Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
Personal Independence Payment, usually shortened to PIP, is a tax-free weekly benefit for people under State Pension age who have a long-term health condition or disability that affects daily living, getting around, or both. With mesothelioma, you don’t go through the ordinary PIP route. The SR1 form (chapter 6.2) puts your claim on the Special Rules for End of Life fast track, which removes the assessment most people dread.
What you get under Special Rules. The enhanced rate of the daily living componentis paid automatically. There is no face-to-face assessment, no functional scoring, and no three-month qualifying period — the payment runs from the date of the claim. The mobility component isn’t automatic on an SR1; it is considered separately, usually on paper, against the same mobility descriptors as an ordinary PIP claim. DWP will normally ask a few mobility questions on the first call. If you can’t walk far, or need someone with you to leave the house, mention it then, and give a brief account of how things are on a bad day. Many mesothelioma patients qualify for the mobility component too once it’s assessed.
State Pension age. PIP is for people under State Pension age. If you are at or over State Pension age when you first claim, the equivalent benefit is Attendance Allowance (chapter 6.4). If you already have PIP when you reach State Pension age, the award continues; you don’t lose it.
How to claim.
- In Great Britain, ring the PIP new-claims line on 0800 917 2222 (textphone 0800 917 7777; Relay UK 18001 then 0800 917 2222; British Sign Language video relay via gov.uk). In Northern Ireland, PIP is run by the Department for Communities; ring the PIP Centre on 0800 012 1573. Have your National Insurance number, GP details, and your SR1 information to hand if you already have one.
- Tell the operator on the very first call that you are claiming under Special Rules for End of Life. Use those exact words; they help DWP route the claim correctly.
- DWP normally doesn’t send a PIP2 questionnaire under Special Rules, though mobility questions are usually covered on the call. The decision normally takes a small number of working days once the SR1 has been received from your clinician.
What it’s worth. PIP rates change each April, so check GOV.UK. The current PIP daily-living enhanced rate is on gov.uk, dated and authoritative.
If you’ve already claimed before diagnosis.Three situations come up, and the right move depends on which you’re in:
- You’re already getting PIP. Report the diagnosis as a change of circumstances. The SR1 routes the claim onto Special Rules; the existing award is reviewed and the enhanced daily-living component is normally paid from the date of change.
- You were recently turned down or given a lower award. If the decision is still within the mandatory-reconsideration window (one month), ask DWP to reconsider with the SR1 as new evidence. After that, a fresh Special Rules claim is usually the cleaner route.
- A previous claim was finally refused.Start a new Special Rules claim; the SR1 doesn’t reopen a closed file on its own.
A welfare rights adviser at Citizens Advice, Macmillan, or your local Asbestos Support Group can do any of this for you, free of charge.
What it doesn’t affect.PIP isn’t means-tested, doesn’t depend on National Insurance contributions, and doesn’t count as income for most other benefits. Receiving PIP can lead to extra amounts elsewhere — the carer’s element of Universal Credit, Carer’s Allowance for someone who looks after you, and the disability premium in older benefits. One caveat: if a family member claims Carer’s Allowance or the UC carer element for looking after you, that can remove the severe disability addition from some other benefits in the household. Tell your benefits adviser the PIP award has come through so they can re-run the entitlement properly.
If you live in Scotland. The Scottish equivalent of PIP is Adult Disability Payment (ADP), administered by Social Security Scotland. ADP uses the BASRiS fast-track route described in chapter 6.2 rather than the DWP SR1. The Scottish case-transfer programme is complete: Scottish PIP recipients had all moved across to ADP by August 2025, so any new claim in Scotland now goes through Social Security Scotland. If you somehow still have an open PIP record in Scotland, ring Social Security Scotland on 0800 182 2222. Chapter 6.13 maps the devolved differences in detail.