Certain groups of older people on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) may be able to ask the DWP to review their claim and potentially receive backdated payments for enhanced mobility rate
Certain elderly individuals on Personal Independence Payment ( PIP ), particularly those receiving the lower rate of mobility element, may be eligible to request a reassessment of their claim from the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) due to a recent legal amendment. Those over State Pension age might also qualify for an increased award for the mobility component of PIP, even if they’ve ceased receiving the benefit.
This legal change solely pertains to claimants over State Pension age and their eligibility for the enhanced mobility award. DWP guidelines clarify that this only applies to PIP claims reviewed between April 8, 2013, and November 20, 2020.
This legislative shift comes in the wake of a tribunal ruling on May 22, 2020, which pinpointed an inadvertent loophole in regulation 27 of the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013.
The guidance clarifies: “DWP did not have the legal powers to restrict the mobility award for claimants who were in receipt of the standard rate of the mobility award and over State Pension age, on the grounds of new medical evidence. New medical evidence is a report from a health professional requested by DWP which recommended the enhanced rate of the mobility award.
“DWP were only able to restrict the mobility award for claimants if a relevant change in circumstances was identified after they reached State Pension age.”
To rectify this unintentional oversight, amendments to PIP regulations came into force from November 30, 2020, reports the Daily Record.
The DWP is urging anyone potentially impacted to request a review of their claim.