You may be eligible for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) mobility component. This may be the case if you have difficulty moving around or walking. Indeed, this could be due to a mental or physical disability. This Your Benefits article will walk you through everything you need to know about the PIP mobility component.

How much is PIP mobility?

As said before, there are two rates of PIP (Personal Independence Payment). Indeed, there is the PIP daily living and PIP mobility rate. Overall, the PIP mobility part pays less than the daily living part. Regardless, you will not have to pay any tax on your PIP payments.

You may earn the following amounts for each rate and component:

Note that your eligibility for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is regardless of your employment status. Additionally, you may receive other benefits or have savings. If you are younger, you can claim the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) instead. Furthermore, if you work, you will have to pay National Insurance.

What is the mobility part of PIP?

The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a payment for people who have both of the following:

• Difficulty doing day-to-day tasks, or have mobility issues that keep them from freely moving around;
• A long term mental or physical disability.

The mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is for those who have difficulties moving around. Indeed, your eligibility is measured on a point system. The higher you score, the more likely you are to qualify for a given component.

To be eligible for the mobility component, you must first be eligible for Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Indeed, all of the following need to be true, you:

• Are 16 years or older;
• Are impacted by a long-term health condition, or mental or physical disability;
• Have difficulty carrying out daily tasks or getting around;
• Are expected to be affected by these difficulties at least 12 months after they started.

What qualifies you for PIP mobility component?

You may be eligible for the mobility component of PIP. In fact, this is the case if you need assistance with the following:

• Leaving your home and going outside;
• Physically moving around;
• Making a route from point A to point B and following it.

Note that your country of residence impacts your eligibility for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Indeed, one of the following will likely need to be true for you:

• You live in England, Scotland or Wales when you apply;
• You lived in those countries for at least 2 of the last 3 years.

You may have lived in Switzerland, the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. If this is the case, you may qualify for Personal Independence Payment (PIP). However, you will not be eligible for the mobility component. 

How is my eligibility calculated?

When your PIP claim is assessed, a health professional looks at your case. Indeed, they look at your ability to carry out mobility and daily living activities, like dressing and undressing. Then they look at if you need help to carry them out. Then, you may earn a rate of the mobility component.

They will write a report to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Then, a person at the DWP will decide what rate you can earn, as well as for how long. They will look at, in part, if you can use an appliance or aid to help you with your mobility difficulties.

If this is true for you, you may earn more points, even if you do not use them. Also note that you will often need to come face to face with a healthcare professional to determine this.

What is the PIP scoring system?

Both your ability to carry out daily living tasks and mobility are calculated using the point system. Indeed, you can get a maximum of 12 points.

You will get the mobility component if you score between 8 and 11 points. Moreover, this will be at the standard rate. If you receive more than 12 points, you will then receive the enhanced rate. 

How many points for PIP mobility?

In the PIP mobility component, you may earn a total of 12 points. Let’s start with the first category. You will score 0 on “planning and following journeys” if you “can plan and follow the route of a journey unaided“.

On the opposite side, you can earn 12 points if you “cannot follow the route of a familiar journey without another person, an assistance dog or an orientation aid“.

These are the two extremes for the maximum and minimum number of points. There are criteria in the middle. For example, if you are unable to plan a route from A to B, you can earn 8 points. If going on said route causes an overwhelming amount of stress, you can earn 4 points.

Then there is the “moving around” category. Indeed, you may earn 0 points if you can “can stand and then move more than 200 metres, either aided or unaided“.  On the opposite side, you can earn 12 points if you cannot stand, or move more than 1 meter.

This is whether or not you are helped while moving or standing. There are additional amounts of points you may earn. For example, you may be able to move between 20 and 50 meters unaided. In this case, you could earn 8 points. You may also stand and move between 50 and 200 meters (regardless if you are helped or not). In this case, you could earn 4 points.

Note that your limited mobility can also make you eligible for the motability scheme.