Question re PIP and UC

Saz94

Senior Member (Voting Rights)
I have been putting off applying for benefits since my parents have been looking after me and the system seems very stressful. But know I need to get on it since my parents won't be here forever...

And now that there are these changes coming up in April to UC and possibly in November to PIP (i know this has been put on hold while the government do a review of planned changes, but dunno when the changes would come into force if the govt decides to proceed?). With the changes not affecting "existing claimants".

So it obviously seems that I should get on with my applications ASAP so that I will be an "existing claimant" and not affected by changes. BUT unfortunately I'm having a really terrible health flare up at the moment, so I want to at least give it a couple months to focus on improving my health, before I do the applications. (Like tbh there's literally no way I could do it, with the lack of energy levels that I have atm.

So, my questions are:

  1. I know it can take ages to get approved for PIP. Would I count as an "existing claimant" if I've sent my application in before any changes are implemented, say if im stuck in the appeals process when the changes come through, or only if I've actually received the pip award before changes are implemented?
  2. given that the government review on pip is due in "the autumn", does anyone know what the earliest might be that changes to pip are implemented, if they decide to implement any?
  3. UC seems a much quicker process to get approved, at least for UC itself. BUT it can take a while to be assessed for the health/disability element of UC. Do I need to just get approved for UC itself before April 2026, or do I also need to get approved for the health element of UC, in order to count as an "existing claimant" and get the not-reduced amount of UC health element?
 
Would I count as an "existing claimant" if I've sent my application in before any changes are implemented, say if im stuck in the appeals process when the changes come through, or only if I've actually received the pip award before changes are implemented?

Yes. If you're eventually awarded, it starts from the date your application is received, not from when the decision is made. (As long as you've already had the condition for the qualifying period, which is either three months or six...but it's irrelevant because you have.)

given that the government review on pip is due in "the autumn", does anyone know what the earliest might be that changes to pip are implemented, if they decide to implement any?

The 'four point' rule is due to apply from November 2026.

However, the review that starts this autumn might decide on other changes that we don't know about yet.

Most major changes to benefits need primarily legislation to be passed, so it's not an overnight process. Even if the Timms review (this autumn) makes new recommendations, it'd be surprising if they were enacted before next year.

Do I need to just get approved for UC itself before April 2026, or do I also need to get approved for the health element of UC, in order to count as an "existing claimant" and get the not-reduced amount of UC health element?

I've never claimed UC, but I think the rules follow the same logic as PIP: if you're awarded, the health element would be backdated to the beginning of the claim. You'd need to claim before the UC Act comes into force next April.
 
After all that, there's a timetable on Benefits & Work that makes it a lot clearer than I managed! :emoji_sweat_smile:


If you're not a member already, I'd recommend joining B&W. If you start by subscribing to their email newsletter (which is on summer break at the moment but will start again next month), you often get an offer code for a reduced subscription rate. Their guidance for filling out applications is very good.
 
After all that, there's a timetable on Benefits & Work that makes it a lot clearer than I managed! :emoji_sweat_smile:


If you're not a member already, I'd recommend joining B&W. If you start by subscribing to their email newsletter (which is on summer break at the moment but will start again next month), you often get an offer code for a reduced subscription rate. Their guidance for filling out applications is very good.
Yeah, the 4 point pip thing has been abandoned, pending review at any rate.

I don't think the article answers any of my questions though... unless I've missed something due to brain fog which is quite likely!
 
Yeah, the 4 point pip thing has been abandoned, pending review at any rate.

I do wonder if it will pop up again, perhaps in a slightly different guise.

You can be sure about the date thing, though: if you apply for PIP before any new rules come into law, you'll be treated as an existing claimant. Obviously you would need to keep the claim active by appealing if they refuse you first time.

There are no guarantees on the review, but seems likely there could be some protections for existing claimants. The government got its fingers burned on that, and if they want to bring in unpopular changes it's politically useful to be able to say "Of course this won't affect current claimants".

Applying for PIP's a process, though, more than a job to do all at once. I looked online for a copy of the questions first, so my back brain could be mulling on them before I even started trying to write anything. When I did start, I drafted one section at a time then had a break for two or three weeks. That had the advantage of being able to see any weaknesses or missed opportunities when I went back and re-read it.

I only requested a form when I'd got 95% of the information down, because they give you a comically short time to fill it in—four or five weeks, half of which is gone by the time you receive it (it takes them at least a fortnight to post a letter).
 
Last time I applied for PIP I found out that our local Citizens advice Bureau had a specialist advisor to help. She came to my home and asked me all the questions on the form and filled it in for me. I had prepared in advance by reading the form and Benefits and Work guide, and made some notes, so it was straightforward. You also need to provide some evidence. All I had was a brief report from my GP confirming my diagnosis and saying a few things I suggested about what I can't do. Ànd I gave them the details of the care agency who I employed to help me showering.

My daughter used the same person to fill in her form. We asked for and got a home assessment and were both put on highest rate PIP without having to appeal. We were incredibly lucky that the assessor seemed to understand and believe us, so presumably wrote an honest report.

For both of us it was a reapplication because we were being transferred from the old disability living allowance, so that may have helped too.

My point is, use any help you can get, and I agree with preparing well and sorting out evidence before you apply.

Good luck.
 
I also found the Citizen’s Advice Bureau very helpful. They also came to my house and filled in the PIP form for me. Mind I have heard other people say they did not help as much in other areas. It may be if you are in a rural area they are more flexible.

Although very stressful there is enormous variation in the assessments. Unlike Trish, my first assessment, some eight years ago, awarded me zero points, whereas the eventual tribunal gave me the maximum award both for daily living and mobility. It is important not to be too devastated if the first assessment is unsatisfactory, there is no way to predict what will happen. If you feel the initial decision is unfair, look on appealing just as a necessary part of getting a fair assessment. I don’t know what the current level is but at one point 75% of ME/CFS appeal tribunals came down in favour of the appellant. At my tribunal the DWP did not send anyone to defend their decision.

Note, I could not have applied nor appealed without the support I was given.
 
Yes. If you're eventually awarded, it starts from the date your application is received, not from when the decision is made. (As long as you've already had the condition for the qualifying period, which is either three months or six...but it's irrelevant because you have.)



The 'four point' rule is due to apply from November 2026.

However, the review that starts this autumn might decide on other changes that we don't know about yet.

Most major changes to benefits need primarily legislation to be passed, so it's not an overnight process. Even if the Timms review (this autumn) makes new recommendations, it'd be surprising if they were enacted before next year.



I've never claimed UC, but I think the rules follow the same logic as PIP: if you're awarded, the health element would be backdated to the beginning of the claim. You'd need to claim before the UC Act comes into force next April.
I’m not sure UC is backdated to the application date if you get awarded health related but to 3months after or something like that if the assessment was to be later than 3months ie you don’t get a health but for those first months?. Agree it sounds like changes are happening quickly on UC
 
I've also heard really good things from a couple of people about Citizens' Advice.

I did it in stages over several months because I couldn't tackle it all at once. Having a complete stranger in the room, actually trying to do it "live", would be nightmare for someone with autism who needs a lot of processing time, specially with four different conditions to document. If you could, though, it's potentially a great way forward.
 
In answer to Q1, it is about date of application, so yes you’ll be classed as an existing claimant

Q3, again they should date it from the date of application. It’s not about when you get approved. Because for example, even when approved, they backdate it to the date you actually made the claim (as long as you say that your symptoms were there from that date)

(Obviously they might try to be sneaky and not do this.. but this is how the existing rules work, as far as I know. I don’t know as much about UC though)

And as to when changes in pip are implemented, I have no idea, they might try to force a bill through quickly (but likely not before Nov 2026)
 
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Citizens advice varies widely depending on where you are. Where I used to live, just like 10 miles away from where I am now, it was excellent. Filled in forms for you, made sure you received benefits you’re entitled to, kind, etc.

Where I live now - you’re better off not going there, than actually going there. First of all, you can’t make an appointment to speak to them. You have to submit an form online. Then someone will call you. After you spend an hour explaining the issue, they’ll go away and speak to someone, and more often than not, give you wrong advice (so you then need to figure out what the right advice is). Or, they tell you that you’re not really that sick and don’t need to be claiming benefits (I know people it’s happened to).

I reckon where you live @Saz94 is a better area & will be better funded and/or have better people so if you did want to go to CAB, it’s worth a try. But they will expect you to upload at least some documentation from doctors, and to talk to them about your difficulties etc.
 
Citizens advice varies widely depending on where you are. Where I used to live, just like 10 miles away from where I am now, it was excellent. Filled in forms for you, made sure you received benefits you’re entitled to, kind, etc.

Where I live now - you’re better off not going there, than actually going there. First of all, you can’t make an appointment to speak to them. You have to submit an form online. Then someone will call you. After you spend an hour explaining the issue, they’ll go away and speak to someone, and more often than not, give you wrong advice (so you then need to figure out what the right advice is). Or, they tell you that you’re not really that sick and don’t need to be claiming benefits (I know people it’s happened to).

I reckon where you live @Saz94 is a better area & will be better funded and/or have better people so if you did want to go to CAB, it’s worth a try. But they will expect you to upload at least some documentation from doctors, and to talk to them about your difficulties etc.
There's also a national citizens advice helpline but idk if its good.
 
I asked the same thing on reddit and someone who sounds like they know what they're talking about is saying that you'd need to get approved for the health/disability element of UC before April 2026, in order to count as an existing claimant and not get the reduced amount.

(Look for the comment from user "AlteredChaos" and then my reply thread with them.)

 
I phoned Scope disability helpline and they said that so long as you submit your UC claim before April, you will count as an existing claimant for the health element.

I'm just confused though because this person on Reddit who seems incredibly knowledgeable about the benefit system is insisting the opposite (of what Scope said).

Annoyingly Benefits & Work don't have a telephone line, and they seem like they might be the most knowledgeable people? There is an email address - @Kitty do you know whether they are responsive to emails? Or would I need to subscribe to their community in order to be able to talk to them?
 
@Kitty do you know whether they are responsive to emails? Or would I need to subscribe to their community in order to be able to talk to them?

Posting messages on the boards is more effective, and means any advice they give is available to everyone. You don't need to have a paid sub to set up a login, though, only to access some of the advice guides and publications.

The mods often take a break over the summer. it's possible there's an advisor answering queries now, but if not, give it a week or so.

If they don't know the answer they'll say so. You may get replies for other members too, sometimes steering you to questions that have already been answered. If you decide to join and ask about it, make it clear you're new; that way they'll realise you're unlikely to have seen a thread from three months ago that discussed the same question.
 
Benefits and Work is well worth investing in - I don't know how we would have managed without it. (But then we live in an area where there is virtually no other support at all. Among my 2019 documents I have an Excel file called Find_an_Adviser_GOV_UK_flat_file_v1, so I assume that if you look on the gov.uk website you may find a feature called "find an adviser"? That was the one which told me I was virtually on my own - I hope things are better where you are! Take whatever help's available.). B&W is run totally by volunteers, and I doubt they have the funds to supply, let alone man, a phone line. They used to have about 3 volunteers, who would be online for maybe 6 hours at a time. Things may have changed since you-know-what, of course.

I'm guessing that lunarainbows' 10-mile journey must have taken her into a different local authority, because what used to be available certainly doesn't sound like what I'd expect from her current one!

It's an excellent idea to start preparing in chunks well before you apply: it is demanding, and 4 weeks isn't long to get it all done if you have limited capacity. Be aware - and this is something the DWP didn't use to be up-front about - that a few days after your assessment you are allowed to request a copy of the healthcare professional's initial report so that you can pick it to pieces if necessary before the decision is made. But assume you'll get a rejection and will have to go to appeal - I think they hope people will give up at that point.
 
There is a lady on YouTube called Charlie, she does some good videos and one of her latest ones she said that a lot of people lately aren't being called for assessments, it’s just being assessed aka dismissed on the paperwork.
This is what happened to me last year, and the CAB also said it seems to be the trend.

On the one hand it’s good not to have to go through an assessment and subsequent report full of inaccuracies. On the other hand, a lot of advice and info is about the assessment. If you end up at a tribunal it’s like they’re asking some assessment questions to you, for the first time, in court. And then they can use their “medical opinion” to decide an outcome, without you having that step where you could argue the medical opinion was wrong.

I like Charlie Anderson, she has some good info but also she can go all round the houses a bit.
 
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One thing you will need for UC, @Saz94, is a photo ID document. If you have a current passport or photo driving licence, that'll be fine.

If you don't, it's something you might be able to make progress on sooner rather than later. Unless you already hold a full paper licence, the cheapest option's a provisional driving licence. You should be able to use a debit or credit card as the second ID item.
 
Benefits and Work is well worth investing in - I don't know how we would have managed without it. (But then we live in an area where there is virtually no other support at all. Among my 2019 documents I have an Excel file called Find_an_Adviser_GOV_UK_flat_file_v1, so I assume that if you look on the gov.uk website you may find a feature called "find an adviser"? That was the one which told me I was virtually on my own - I hope things are better where you are! Take whatever help's available.). B&W is run totally by volunteers, and I doubt they have the funds to supply, let alone man, a phone line. They used to have about 3 volunteers, who would be online for maybe 6 hours at a time. Things may have changed since you-know-what, of course.

I'm guessing that lunarainbows' 10-mile journey must have taken her into a different local authority, because what used to be available certainly doesn't sound like what I'd expect from her current one!

It's an excellent idea to start preparing in chunks well before you apply: it is demanding, and 4 weeks isn't long to get it all done if you have limited capacity. Be aware - and this is something the DWP didn't use to be up-front about - that a few days after your assessment you are allowed to request a copy of the healthcare professional's initial report so that you can pick it to pieces if necessary before the decision is made. But assume you'll get a rejection and will have to go to appeal - I think they hope people will give up at that point.
Are you talking about PIP or about UC?
 
There is a lady on YouTube called Charlie, she does some good videos and one of her latest ones she said that a lot of people lately aren't being called for assessments, it’s just being assessed aka dismissed on the paperwork.
This is what happened to me last year, and the CAB also said it seems to be the trend.

On the one hand it’s good not to have to go through an assessment and subsequent report full of inaccuracies. On the other hand, a lot of advice and info is about the assessment. If you end up at a tribunal it’s like they’re asking some assessment questions to you, for the first time, in court. And then they can use their “medical opinion” to decide an outcome, without you having that step where you could argue the medical opinion was wrong.

I like Charlie Anderson, she has some good info but also she can go all round the houses a bit.
Are you talking about PIP or about UC?
 
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