Age for PIP confusing?

[Dora1]

I think now the DWP have made it clear that you must be 65 or over on the actual day PIP is introduced in April 2013, to continue with DLA, otherwise at some point you will be invited to apply for PIP. This recent statement is clear enough. However, everything I have previously read and continue to read from DWP states PIP is for people of working age between 16 - 64. Is it me? Have I misread things all my life? What I take from this is that if a person is of working age and from the day a person reaches their 16th birthday until the day a person reaches their 64th birthday PIP would affect them. I would have thought from what they clearly state now it should have read 16 - 65. I can't get my head round this but perhaps I am wrong but would be interested to see what others think. Also I posted a thread last week where I stated I had telephoned DWP regarding this. I omitted to add that DWP said the last people who would be invited to apply for PIP would be those 16 - 25yrs.

[gabopentin]

If you look towards the minimum wage ages and the way the government bodies implement them then all will be revealed. ie. The age that adult minimum wage is implemented is stated as 21. But is not paid until 22. This means that although PIP states 64 they are looking at actual age being from your 65th birthday with this one. Whereas if they had left it as 65 then under the way they implement things it would not be applied until your 66th birthday. Hope this helps you understand. It is because they do not class a person as OVER an age until they are a year over. So in reality they will be paying PIP probably from physical age 17 until physical age 65.

[davewhit]

IMO niether post is correct because the Draft regulations say

"be age 16-64 (or below pensionable age, whichever is the higher)"

Which means if your age is such that due to changes in regulations when people retire you could be female and moved to PIP when you thought you was safe because of your age.

[Dora1]

Gabopemtin - You learn something new every day. Just shows you all my life when it said - (to) a certain age I thought it finished on the day of your birthday. Thanks.

davewhit - Yes! What you say refers to me as I am female and will be 64 when PIP comes in. However, I never thought I was 'safe' because of my age as this goverment talks in riddles. It is such a worry to all genuine disabled people. We just don't know what to go ahead and plan. No use saying if you are genuine you should be okay. I worked where people were sent to me on the old Invalidity Benefit for assessment for retraining to do a job and sometimes I could have cried at how ill or disabled the people were who were getting put off benefit. Nobody wants Benefit Fraud but this reform is causing so much worry. What annoys me so much is that compared to what's going on with the 'big boys', certain MP's and tax evasion of the extremely wealthy what will be gained from this change over is a mere grain of sand dropped in the ocean.

[davewhit]

Gabopemtin - You learn something new every day. Just shows you all my life when it said - (to) a certain age I thought it finished on the day of your birthday. Thanks.

davewhit - Yes! What you say refers to me as I am female and will be 64 when PIP comes in. However, I never thought I was 'safe' because of my age as this goverment talks in riddles. It is such a worry to all genuine disabled people. We just don't know what to go ahead and plan. No use saying if you are genuine you should be okay. I worked where people were sent to me on the old Invalidity Benefit for assessment for retraining to do a job and sometimes I could have cried at how ill or disabled the people were who were getting put off benefit. Nobody wants Benefit Fraud but this reform is causing so much worry. What annoys me so much is that compared to what's going on with the 'big boys', certain MP's and tax evasion of the extremely wealthy what will be gained from this change over is a mere grain of sand dropped in the ocean.

planning is a problem ....what I have done in my long term planing is half my dla income..... having had dla 19 years for main stream well documented health problems i get higher mob middle care ...so have planned for getting half amount on PIP

[Carneucopia]

I think really it is almost impossible to plan at all for the majority of people on DLA. Low rate care will go - that is certain. But how many people currently on middle rate care will lose that remains to be seen.
On the plus side - they say that Carers Allowance will be able to be claimed for caring for those on either rate of PIP care. Logically then the premiums now attached to IS for DLA middle and higher care will also apply to Universal Credit for both rates of PIP care.
Remember that Universal Credit rolls in alongside PIP. The government says that no-one will be worse of with UC, which if taken as gospel would mean that those who keep their middle or higher care DLA should also keep their overall level of means tested benefits.
How many of us believe that I wonder?

[Paul]

Spare a thought for us with only the one benefit.

I get HRM, we did apply for Care as well but as we didn't get it and only got HRM we didn't want to appeal the decision and lose both - after going to tribunal.

If I lose my HRM, I'd have to seriously consider whether to carry on working or not, the cost of a non Motability car with adaptions would be too much for us I think.

[davewhit]

Spare a thought for us with only the one benefit.

I get HRM, we did apply for Care as well but as we didn't get it and only got HRM we didn't want to appeal the decision and lose both - after going to tribunal.

If I lose my HRM, I'd have to seriously consider whether to carry on working or not, the cost of a non Motability car with adaptions would be too much for us I think.

I had higher rate mobility for a long time before asking for a review to get care, I had heard all these scare stories about people losing what they had already .......... I did 2 things one I did NOT fill in the mobility section I wrote in every box

"no change in mobility please just look at care"

I had also download from DWP or B&W the 12 months stats on DLA reviews LESS than 3% of 180,000 reviews ended up with smaller award the 97% left was split stick raised award

I sent form in with a few letters and was awarded middle care indef no change mobility indef within 4 weeks

[Paul]

That's good to hear Dave.

I still won't bother now though (it was 5+ years ago), I'll just wait and see what PIP brings us.

[ximogenx]

I read somwhere that tis was an ongoing case for human rights, and the result would have been on may 1st 2012, has anyone heard anything about this?