Personal Independence Payment (abbreviated to PIP and usually pronounced as one word) is a welfare benefit in the United Kingdom that is intended to help working age adults with the extra costs of living with a health condition or a disability. It is available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland but not in Scotland where Adult Disabled Payment (ADP) is claimed instead.
It is non-means-tested, non-contributory and tax-free; it is not linked to a person's ability to work and it is available equally to people in or out of work. It is not intended to be a substitute for a person's earnings, unlike Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or ESA's predecessor, Incapacity Benefit.
Eligibility for PIP is based upon the practical effects of a condition on a person's life, rather than the condition itself. It is not currently available to children who still claim Disability Living Allowance and are invited to claim PIP from their 16th birthday; it can be claimed by adults under the State Pension age, and people already on the benefit will continue to receive it after they retire.