Family member awarded enhanced pip - AIBU?

I understand what you’re saying, but, as you say, the difficulty is where to draw the line.

Oh I seriously doubt it if the WFP debacle is anything to go by. That was the toe in the water and they got it through. The sky’s the limit now. Disability and sickness benefits are next.

No. There aren’t. There are facebook and other social media sites, including MN which provide forums in which those with experience of benefit claims can advise on how to make the best claim first time round, thereby avoiding the stress of reconsiderations and appeals. I’ve taken part in these and AMA threads advising on how best to navigate the benefit system to ensure that a genuine claim is recognised as such.

There’s also an excellent site called Benefits and Work, who will advise on how to describe your disability and how it affects you, avoiding the pitfalls of repeating, and possibly contradicting yourself when completing what can be a very daunting form to complete - especially for those with mental health or cognitive conditions. Social media activity is looked at for benefit purposes, so open advice on fraudulent claims would be found and shut down.

Look on the bright side.

Your lot are in now, and they are beyond reproach.

Lots more funding coming.

PIP and other disability benefits take no account of capital reserves - they are universal for a reason. And most severely disabled people don’t have capital reserves because they are traditionally among the most long term unemployed/sick and low paid when in work. Add that to the cost of disability and there’s not much left.

think you'll find that I wasn't talking about the groups that help actual disabled people, but the groups that DO exist, that advise people on what to say to claim PIP when there's nothing wrong with them, to "Do their bit" in "screwing over" the government.

If there really are social media groups doing that (so basically publicly and openly admitting to fraud) it should be easy to find and report.

Yet someone having a major stroke just after turning state pension age - that is clearly disability. It is not age related. I have a client who was awarded PIP a few weeks before turning state pension age due to an arthiritic knee ( ? age related) yet someone being paralysed from a major stroke a few weeks after turning pension age gets no mobility component. The reasoning does not add up at all. It's a very very unfair system that needs to be made fairer. I completely agree with your previous post that mobility could not be paid to everyone on AA though, completely unaffordable given how easily that is given out. Not sure what the answer is?

There’s nothing funny about applying for a grant if someone can’t afford what is needed (as opposed to anything that is wanted but not needed). Many people do. And many are awarded grants.

Probably quite a few did have savings. I should imagine they run out quite quickly though. Even if someone's still able to work (and lots aren't when ill or disabled) aside from everyday living costs - mortgage or rent, food, bills etc - being ill or disabled is expensive. It incurs extra costs. Hence PIP.

Also whilst perhaps some very wealthy people might claim PIP, I doubt many do. Applying sounds like a stressful and degrading thing to go through, so I suspect many of the wealthiest don't bother putting themselves through that.

And I think you’ll find that the groups on social media are mostly dedicated to advising on how to make the best claim you can -not how to claim if you’re not disabled.

I think you'll find that I wasn't talking about the groups that help actual disabled people, but the groups that DO exist, that advise people on what to say to claim PIP when there's nothing wrong with them, to "Do their bit" in "screwing over" the government.

Funny how the majority of people on this thread aren't disabled, and at the same time aren't listening to what disabled people are saying.

We know there is PIP fraud. We know better than anyone else the criteria and the points system, and what to say or not to say. The fraud figures are so low, because people aren't being investigated.

Hahahaha Hahaha

Well I did, though. The wheelchair was kind of a clue 🙄

@DejaTu some might have zero savings others not. I had £100k when I took on the care of my late father. Three and a half years later I had nothing. We had to have a rental with a downstairs bathroom and bedroom so you are looking at a substantial family home with an au pair or suchlike accommodation. Not your average terrace. So who pays for this? Not the state. I had no benefits for 16 years because I was too proud to claim, what a fool I was. When my father died they took my carers allowance (currently £2 per hour) in a heartbeat.
I developed fibromaylgia last year. I wanted to die. The odd person claiming and fucking off to Benidorm is a rare fish. Have some compassion. My new drugs have worked and I will pay 45% tax next year. I am happy to do so. My contributions will fund the public purse and rightly so. We're not all scrounging Wankers.

Ah thanks - clear.

All good.

Did you intend to reply to me? It's just that I have no idea what relevance your comment has to mine. However, while I have no idea what specific point you're attempting to make, I can inform you that PIP is a non-means tested benefit and eligibility is entirely unrelated to savings or earnings, hope that helps.

PIP is not means tested and is not an income replacement benefit. If you qualify you qualify whether or not you have £0 or a million or two in your bank account, or you earn a six figure salary, or have a gold plated penguin*.

So, there is no way of knowing whether or not PIP recipients had "capital reserves" before they became disabled.

*Auto correct for pension! I thought I'd leave it as it amused me. 🐧 🐧 🐧

You can’t ‘’guarantee’’ anything. For one thing, if she is/was overweight enough to require a gastric sleeve and drinks to excess in the amounts you claim, there is probably wider issues going on. To be honest, I would argue that it’s not normal behaviour to choose to fraudulently claim benefits over working because people, as I said earlier, need routines, meaning and purpose in their lives. The fact they would rather claim benefits and risk being caught (if what you say is correct) suggests they are desperate and wouldn’t cope with all that working entails (and no, I’m not excusing it, I’m trying to explain why things can be far more complicated than busy bodies can appreciate). She also won’t be stopping work because she gets PIP.

To be honest, you’re the one sounding odd in this scenario because you sound obsessed and with this woman’s activities. You know everything she does day in, day out. ‘’Drinks all day’’ 😂. Sounds like you need to get a life of your own to make you happy so you’ll start to pay less attention to others

Question.

So the majority of claimants previously had zero capital reserves? Is that what you are implying? If so, I find that very difficult to believe.

I disagree. It’s right that disabled people should have a contribution to the extra cost of disability - including their mobility difficulties. It becomes problematic after retirement age because of the onset of many age related mobility issues. The disability benefits bill is already huge and if we commit to also covering the costs of naturally age related mobility issues it’s going to become unsustainable, and then everyone loses. We can’t hope to support everyone, and those over retirement age already have access help with daily living via the care component of AA, which is paid at the same rate as PIP. If you haven’t secured a mobility award for disability before age 66 then I think it’s actually right that the opportunity is lost once you reach 66.

The mobility component of PIP continuing after state pension age needs reviewing too. How is it fair that someone who is awarded PIP mobility just before turning pension age can keep that component potentially until they die with light touch ten year reviews , yet someone suffering paralysis form a severe stroke a few days after turning state pension age can't get any mobility component on Attendance Allowance, can't get a mobility car etc yet could be just 66 years of age ?

PIP ain't the problem nor the benefit needing looked at here. AA is. Let's not take form disabled people because others can't have, let's fight for them all to have what they should

Very well said.

It’s a tricky one. Basically it was decided that no mobility component would be included with AA because mobility problems can arise from age related issues, and not just disability. Mobility component is intended for disability, not the effects of aging - apart from anything else it would be too expensive to support mobility needs due to age. Retirement age was used as the cut off point for new PIP claims for that reason. What that effectively means is that if you have an ongoing PIP claim taking you beyond age 66, and that claim that includes the mobility component, then it’s accepted that the claim is for disability and not an age related condition and you can continue to claim after age 66 for as long as you’re eligible.

You can also make a new claim for PIP after age 66 if a previous PIP claim has been stopped in the twelve months before reaching that age. However, if your original PIP claim before age 66 didn’t include an award for mobility, you cannot claim mobility after age 66. Similarly If your ongoing PiP claim doesn’t currently include a mobility component, you can’t claim for that component once you have reached age 66.

Look on the bright side, just a cheery reminder to posters on here resenting disabled scroungers bleeding the country dry, that you and your loved ones are only an illness or accident away from acquiring a serious and life-altering disability of your very own. So, don't be too jealous, one day soon you too may get to enjoy the tax-payer funded, care-free life of riley all us disabled people apparently get to live. Life with a disability in a profoundly hostile and inaccessible world is so much fun that I hope some posters on here really do get the chance to experience it for themselves one day.