The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that the number of people entitled to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) has reached a record high of 4.09 million as of July 31, 2026. Among these claimants, psychiatric disorders are the most common health condition, accounting for 39% of all cases.
Of the 4.09 million claimants, 3.4 million (83%) are of working age, while 690,000 (17%) are of State Pension age. People aged 50 and over represent more than half of all claimants at 55%, followed by 30-49 year-olds at nearly 29% and 16-29 year-olds at almost 17%.
Psychiatric disorders lead the list
At the end of July, 1.60 million PIP claimants were recorded as having psychiatric disorders, the highest proportion for any disability type. This includes 268,965 claimants with autistic spectrum disorders, a figure more than three times the 79,395 recorded in January 2019 when data collection began, according to Press Association analysis.
Mixed anxiety and depressive disorders affected 442,666 claimants, up from 171,833 in January 2019. Additionally, 106,087 claimants had hyperkinetic disorders such as ADHD or ADD, compared to 23,741 in January 2019.
Musculoskeletal conditions second
General musculoskeletal diseases were the second most common disability type, affecting 764,305 people in July this year, representing 19% of the total claimant population.
New claim outcomes show that 35.8% of PIP claims submitted in July were granted, while 61.4% were disallowed and 2.8% were withdrawn. The grant rate for new claims has been declining over the past two years, standing at 41.1% in July 2025 and 46.4% in July 2024.
Government review underway
The DWP has commissioned a review into PIP, led by Sir Stephen, the minister for social security and disability, to make recommendations aimed at making the benefit "fit and fair for the future". The interim report, published in the summer, stated that the system had become a barrier to work for many and that the application process was found to be "dehumanising".
