PIP

First, PIP is not awarded for a diagnosis. Two people with the same condition can score very differently, because the assessment scores the effect on daily life: what you can do, how reliably, and what help you need. A list of conditions recorded among claimants is not a list of conditions that qualify — this site never presents one as such.

Second, PIP is not an out-of-work benefit. You can claim it while working, and it is not reduced by earnings. It sits alongside wages, and alongside other benefits, rather than replacing them.

Third, PIP is not only for people who cannot walk. The daily living component covers a wide range of everyday activities, and the mobility component includes planning and following journeys, which can be affected by anxiety, learning disability, sight loss or other difficulties that have nothing to do with walking distance.

How this site is organized

Start with Who can claim for age, geography and the time rules, then Rates 2026–27 for the full rate table and last year's comparison, and How points work for the scoring system. After that: the ten daily living activities, the two mobility activities, how to apply, the assessment, what to do if you are refused, reviews and changes, and PIP and other help.

A note on change: a DWP review of PIP is in progress, with terms of reference published in 2026. This site states only that a review is under way; it does not predict any outcome. The rules and rates on this site are the ones in force now.

Sources

Official sources for the figures on this page: GOV.UK — Personal Independence Payment; nidirect — Personal Independence Payment (Northern Ireland); DWP — Annual Benefits Statistics Compendium 2026.

General information only. This page explains Personal Independence Payment in plain English. It is not legal, financial, or medical advice, and it cannot decide whether you qualify. Only the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) — or the Department for Communities (DfC) in Northern Ireland — can decide a claim. Rates and rules change over time; always confirm the current position with GOV.UK before you act on it. Contact: hello [at] tapetoolhq.com.