Huge changes are being made to the disability benefits system from November 2026 under new reforms announced by the UK Government last month.

Almost 3.7 million individuals receiving Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will experience significant alterations to the disability benefits system from November 2026, as part of new reforms unveiled last month. Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary, confirmed that payments would increase in line with the September inflation rate.

The annual adjustment on April 7 will see those on PIP receive between £29.20 and £187.45 weekly, equating to £116.80 or £749.80 every four-week pay period. Over the 2025/26 fiscal year, this means those on the highest awards could receive up to £9,747 in financial assistance.

However, current PIP recipients may find it more challenging to retain their PIP entitlement once these changes are implemented – if the proposed reforms are approved by parliament. This is primarily due to the most significant change announced by the DWP, which pertains to eligibility for the daily living component.

It’s crucial to note that all existing claimants won’t see these changes until their next review date. Therefore, the first step is to check your original award letter – not the annual uprating letter – to determine when your entitlement is due for review.

If your review is scheduled before November 2026, and the DWP manages to clear the current backlog of pending PIP reviews, your review should be conducted and a new award decision made. If successful, this should carry you beyond that critical date, reports the Daily Record.

If your award review date falls after November 2026, you’ll be subject to the newly proposed assessment changes and the revision of the points system for the daily living component.

It’s worth noting that you’ll need to score at least four points in one of the ten daily living questions to qualify for payment – even if scoring two points in every question takes you past the award thresholds of eight (standard rate) and twelve (higher rate).

Your original award letter from DWP for PIP will contain details of the points you scored for both the daily living and mobility parts of the application form.

However, if you’ve misplaced that letter, you can contact the DWP to request a copy of your claim form. This will enable you to see how many points you scored in each section for the daily living payment and check if you would still qualify under the new reforms.

This isn’t about trying to ‘cheat’ the system. Some people may have filled in the PIP 2 evidence form a long time ago and can’t recall the descriptors they identified with.

Others may have had someone else complete the form for them, and some people’s conditions may have changed over time, leading to different responses now.

Understanding how you completed the original form that led to your award could give you confidence that the changes won’t affect you, or it might make you realise that you will lose entitlement and allow you to start planning for the change.

Filing for PIP online can simplify the process, allowing you to save a copy on your personal computer or laptop for future reference. However, if you’re opting for a paper-based form, it’s wise to make a duplicate of the original document before sending it off.

If you haven’t got a copy of the PIP 2 evidence form – the health questionnaire you completed prior to your assessment – don’t hesitate to ring the PIP enquiry line on 0800 121 4433 and request one.

Other ways to prepare for benefit changes

Keeping a diary is one of the most important tools all disability benefit claimants should be aware of, and it doesn’t need to be a paper-based document. Using your mobile phone, computer, laptop or tablet can be a simple way to make notes of ‘bad days’ and recording key moments when something relating to your condition happens.

Creating a specific note, with the time and date, where you can add things you might want to mention at a future PIP review, or just adding it to the calendar function.

This isn’t something that needs to be done daily, just things that are relevant to how your condition affects you. This could include everyday tasks you found difficult to do safely on your own, forgetting to take medication, or feeling low or frustrated as a result of your condition.

‌

Other things to consider taking a note of would be if doing everyday things:

• Were painful for you
• Take you a long time
• Puts you or someone else in danger
• Makes you feel breathless
• Makes you unsteady

This type of note-taking, or diary keeping, is also a handy idea for people with fluctuating conditions, as it could make it easier to describe to a health professional ‘good days and bad days’. It can also help you see the frequency of significant health events, which are sometimes so regular they are quickly forgotten.

Medical appointments

It’s also important to keep any medical appointments relating to your condition so your records are up to date. This can also include counselling or physiotherapy.

Contact a charity or condition-related organisation

It might also be worthwhile getting in touch with a charity that has expert knowledge of your condition, even just to contact them to make sure you’re not missing out on extra support.

These tips are just a few of the steps everyone on disability benefits can take to start protecting their future payment award by creating a personal evidence trail that can make it easier to recall specific examples of how their condition affects them.

You can complete the UK Government’s consultation on proposed changes to PIP and the benefits system on GOV.UK here.