Nearly 1.9 million people have been receiving Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for five years or longer, according to new figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The latest official statistics show there were just over 4 million people claiming PIP in England and Wales at the end of April 2026. Separate DWP data indicates 1,854,768 claimants had been receiving the disability benefit for five years or longer, meaning around 46 per cent of all PIP claimants had been on the benefit for at least five years.
What is PIP?
PIP is a benefit for people over 16 who have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability and difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around. It is not means-tested, so savings and income do not affect eligibility.
The DWP records a claimant's main disabling condition for statistical purposes, although people may have more than one health condition. The largest number of people on PIP for five years or longer were recorded under psychiatric disorders, followed by musculoskeletal and neurological conditions.
Claimants by condition
- Psychiatric disorders - 638,476
- Musculoskeletal disease (general) - 407,939
- Neurological disease - 278,566
- Musculoskeletal disease (regional) - 225,587
- Respiratory disease - 73,548
- Cardiovascular disease - 44,393
- Visual disease - 41,245
- Malignant disease - 33,319
- Endocrine disease - 23,995
- Hearing disorders - 22,811
- Gastrointestinal disease - 14,022
- Skin disease - 12,348
- Genitourinary disease - 10,704
- Autoimmune disease - 10,668
- Diseases of the liver, gallbladder and biliary tract - 4,854
- Haematological disease - 3,965
- Infectious disease - 3,906
- Metabolic disease - 2,544
- Multisystem and extremes of age - 827
- Diseases of the immune system - 584
- Unknown or missing - 463
It's important to be aware the figures do not mean people are automatically entitled to PIP because they have one of these conditions. Eligibility is based on how someone's condition affects their daily living or mobility needs, rather than the diagnosis itself.
Payment rates and eligibility
PIP is made up of two parts - daily living and mobility. People may qualify for one or both parts, depending on how their condition affects them. The daily living standard rate is £73.90 and the enhanced rate is £110.40. The mobility standard rate is £29.20 and the enhanced rate is £77.05.
You may be able to claim PIP if you are aged 16 or over, have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability, have difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around, and expect those difficulties to last for at least 12 months from when they started. You usually need to be under State Pension age to make a new claim. People living in Scotland can no longer make a new claim for PIP and should apply for Adult Disability Payment from Social Security Scotland instead.
Types of awards
Some claimants will be given a limited term award for a fixed period of up to two years - the DWP says these awards will not be reviewed. Limited awards with no review date are given where the claimant's health condition may be reasonably expected to improve.
An ongoing award with a 'light touch' review is typically awarded to claimants who have very stable needs which are unlikely to change over time, high level needs which will either stay the same or get worse, a planned award review date due on or at State Pension age, or a special rules for end of life claim due when of State Pension age.
You can make a new claim by contacting the DWP, with all the information needed to apply available on the GOV.UK website. Before calling, you will need your contact details, date of birth, National Insurance number, bank or building society account number and sort code, your doctor or health worker's name, address and telephone number, and dates and addresses for any time spent abroad, in a care home or hospital.
