The Benefits and Work Newsletter can be an excellent source of advice and inside information on benefits for older people and people with disabilities. Their first newsletter of 2025 is a good example. Below is the intro to the newsletter, with a link to the full document below.
And whilst the press may be increasingly full of dire warnings about cuts to disability benefits, the reality is that there have been no concrete announcements whatsoever about possible changes.
So, instead, we start the year with a warning to beware the new AR1 PIP renewal form, which lulls claimants into giving insufficient evidence to keep their award.
We bring the welcome news that the chair of the Commons Work and Pensions committee has dismissed the idea of replacing PIP with vouchers as “nonsense”.
And we learn that the latest PIP statistics show a small fall in success rates.
Plus, with 63,000 claimants due to get their migration notice next month, we’ve updated our managed migration guide to include information about the complex needs safeguards, which may apply to many readers.
In the feedback section, Sheila got enhanced awards for both PIP components on her initial claim. Battlezone has set out a timeline for the 14 month process of their successful PIP review. And CCG was relieved to keep their Motability car, following their PIP review just before Christmas, but missed out on enhanced daily living by just one point
This coming year is likely to be a challenging one in relation to benefits and we can’t create good news out of thin air. So, if you have any to share over the coming weeks and months, please do.
