Could you be among the 300,000 owed money due to benefit underpayments?

Hundreds of thousands of people who claim personal independence payment (PIP) could be owed money due to mistakes in how the benefit was paid.

So far, more than £260m has already been paid out by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to people who were underpaid or wrongly denied the benefit. But around 300,000 people may still be due compensation, and some of those payouts could be worth more than £2,000.

What is PIP?

PIP is a benefit designed to help people with a long-term illness, mental health condition or disability cover extra living costs. Around 3.7 million people currently claim it in the UK.

What went wrong?

DWP has recently identified three separate errors that led to some people missing out on the money they were entitled to.

1. Social interaction decision

The biggest issue relates to a court ruling that changed how the DWP assessed someone’s ability to engage with others face to face. The updated rules made the process more flexible, meaning some people who were previously turned down for PIP, or were awarded a lower rate, may actually have qualified for more support.

• 325,000 people could be affected
• £250m has already been paid out
• that works out at an average of £800, but some people have received much more

2. Missing national insurance numbers

Some people had their claims processed incorrectly because they didn’t include their national insurance number when applying. While this isn’t a requirement to apply, it led to mistakes in how their claims were handled.

• only 455 cases reviewed so far
• but £500,000 has already been paid, that’s over £1,000 per person on average

3. Transition to Scottish benefit

In Scotland, PIP has been replaced by the adult disability payment. During the switch, thousands of people may have had their payments wrongly suspended.

• 4,867 people could be affected
• £13m paid out so far
• with an average payment of £2,771

What should I do?

You don’t need to do anything right now - DWP is reviewing cases and contacting people who are owed money. But if you’re concerned or think you may have been affected, it’s worth getting in touch with a benefits adviser or speaking to DWP directly to check your situation.

DWP has said:

“We are fully committed to identifying claimants that are owed money and providing the financial support to which they are entitled as quickly as possible.”