The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is restarting the transfer of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for 150,000 adult claimants in England and Wales. Letters will begin arriving in September under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who replaced Sir Keir Starmer last week. Claimants who ignore the invitation risk losing payments worth up to £778 every four weeks.
Who Is Affected and When
Around 150,000 disabled adults still receiving DLA will receive a letter from the DWP. The first wave will target approximately 3,000 claimants as a trial, which was originally introduced under the previous Conservative government but is now being resumed under Burnham's premiership. The DWP has reappointed Pat McFadden as the minister responsible for the transfer.
Claimants are not automatically moved to PIP. The letter serves as an invitation to claim, and recipients generally have 28 days from the date on the letter to start their application. DLA payments can continue while a timely claim is assessed, but failing to respond can eventually bring the existing award to an end.
How Much Is at Stake
DLA consists of a care component and a mobility component. Under the 2026/27 rates, the highest care component pays £114.60 per week, and the higher mobility component pays £80 per week. Someone receiving both components therefore receives up to £194.60 per week, which equals £778.40 every four weeks or £10,119.20 over a full year. For claimants receiving the maximum combination, more than £10,000 a year depends on responding correctly.
Government guidance states that claimants who apply within the required period will continue receiving DLA until at least 28 days after the DWP makes its PIP decision. However, the new assessment uses different criteria, so the outcome is not guaranteed to match the previous DLA award.
The Transfer Process
DLA uses care and mobility components, while PIP uses daily living and mobility components. PIP is based on a points-based assessment that focuses on how a condition affects specific activities, rather than the diagnosis alone. Many claimants assume their long-term DLA award will simply be copied across at the same rate, but that is not how the process works.
The claimant must make a PIP claim, and the DWP assesses them using different criteria. The outcome can be a higher payment, the same amount, a lower payment, or no award at all. The application requires the claimant to explain what help they need, how often difficulties occur, and what goes wrong when they try to complete an activity.
What Claimants Must Do
After the initial claim is registered, the DWP usually sends a form asking how the claimant's disability affects them. The applicant may also be asked to take part in an assessment. Failing to return required information or continue with the process can result in the PIP claim being disallowed and the DLA award ending.
The DWP urges all DLA claimants to watch for the letter and respond promptly within the 28-day window. Ignoring the letter could mean losing a significant source of financial support that many rely on for daily living and mobility needs.
