Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance
If your disability causes care needs you may get:
- DLA Care Component if you claim/ed before the age of 16.
- PIP Daily Living Component if you claim/ed before Pension Age.
- Attendance Allowance if you claim/ed after Pension Age.
If your disability causes mobility difficulties you may get:
- DLA Mobility Component if you claim/ed before the age of 16.
- PIP Mobility Component if you claim/ed before Pension Age.
These are not work-related benefits. There is no problem claiming PIP while you are working, so long as your job is consistent with the care and mobility needs that you described in the PIP claim process.
Before PIP was introduced on 10 June 2013 DLA could be claimed by adults under the age of 65. Adults who got DLA before this may still get it, but if you were under 65 on that date you will be migrated to PIP in the next few years.
Going Into Hospital
If you are aged under 18 when you go into hospital your DLA or PIP can continue, no matter how long you stay.
If you were not getting DLA or PIP when you went into hospital, you can claim while you are a patient and get the payments straight away.
If you are aged 18 or over when you go into an NHS hospital your care and mobility needs benefit will be suspended after 28 days.
Your benefit is reinstated when you leave hospital.
If you were not getting PIP or AA when you went into hospital, you can make a new claim while you are in hospital, but you will not be paid until you leave.
DLA, PIP and AA are usually awarded for fixed periods. If your award ends while you are in hospital you must reclaim.
You can reclaim while you are still in hospital, but you won’t be paid until you leave
Your benefit is not suspended in a hospice if you are terminally ill.
Going into Residential Care
If you go into residential care that is paid for by public money, you can keep your DLA Mobility Component or PIP Mobility Component, but your care needs benefit will be suspended after 28 days.
If you are paying for your residential care placement you keep your care needs benefit.
If you claim care and mobility benefits while you are in residential care, the mobility benefit can start straight away but the care needs benefit will not be paid until you leave.
When is Residential Care not Residential Care?
Sometimes, residential care will count as hospital if the NHS provides nursing services in the care home, or if your nursing needs are more than ‘merely incidental or ancillary’.
In this situation you might expect to get your mobility component, but find that it cannot be paid because you still count as a hospital patient.
This might apply if you are covered by section 117 aftercare.
Linking Rules
Periods in hospital and residential care that are separated by less than 28 days are often linked together. You can be paid by the day for the time when you are not in hospital or residential care.