The Department for Work and Pensions has been urged to strip Personal Independence Payment (PIP) from households earning over £100,000 a year. Almost 200,000 households with annual incomes exceeding £100,000 currently receive the disability benefit, according to recent figures.
Taxpayers currently fund the benefit to the tune of £26 billion annually, but this is projected to rise to £41 billion by the end of the 2020s. In 2024-25, approximately 197,000 households with a gross annual income above £104,000 received PIP, data shows.
Political Reactions
Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, stated: “The benefits bill is out of control – and Labour is doing nothing to stop it. PIP claims are rising rapidly, and set to double by the end of the decade. We will tighten up who qualifies for PIP and rapidly reassess hundreds of thousands of cases to get people into work, rather than welfare.”
TaxPayers' Alliance Calls for Means-Testing
Shimeon Lee, a policy analyst at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, commented: “Taxpayers will be stunned to learn that nearly 200,000 high-income households claim PIP. The surge in the number of these households since 2021-22 has coincided with the soaring cost of disability benefits. The Government must introduce means-testing to ensure the system remains sustainable for those who need it most.”
In their submission to the Timms review, the TaxPayers’ Alliance argued that the lack of means-testing in PIP is at odds with the rest of the welfare system, which is either means-tested or contribution-based. “The argument that PIP enables people to work and that means-testing would prevent this simply does not apply at the highest levels of income,” their submission said. “It is highly unlikely that the loss of PIP would make it impossible for a disabled person with a household income over £100,000 a year to work.”
Conservative Criticism
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch accused Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of giving up on bringing down welfare costs. Pointing to the lack of a Welfare Bill in the King's Speech, Mrs Badenoch told the Commons the reason for its absence was because the PM had given up. She added: “He’s given up because they (Labour MPs) have given up on him.”
