More than 150,000 long-term disability benefit claimants in England and Wales face mandatory reassessments as the Department for Work and Pensions resumes transferring remaining adult Disability Living Allowance recipients onto Personal Independence Payment.
The department temporarily halted the final phase of the transition in 2020 following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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An initial small-scale test involving roughly 3,000 randomly selected cases is scheduled to begin in September before officials determine whether to execute a broader nationwide rollout.
Transition Process and Deadlines
Adult claimants currently receiving Disability Living Allowance will receive formal letters instructing them to apply for Personal Independence Payment within 28 days.
Individuals who fail to submit their applications within the required timeframe risk having their existing benefit payments terminated completely.
Although Disability Living Allowance was replaced for working-age adults in 2013, approximately 153,000 adult recipients remain on the older framework.
Most of these claimants previously held lifetime awards, which had exempted them from ongoing medical evaluations.
Under the restart, claimants will be assessed under Personal Independence Payment criteria, requiring them to complete new application forms and participate in health assessments.
Existing payments will continue while claims are considered, provided deadlines are met.
Personal Independence Payment is worth between £30.30 and £194.60 per week depending on assessed daily living and mobility needs.
The initiative will not affect claimants in Scotland, where adult disability benefits are managed separately by Social Security Scotland.
