Contact calls for option to claim PIP at 18

2 mins read

Monday 23 June 2025

The government is currently consulting on some of the changes announced in the Pathways for Work disability reform green paper.

Among the proposals the government is seeking views on is cutting Universal Credit healthcare payments for under 22s. We’re campaigning against this change.

Also in the consultation are plans to raise the age at which children move from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) from 16 to 18. This would apply to the age at which new claimants are able to apply for PIP, too. The government says it wants to align adult disability benefits with other support that becomes available at 18. It also wants to ease the pressure on young people of going through PIP assessments.

Thanks to those who took part in our Facebook poll, sharing what you thought should happen. Overwhelmingly, most of you agreed with the government’s proposal to raise the age of PIP eligibility to 18.

Contact’s view on raising PIP eligibility to 18

Contact will be responding to the consultation. Our recommendation is that disabled young people moving from DLA should have the option of claiming PIP at 18 rather than 16, but only if they choose to. We believe disabled children should have the flexibility to either claim PIP at 16, or choose to delay this for up to two years.

Our view is that there is no optimum age for moving onto adult disability benefits from DLA. Every family is different. The majority of young people are eligible for higher payments under PIP than DLA and may wish to claim at 16. But research also shows that up to 13% of children on DLA fail to claim for PIP at 16. We know the process will be too challenging for some families at this age.

This is the system that applies in Scotland. Disabled children on Child Disability Payment can choose to claim Adult Disability Payment at any time from 16 up to 18. (They can even apply later, but this will result in a gap in payments). We think this system is working well.

Read our consultation response to questions 11 and 12, on this topic.

You can respond to the government’s consultation online by 30 June 2025.