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Astonished by the number of PIP claimants!

(104 Posts)
Gloriana Thu 27-Mar-25 17:28:21

According to my Google search there are 67 million people in the UK and 3.4 million of them claim PIP. Is my Maths correct - that is 5% of the population? I find it astonishing that one in twenty of us have some kind of disability for which financial support is necessary. I think I may have been living under a rock!

icanhandthemback Mon 31-Mar-25 11:55:49

The area where I feel they need to make changes is that there shouldn't be an all or nothing sort of approach and they should be more accurate with their calculations. My Son-in-law was my daughter's carer but he was desperate to work and eventually had to return for his own sanity. Once he worked my daughter was paid her ESA on the Contributions she had made as a high flying, skilled employee. My SIL had to go into a low paying job as he had been out of the workforce for a few years. They were entitled to Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. The errors in the calculations to these benefits and my daughter's would make your hair curl and they found themselves in an unfortunate position of being on a low income repaying eye-watering amounts back out of that (relatively speaking). My SIL has fortunately found a good paying job now (so no WTC or CT needed) and has paid all the taxes asked of him only to find the tax office have made incorrect calculations so he is not repaying that. There needs to be more accountability (excuse the put) from these public institutions.
Incidentally, my daughter would love to work but can't reliably turn up due to her need to take morphine which clouds her thought process, pain levels and her Chronic Fatigue.

Ilovecheese Mon 31-Mar-25 11:57:48

The Government understand that very well MaggsMcG. The question is, do they care? Or do they care more about some invented "fiscal rules".

Judiej Mon 31-Mar-25 15:05:01

My daughter has a sunny disposition, despite having: Crohn's disease; rheumatoid arthritis; vascular disease and Raynaud's disease. She doesn't look disabled, but she most definitely is. After four years off work, she has found an employer who is fully supportive and allows her to work from home, when needs-be. DWP has now stopped her, (lower level), PIP. They view that, because she is now working, she doesn't qualify. I am beyond incredulous. Her health is worse than when PIP was first awarded, (now has to self-inject medication every week), so how can it legitimately be withdrawn? I can vouch for the fact that PIP is not awarded to people who do not merit it and is that it is very difficult to qualify for. Also that it can be withdrawn at the drop of a hat: no warning. Shameful.