The DWP has provided an update about PIP (Personal Independence Payment). The benefit supports people who live with a long-term health condition or disability, paying up to £750 each four-week pay period.

DWP minister Torsten Bell spoke to the Work and Pensions Committee about raising the state pension age, and what the Government is doing to support people who have to work longer as a result. The access age is increasing from 66 to 67 between April 2026 and April 2028.

There are also plans for a further increase to 68 between 2044 and 2046. Mr Bell was asked about those who are approaching retirement age but who may struggle to work as they have health conditions, and what support is available for them.

In his response, he spoke about the support available to people of working age: "We have a benefit system that is there to support in those circumstances. In practice, those are different circumstances for different people.

"We have a means-tested benefit system aiming to provide some support but, as you are rightly hinting at, at a significantly lower level than we do to pensioners, but then we also have parts of the benefit system that are aiming to target ill health or disability characteristics that could affect all age groups but are more likely to affect those in later life.

"That is why we have about 500,000 people in England and Wales on PIP who are 60 to 64." If you are approaching state pension age and are living with a health condition, it may be worth checking if you are eligible for this benefit.

PIP provides support to help with the extra costs of living with a health condition or disability. It is not means-tested. The benefit includes a daily living part and a mobility part, with a lower and higher rate depending on your level of need. You can get one part while getting nothing for the other.

These are the current weekly rates for PIP, which will increase 1.7 percent in April, along with other benefits:

Daily living element

• Lower - £73.90


• Higher - £110.40

Mobility element

• Lower - £29.20


• Higher - £77.05

If you have reached state pension age and you have a health condition, you may be able to claim Attendance Allowance if you need someone else's help to look after you. This is paid at £73.90 or £110.40 a week.

You may also want to check if you are eligible for Pension Credit, which is available to people of state pension age on a low income. This tops up your income and provides access to other Government support, with the average claim worth around £4,300 a year in support.