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A new report shows that thousands of people are missing out on the benefits they are entitled to, with PIP claimants being underpaid the most.
Last year, claimants received around £4.2 billion less than they were entitled to, the report from the National Audit Office (NAO) shows.
This includes £870 million worth of PIP payments being underpaid, alongside £750 million in Disability Living Allowance. The majority of this is due to ‘unfulfilled eligibility,’ which means people not claiming what they could be.
The spending watchdog also found that customers spent more than 753 years waiting for their calls to be answered in 2023/24. This was made up of around 652 years waiting on DWP’s in-house lines and 102 years on its outsourced lines.
The figures come as part of a report into the DWP’s customer service. It finds that the department has “fallen short of the expected standards” in recent years, with PIP being a particular concern.
Last year, only around half of new PIP claims were processed within the 75 day target, while nearly all new State Pension claims were processed within ten days. The average timely processing rate across all benefits was 72 percent.
Unfulfilled eligibility refers specifically to claimants who are already receiving a certain benefits, but may not be getting all the money they are entitled to from that benefit.
Do you have an experience with PIP assessments you’d like to share? Please get in touch via email at: albert.toth@independent.co.uk
“Reporting accurate information and providing evidence may change the amount of benefit people are eligible for and in some circumstances, they may be eligible for more money,” the DWP said in May.
“However, we cannot calculate the correct amount unless people tell us accurately about their circumstances. This means that people are not eligible for increases in the amount of money they receive until we have the correct information.”
Unfulfilled eligibility – what claimants need to know
Unfortunately, claimants who miss out on higher payments due to unfulfilled eligibilty are not able to claim back-payments.
The official DWP position is that legal entitlement only begins when they are informed of “a change in circumstances or provide evidence to support their entitlement.”
Rachael Walker, Policy and Research Director at Policy in Practice says for PIP claimants “there’s only really one way to maximise your payments.
“If your health or your circumstances detoriorate, you could move from the low rate of PIP to the high rate.”
The amount you get paid in PIP will be decided based on an assessment of your health and disability. The lower rate provides £72.65 a week, or £3777.80 a year. The higher or ‘enhanced’ rate provides £108.55 a week, or £5644.60 a year.
“I don’t think the message has really got across to people that once you’re on PIP, there’s another level you can get,” says Ms Walker.
“Even if you’re on a benefit, check very regularly that you’re on the right level,” she advises. “Regularly review your benefits like you would with any other financial aspect of your life.”
Responding to the NAO’s findings, a spokesperson for the DWP said: “We acknowledge the challenges set out in this report and are committed to providing an efficient and compassionate welfare system.
“DWP is undertaking a Service Modernisation Programme which is designed to address these issues and improve customer service.”
The report comes after Policy in Practice found that nearly £23 billion benefits is going unclaimed a year. This is not just unfulfilled eligibility, but also people not claiming benefits they’re entitled to at all.
The research group offers a helpful calculator to work out what you might be able to get.
For the latest DWP payment dates and news, check The Independent’s guide for the latest information
