going from DLA to PIP

Indefinitely means exactly what it says. It is not definite so they caqn review you at any time.

However, if you have an award that says FOR LIFE again this means exactly what it says and they cannot review you or stop your payments.

I was born in November 1950 so I have to be reviewed for PIP at some point as well. They don't seem very organised, goodness knows when they will get round to assessing me.

For me as long as they are still paying me I(which they are) I don't mind what they call that payment.

Hope this helps

Sarah

Hi sasha , ,the best one the advice you is Anthony and les5999 but if you have all the evidence my opinion you should be alright as you are ill .take care X 

Hi Sasha,

Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is a tax-free benefit for disabled people who need help with mobility or care costs.

DLA is ending for people who were born after 8 April 1948 and are 16 or over.

You can only make a new DLA claim if you’re under 16.

You’ll continue to get DLA until the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) writes to tell you about when it will end. The letter will invite you to apply for a new benefit called Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and tell you what to do next.

PIP is paid only to people aged 16 to 64.

My DLA award states 'Indefinite', which in layman's terms means you could be asked to attend an assessment for PIP at any time. But, when that happens I'll never know. Some people on DLA now are being processed on a POR (Paper Only Review), this happens because they see it that there is no point arranging an assessment for a person that will just get worse. But this is random, the DWP staff are told how many POR's they can do per day, if they go over that quota then they get in to trouble. Thats down to the DWP, which is just a total mess anyway!

Regards,

Les.

Oops! Sorry, nadnad - that was meant for Sasha! My mistake... blame the tablets!

To right Sara, i too was born in the 50s 1951 to be exact and i couldnt care less what its called either all the time i get it.  Like you was awarded the indefinitely type. Its only a matter of time before i get that dreaded letter, any day now could be too. For the first time in my life i wish i was three years older!  

Sue 

Hi Les well i was born in 1951 yet im now 65, if PIP is paid to those 16-64 where does that leave me now? Dont think anyone over pension age should be hounded myself, its not as though most of us are going to be able to go back to work is it though hubby says when they stop his DLA thats exactly what he intends to 'try' and do, God knows how with his ailments im sure! So many pensioners are in this boat, especially those living on their own, they just cant manage. 

 Regards Sue 

That's a good question... DLA gets paid upto your 64th birthday, after that you would normally put a claim in for Attendance Allowance, but this is now scrapped.  PIP you definitely are not entitled to...

But you are 65 now, not later this year?

Yes les i was 65 beginning of february this year.  Unless they are still including me as was born after 1948? 

I would assume that is correct.

"DLA is ending for people who were born after 8 April 1948 and are 16 or over."

So, I would assume from that your DLA will finish when the DWP drops DLA completely. And the rest of us will either be on PIP or something else - I dread the future of PIP...

Les they have probaly made it so when the DLA finishes we cant apply for anything as we have our state pensions to survive on. Though i have this letter advicing me that i will be losing my DLA sometime, anytime like now and will be invited to apply for the PIP (permanently impossible payment!) as someone on hear said, a very good alternative name too. 

Hi, I was 65 in June 2013!!! That makes me 67.

I was asked if I wanted my indefinite DLA (HRM & MRC) to be moved over to PIP. I messed them around which resulted in them closing down my DLA award and because of me age telling me that I was now too old to claim PIP again!!

As for what we lost in terms of cash - it is just over £250 a week!!

Oh Les no!  Whats the chances if you said yes you would have got the PIP do you think.  As for anyone being to old well its obvious to me that what ever we were given the DLA for in the first place unless we are very fortunate wouldnt have improved with age.!  Im really dreading it losing mine, its going to make such an impact on my life. 

To be honest the chances of getting PIP were slim to none. I couldn't honestly get more than 4 points for Care and 0 for Mobility when I did the self assessment test.

The back story was that I telephoned and wrote to them asking for the PIP1 from instead of the usual telephone quiz. They failed to send me the form saying that I should have given the info over the phone. By this time I had gone over the deadline so they closed the DLA claim down. Still it was although a shock to lose so much money each week, I really didn't feel like having to have every few years re-assessment after re-assessment for the rest of my life under PIP.

That is disgusting, Les. Could you get someone to fight your case for you? Have you got a good local MP? 

I just find all this over the top bureaucracy completely wrong. 

I am adjusting to the fact that my outcome will also be bleak.

How the hell can they expect people to suddenly manage on less income? Just like everyones else, I need more help now than I did years ago. My husband has spent a lot of time and money putting extra handrails around the house and outside. He does everything he can to help make life easier. He is just in the process of turning our bathroom into a wetroom because I can no longer get in and out of the bath. I haven't been able to sit down in the bath for years. All this is just so depressing.

Unfortunately there is no case to fight.If you had not registered via their telephone quiz line by the stated date, the rules are that you are assumed to not want to claim PIP and as such the rules also allow the DWP to close down the DLA claim.

Being over 65 then precludes you from attempting to have another go at a PIP claim - you are too old - that's the end of the line.

They see that the loss of a disability benefit as not needing any further financial help - you have to qualify for that help by being awarded a relevant benefit. What made matters worse was that with the loss of the DLA, our Pension Credit ceased (simply because we lost the disability premium for a couple) which in turn stopped the help that they were giving towards the mortgage and of course the 100% CouncilTax Support. All of that added up to just over £250 a week. 

Good morning Les,

Sorry to hear about your problems. That is a lot of money to lose.

I don't understand when you say..."No case to fight if you had not registered via their telephone quiz line". Did you actually apply for PIP and then let too much time pass, therefore no longer being eligable to claim it? 

If that is the case I wonder how many people have accidentally done the same, and if so, the DWP will be hoping to catch more people in the trap.

Fortunately for me, I will only lose my DLA, which totals £79 per week. But it does help go towards all the work my husband has carried out around the house to make life easier for me. 

 

It certainly is a lot of money. It represents about 40% of what we had coming in before this all happened.

To start a PIP claim when already on DLA, you are supposed to telephone the DWP as per the invitation letter. What is not made clear by the DWP is that if for some reason you don't want to make the telephone claim you are supposed to be entitled to a paper form called a PIP 1. This form gives the DWP more info than they ask for over the phone. I telephoned them and asked for a PIP 1, as is my right. I backed this up with a letter confirming my request. I heard nothing from them for a few weeks until a letter arrived from them AFTER the date given to apply for PIP. It said that I should have made a telephone claim and as the date for starting the PIP had now past, they (the DWP) were within their rights to not only refuse an application if I decided to do it then but also to close my DLA claim down with immediate effect.

I telephoned them pointing out that I had not only made the phone call to ask for the form and sent them a letter within the time frame. They continued to say that I had failed to make the claim over the telephone and that I was now too old anyhow to make another PIP claim. They told me also that they did not recognise my request for the PIP 1 as being valid.

So that was it being my age I cannot make a new claim. 

As I said previously, Les. If I were you I would definitely try to get some help with this and take it further. Especially after what you have told me. You have nothing else to lose, and at least you will have tried. Don't just give in to them.

 

I can't see where the fight would centre. Yes I ignored what the DWP said in their invitation letter. I did not telephone and enter the quiz to start off the DLA/PIP transition. The decision to stop my DLA is now well past the time limit to ask for an appeal. Yes I am too old to make another claim.

 

Les when we lose our DLA we have decided we probably wont bother to apply for the PIP as like you say we will spend the rest of our lifes having to keep re applying  assessment  after assessment.  Could be as short as 6 months i think too. Some people have been sent another form to apply a year before their last one ran out.  I honestly cant see if our grand daughter  couldnt get it having MS which is the worse fast agressive kind then we wont stand a chance with ME, minieres desease and hubby arthritis.  As you say losing one leads to losing another and we end up with a lot less money yet they seem to think its fair to then make us pay council tax out of less money! Not to mention paying for dental and glasses too. 

Sue 

Hi Susan

Of course the decision is yours but if I were you I would think again about not applying for PIP. The lesson of Les' experience is follow the DWP procedure trying to beat the system is not an option but using the system is.

Second guessing what will happen in the future is not always for the best. The reassessments could be every 12 months or every 10 years depending on your level of disability. If you apply and are turned down then you are no worse off than not applying at all so it makes sense to give it ago.

Hi Anthony

Yes your right of course but my case is very weak compared with others who still arnt getting it. We will see what comes out of our grand daughters appeal for being turned down with MS. I guess as you say nothing to lose by trying. 

Sue 

I must take you up one point. I certainly was not trying to beat the system in any way. The regulations allow a claimant to either use the telephone to start the claim off or fill out their form PIP1.(what happens to those that can't for one reason or another use a telephone and need a form?)

The only reason you would want to fill out the PIP form is that the telephone script they use is not as comprehensive as the form is - the form asks a lot more questions that are certainly relevant to those going from DLA to PIP.

The DWP don't like the forms at all as it causes them a lot more work, but the form does allow the claimant to have a complete record of what is told to the DWP. Using the form method is a lot more difficult and more time consuming.- it is a 20 page form!

Those using the telephone to start their claim are at a disadvantage in that they have no record of what they tell the DWP.

Makes sense Les, i can see why the form would be more of an advantage as you can photo copy every page if you wanted before posting, as you say you have no proof of any phone call or what was said once finished.

By the way our grand daughter didnt win her appeal again, so sad

Sue 

Just to add our grand daughter lost her appeal but then she would wouldnt she, think how much back money she was entitled too!

Oh and look at this 

n his budget on Wednesday , George Osborne set out how he wants to cut the support disabled people get to use a toilet, shower, and get dressed.

These cuts would make it even harder for hundreds of thousands of disabled people to lead a life you and I take for granted.

In effect, Osborne is demanding that those with disabilities, who want to lead the most independent lives they can, pay for cuts in corporation taxes and capital gains taxes for the richest.

No one with an ounce of humanity can stand back and allow this to happen, and Labour won’t.

So today, with the Mirror, we are launching a petition to demand that Osborne and the Conservative government withdraw their cuts to the disabled.

Firstly Les I agree with your view it is safer to use a form rather than rely on a telephone conversation, but the fact is the procedure is that you initially apply via the telephone. There are form alternatives for those who are hard of hearing but unless you are deaf you shouldn’t really be accessing this facility and wasting resources designed specifically for claimants with that disability.

Unfortunately my reference to ‘beat the system’ was incorrect terminology it should have been ‘beat the procedure’, by that I mean if you want to make a claim for benefit then you have to follow procedure or you get nothing, like what happened to you.

There are opportunities to explain your condition/disability/how it affects you later in the process and you can add extra sheets of paper if there is not enough room on the claim form. I’m not for one minute claiming the system is perfect but the fact is we have to work within those parameters if we want to make a claim.

There are form alternatives for those who are hard of hearing but unless you are deaf you shouldn’t really be accessing this facility and wasting resources designed specifically for claimants with that disability.

I know they are - that is one of the reasons that I wanted a form. I have moderate to severe hearing loss in each ear and have two hearing aids prescribed by the Audio Dept at the hospital.

And I agree, but there is legislation that says that a form should be issued if the claimant needs one. The DWP are making up their own rules as they go along saying that forms will not be issued.

So here am I, deaf in both ears, have extreme difficulty in using the phone, rang the DWP up to ask for the form and even sent them a letter as well.

No form arrives and because I did not use the phone they cancelled the DLA claim - brilliant!

Les there is no justification for that at all and the DWP should be totally ashamed of themselves.