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Adult Disability Payment & disability benefits at 16

7 mins read

This advice applies in Scotland only.

Adult Disability Payment will replace Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for disabled adults in Scotland.

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What is Adult Disability Payment?

Adult Disability Payment is a new disability benefit for disabled adults aged 16 and over.

The Scottish government is introducing Adult Disability Payment to replace Personal Independence Payment (PIP). This new benefit is rolling out across Scotland between 2022 and 2024 to replace PIP.

Initially, Adult Disability Payment will have very similar rules to PIP. But the Scottish Government intends to carry out a full review of the benefit in the summer of 2023.

Who can claim Adult Disability Payment and when?

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New claimants

Adult Disability Payment has already replaced new claims for PIP in all parts of Scotland.

If your child is 16 or over and does not already get:

then they won’t be able to make a new claim for PIP (or DLA or Child Disability Payment). They will need to claim Adult Disability Payment instead.

Existing Child Disability Payment claimants

If your child gets Child Disability Payment, they will not be automatically transferred onto Adult Disability Payment. Instead, you or your child will have to make a claim for Adult Disability Payment at some point between their 16th and 18th birthday.

When your child is approaching the age of 16, Social Security Scotland will write to you asking if they need an appointee to manage their benefits. Social Security Scotland will also explain that they have the option of making a claim for Adult Disability Payment once they turn 16. They don’t have to do this. If they prefer, your son or daughter can choose to continue to get Child Disability Payment, and claim at a later date. They can claim Adult Disability Payment at any point while they are 16 or 17.

Avoiding a gap in payments

However, they should try and make sure they claim before they turn 18. This is so they can avoid any gap in their disability benefit payments.

So long as your child makes a full application for Adult Disability Payment before their 18th birthday, their existing Child Disability Benefit payments can continue temporarily until a decision has been made on their Adult Disability Payment claim. (A full application means they have completed and submitted both part one and part two of the claim form.)

However, if they have not submitted a full claim before they turn 18, their Child Disability Payment will stop on their 18th birthday. They can still claim Adult Disability Payment after they turn 18, but they won’t receive any Child Disability Payment while they are waiting for a decision.

If your child chooses to claim Adult Disability Payment before 18 but they are refused this benefit, they will continue to receive Child Disability Payment up until their 18th birthday. They can also re-apply for Adult Disability Payment at any time, despite the fact that their earlier claim was unsuccessful.

A note about these rules

The rules allowing Child Disability Payment to be paid until the age of 18 only applies to young people who were getting Child Disability Payment immediately before their 16th birthday.

If someone isn’t already getting Child Disability Payment by their 16th birthday, they can’t make a claim for Child Disability Payment after that date. They will need to claim Adult Disability Payment.

Existing PIP claimants

From 13 June 2022, working age adults in Scotland who already get PIP began to transfer onto Adult Disability Payment.

The transfer of PIP claimants will happen in stages. All PIP claimants in Scotland should have been moved onto Adult Disability Payment by summer 2024.

The date you’re likely to be transferred will usually depend on your review date for PIP. You’ll be fast-tracked if any of the following apply:

  • There’s been a change in your condition since 29 August 2022.
  • You’re due a PIP review.
  • Your PIP award is about to end.

How will the transfer from PIP happen?

A disabled adult transferred from PIP to Adult Disability Payment will have their award moved over automatically to the new Scottish benefit. There will be no change in the amount they get or their payment dates. They won’t have to make a claim for Adult Disability Payment, and they won’t need to go through a re-assessment.

Once Social Security Scotland selects your adult child for transfer to Adult Disability Payment, they will write to them (or you if you are their appointee) confirming their intention to transfer their award. The transfer process will normally take three-four months (one month for the terminally ill).

During this “transition period”, your adult child will get PIP as normal. Usually, you will not need to do anything, and your child’s award will transfer automatically. In a few cases, Social Security Scotland may need to contact someone to confirm that personal details are correct.

Once the transfer onto Adult Disability Payment is complete, Social Security Scotland will write to you or your child confirming this. They will explain the rate of the daily living and mobility components they will get (usually the same as they were getting for PIP). The letter will explain when their PIP award ends and when their Adult Disability Payment starts. It’ll also specify the date their new Adult Disability Payment award will be reviewed.

Once your child is on Adult Disability Payment, you should make sure to tell any offices paying them other benefits or providing them with services, such as the Blue Badge, that they are now getting Adult Disability Payment.

Appointees

If you manage your adult child’s PIP as their appointee, Social Security Scotland will want to review your appointment after your child has transferred to Adult Disability Payment.

This is because there are some differences between the law in Scotland and the rest of the UK about appointees.

Adult Disability Payment and Motability

Where a disabled adult moves from PIP to Adult Disability Payment they will receive the same rates of Adult Disability Payment as they got from PIP. However where a child moves from Child Disability Payment to Adult Disability Payment it’s possible that their award may change.

If your child previously got the higher rate mobility component of Child Disability Payment but doesn’t qualify for the enhanced rate of the mobility component under Adult Disability Payment, they will no longer be eligible for the Motability Scheme.

Motability Operations Ltd will be in touch to arrange for the vehicle to be returned. However, you may also be eligible for a package of transitional support, as long as you return the vehicle to the dealership in good condition and by the agreed date. The transitional support available depends on when your child first joined the scheme.

Joined before 2013

You have two options. You can either:

  • Choose to keep the vehicle for eight weeks (starting from the day of your last mobility allowance payment) and receive a £2,000 transitional support payment. You must return your car within eight weeks, in a good condition.
  • Choose to keep the vehicle for 26 weeks and receive a reduced transitional support payment of £500. You must return your car within 26 weeks, in a good condition.

Joined during 2013

You have two options. You can either:

  • Choose to keep the vehicle for eight weeks and receive a £1,000 transitional support payment. You must return your car within eight weeks, in a good condition.
  • Choose to keep the vehicle for 26 weeks and receive a reduced transitional support payment of £250. You must return your car within 26 weeks, in a good condition.

Joined since 1 January 2014

If you joined on or after 1 January 2014, you can choose to keep your vehicle for eight weeks and receive a standard £250 ‘Return to Dealer’ payment.

You must return your car within eight weeks, in a good condition. As well as one of the above transitional support package options, you have the option of buying the vehicle outright.

Related information

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Parent guide: Claiming Child Disability Payment

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