Hundreds of thousands owed up to £12,000 in PIP back payments after huge rule change

HUNDREDS of thousands of underpaid households could be owed £12,000 in benefit payments following a major Supreme Court ruling.

Some 326,000 Personal Independence Payments (PIP) claimants could be due back pay – and the DWP is urging those who’ve applied to check their entitlement.

These households may have been underpaid and the pensions administrative exercise by the DWP is currently working out to identify and pay them back what they are owed.

This comes after a 2019 Supreme Court judgement changed the way the DWP defines “social support'” in one of the assessed PIP categories, following an upper tribunal decision.

This means many claimants may have not been given the daily living element of PIP when they were actually entitled to it.

Others may have been awarded the standard rate but should have actually received the enhanced rate.

Dubbed the “MM judgement”, the DWP realised that hundreds of thousands could now be due additional support.

It began an administrative exercise in 2021, looking at PIP claims since April 6, 2016, to check whether claimants may be eligible for more support.

In its latest update, the DWP says it identified around 632,286 PIP cases that need a review overall.

Out of which 219,080 cases had been reviewed so far and a total of £142million had been paid out to those affected, the Mirror reports.

A further 326,000 cases are now to be reviewed – and could potentially get back payments of up to £12,000.

A DWP spokesperson said: “We are monitoring the numbers of, and reasons for, revised awards closely and making regular quality checks to ensure our decision-making is accurate and fair.

“We are committed to making backdated payments to all claimants affected by this judgment as quickly as possible.

“So, as well as continuing to review claims affected by the definition of ‘social support’, we are also testing a more proportionate approach for claimants who might be affected by the timing element only.

“We will be inviting around 284,000 claimants in this group to contact the department if they think their claim is affected by this judgment and they were not previously identified as needing help to engage with other people face to face because any help they received was in advance.”

WHAT HAS CHANGED?

There are two elements to PIP – a daily living part if you need help with everyday tasks and a mobility part if you need help with getting around.

Claimants eligible for each element are then awarded a standard or enhanced allowance.

When you apply for the benefit, you’ll receive points between zero and eight under 10 different “daily living activities”.

Those receiving the highest figure count are more likely to be awarded the enhanced payment – which is greater than the standard PIP entitlement.

The standard allowance for the daily living part of PIP is currently worth £68.10 a week and the enhanced rate is worth £101.75 a week.

One of the activities scored, otherwise known as activity nine, assesses a claimant’s ability to engage with other people face-to-face.

However, the MM judgement ruled that the DWP had mistaken while when deciding the points PIP claimants could get for the activity of “engaging with other people face to face” during PIP assessments.

The Sun previously reported on one couple on PIP who had been left “shell-shocked” after learning that they were due £12,000 in back payments.

However, it is important to note that the DWP is not reviewing claims if:

• The enhanced rate of the daily living part of PIP has been awarded continuously since April 6, 2016
• A Tribunal made a decision on a claim since April 6, 2016
• A decision not to award PIP was made before April 6, 2016

The exact amount of backdated PIP payments you could be eligible for will depend on your own circumstances – but the average payout works out at around £5,285 per claim.

The DWP has recently prioritised terminally ill and recently deceased claimants to test processes and communications with claimants to ensure they are effective “before ramping up”.

HOW TO APPEAL A PIP DECISION?

If you think a PIP decision was wrong, you can challenge it.

If you’ve been contacted by the DWP or think your PIP payments may be affected by the MM judgement, you should ask for a “mandatory reconsideration notice”.

This is where the DWP looks at your claim decision again.

If you are still unhappy with this outcome, you can then appeal to an independent tribunal.

You must send your appeal form within one month of the date shown on the mandatory reconsideration notice.

Be warned that it usually takes up to six months for an appeal to be heard by the tribunal.

Before it gets to the tribunal, the DWP can make a revision to the original claim.

If you’re unhappy with the decision you get from the tribunal, you may be able to get the decision cancelled – known as “set aside”. You’ll be told how to do this at the time.

You may also be able to appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) if you think the tribunal wasn’t able to give you proper reasons for its decision, or back up the decision with facts, or if it failed to apply the law properly.

Full details about challenging your PIP decisions can be found on Gov.UK.

You can get advice and support for appealing a decision for free from organisations like Citizens Advice.