What are the Pip and universal credit changes and who will be affected?

Changes to the welfare system will save £5bn a year by 2030 and get more people into work, the government says.

It will be harder to claim a key disability benefit called Personal Independence Payment (Pip) under the proposals.

The basic level of universal credit for those seeking work will rise, but people under 22 will no longer be able to claim incapacity benefit.

Pip is paid to more than 3.6 million people who have a long-term physical or mental health condition.

There are two elements – a daily living component and a mobility component. Claimants may be eligible for one or both.

Under the government’s proposals, assessments for the daily living part will be tightened, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of people.

Pip assessments involve questions about tasks like preparing and eating food, washing and getting dressed. Each is scored on a scale from zero – for no difficulty – to 12 – for the most severe – by a health professional.

From November 2026, the government says people will need to score at least four points for one activity, instead of qualifying for support with a score that could describe less severe difficulties (ones and twos) across a broad range of tasks.

For example, needing help to wash your hair, or your body below the waist, would be awarded two points, but needing help to wash between the shoulders and waist would equate to four points.

The payments for daily living are:

• A standard rate of £72.65 per week
• An enhanced rate of £108.55 per week

Payments for the mobility element – which are not affected – are:

• A standard rate of £28.70 per week
• An enhanced rate of £75.75 per week

Pip is usually paid every four weeks and is tax-free. It does not change depending on your savings or income and does not count as income affecting other benefits, or the benefit cap. You can get Pip if you are working.

At present, the payment is made for a fixed period of time between one and 10 years, after which it is reviewed. You may be reassessed sooner if your circumstances change.

The government plans more frequent reassessments for many people claiming Pip. However, those with the highest levels of a permanent condition or disability will no longer face reassessment.

Pip is paid in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

There is a similar but separate benefit in Scotland called the Adult Disability Payment.

The government has also made changes to universal credit, which is paid to 7.5 million people.

At present, more than three million recipients have no requirement to find work, a number that has risen sharply.

The basic level of universal credit is worth £393.45 a month to a single person who is 25 or over.

But if you have limited capacity to work because of a disability or long term condition, this payment more than doubles, because of an extra top up worth £416.19.

Under the government’s proposals, claimants will not be eligible to get this incapacity top-up until they are aged 22 or over.

New claimants will also see this top-up fall from £97 extra per week in 2025 to £50 a week by next year.

The higher rate for existing health-related claimants will be frozen until 2029-2030.

However, the basic payment level for universal credit will rise, reaching a £775 annual increase by the year 2029-30.

The government says it wants to help those who can work back into employment, while doing more to protect those with severe conditions who are unable to do so.

As part of this it will invest £1bn in what it calls “high-quality, tailored and personalised support” to help people find jobs.

A number of changes have been announced which the government hopes will break the link between trying to get into work and losing benefits.

The work capability assessment, which checks eligibility for the health related top-up to universal credit, will be scrapped by 2028.

Instead, claimants will have to go through the Pip system to claim for a health benefit. The government says they will be assessed on how their disability affects their daily life, rather than on their capacity to work.

While you can receive universal credit or Pip while in employment, universal credit is means-tested and tapers off as earnings increase, while Pip is not affected by how much someone works or their level of savings.

A new “right to try” system will mean people will not be financially penalised if they take a job which doesn’t work out.

The government will also consult on merging job seekers allowance and employment seekers allowance into a single time-limited benefit that is not means-tested. This would be more generous but available for a shorter period.

“If you have paid into the system, you’ll get stronger income protection while we help you get back on track,” Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said.

Overall, the government currently spends £65bn a year on health and disability-related benefits. This is projected to increase to £100bn by 2029.

Pip is now the second-largest element of the working-age welfare bill, with spending expected to almost double to £34bn by 2029-30.

When Pip was introduced in 2013, the aim was to save £1.4bn a year by reducing the number of people eligible for payments. However, initial savings were modest and the number of claimants has risen.

About 1.3m people now claim disability benefits primarily for mental health or behavioural conditions.

That is 44% of all working age claimants, according to the independent economic think-tank, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).