The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has admitted it cannot reach around 2,400 people identified as being owed backdated Personal Independence Payment (PIP) money, even as it confirmed that approximately 47,000 payments worth £266 million have already been made.
The outstanding payments stem from a major review of historical PIP decisions triggered by a Supreme Court judgment that changed how the DWP should assess claimants who need social support when engaging with others face to face. The review covered certain decisions dating from April 6, 2016, including some people who had previously been refused PIP or awarded a lower amount.
DWP review findings and payments so far
Official DWP figures show that around 326,000 cases were reviewed in total. Of those, approximately 47,000 qualifying claimants have already received payments totalling around £266 million. That works out at roughly £5,660 per payment on average, although individual awards can vary substantially depending on a person's circumstances and the period affected.
However, around 2,400 further claimants were identified as benefiting from the review and being due a back payment, but the department says it has been unable to identify a payee, find a representative, or make contact.
Expert warns claimants not to assume money is lost
Thomas Drury, money-saving expert at The Investors Centre, is warning anyone who believes an old PIP decision may have been affected not to assume the opportunity has disappeared simply because the formal review exercise has ended.
He said: “The striking part of these figures is that the DWP has already decided around 2,400 further cases should benefit from the review. The issue in those cases is not necessarily proving entitlement from scratch, but getting the payment to the correct person or representative.
“For somebody who had PIP several years ago and has since moved home, changed contact details or stopped receiving the benefit, an old claim can feel completely irrelevant to their finances today. But historical benefit decisions can still have financial consequences years later.
“If you know you had a PIP decision during the period affected by this judgment and recognise the circumstances being described, it is worth checking rather than assuming the DWP would always be able to find you automatically.”
Why the review matters and what to do next
The DWP says the review looked at claims affected by a legal judgment concerning Daily Living Activity 9, which assesses a claimant's ability to engage with other people face to face. The ruling changed how “social support” should be treated, including circumstances where support or prompting was provided in advance.
The exercise did not mean every historical PIP claimant was entitled to additional money. But the scale of payments already made shows why potentially affected claimants should not dismiss the issue as being worth only a few pounds.
Thomas added: “An average figure does not tell you what any individual claimant is owed, and people should be very careful about websites or messages promising a guaranteed £5,000 or £6,000 payout. But it does demonstrate that backdated benefit corrections can be financially significant.
“For somebody living on a limited income, several years of underpaid entitlement can build into thousands of pounds. That is why an old decision letter sitting in a drawer should not automatically be written off as ancient history.”
The DWP has not said that all 2,400 outstanding cases involve people who simply forgot to update their address. Its report states more broadly that it could not identify a payee or representative or establish contact.
Thomas continued: “Government departments may hold information from a claim made many years ago. If you have moved twice since then, changed your telephone number or closed the bank account you originally used, reaching you becomes more complicated.
“This matters beyond PIP. Whenever you move home, there should be a financial-admin checklist covering HMRC, DWP, pension providers, banks, insurers and old savings accounts. Money does not stop being yours simply because an organisation has an outdated address, but finding and receiving it can become much harder.”
Some of the outstanding cases may also require payment to an appropriate representative rather than directly to the original claimant, including where a claimant has died. The DWP said it prioritised terminally ill claimants and recently deceased cases during the exercise so that claimants or their representatives could receive backdated entitlement as quickly as possible.
