DWP list of freebies and discounts you can get worth up to £70,000 on PIP

There is a range of freebies, discounts, and extra support you claim if you get (PIP).

PIP is a paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to people with long-term or disabilities. It is not an out of work benefit and it's intended to help with the extra costs people can face due to their condition - this means you can claim it whether you are working or not.

PIP is made up of two components - a daily living rate and a mobility rate - and you can be entitled to both or just one of these. These components are then split again, into the standard rate and the enhanced rate. Currently, the standard rate for daily living sits at £72.65 and the enhanced is £108.55. For the mobility component, the standard rate is £28.70 a week and the enhanced is £75.75.

Alongside the benefit, claimants can also claim multiple different freebies and extra support to help them with their daily lives. This can include Blue Badges, capped water bills, and Council Tax discounts. Here we highlight just some of the freebies, discounts, and support you can get.

Council tax discounts - £2,171 average

You might also be able to get a council tax discount if you claim the living or mobility part of PIP. Again, you will need to contact your local authority to find out whether you could be entitled to a discount. How much you'll get off widely depends on what your personal situation is and how much PIP you're claiming - so it's best to call up and have a chat.

If you’re classed as "severely mentally impaired", you could be eligible for a complete exemption, meaning you’ll be disregarded from paying any council tax at all. The average Band D council tax set by local authorities in England for the 2024/25 financial year is £2,171 - meaning this much could be saved if you got a full discount.

Usually, you will need to show your PIP award letter to prove you are claiming the discount. You should contact your local council for more information on what discounts are available.

Blue badge - £3,800 average

Blue Badges help people with disabilities or health conditions park a car closer to their destination and you can use your PIP award letter to get one. Blue badge holders can park on single or double lines for up to three hours as long as there are no loading or unloading restrictions. They can also get free or discounted on-street parking.

You can apply for Blue Badges from your local council and some can be free, however, some do charge. The most they can charge sits at £10.

To be eligible, you’ll need to have a disability that limits your movement and ability to walk - you can also get one if you are registered blind. Other benefits which could get you a blue badge include;

• Disability living allowance
• War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement
• Lump sum payment as part of the Armed Forces Compensation scheme

According to Just Park, Brits spend £3,800 on parking on average each year which means PIP claimants could be saving this much with their blue badge.

Benefit boost - £7,334.40

People on PIP can also claim other DWP benefits alongside PIP and these benefits include:

• Housing Benefit
• Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income Support
• Working Tax Credit
• Employment and Support Allowance - but only if you get the PIP daily living component

• Pension Credit - but only if you get the PIP daily living component

However, it's important to note that some of these are "legacy" benefits, and you cannot make a new claim for them. You can only get them if you are already claiming. So if you are claiming one of these benefits you could get a "disability premium" which is an extra payment on top to help with the cost of your disability.

If eligible, you could get either:

• £39.85 a week for a single person (disability premium)
• £56.80 a week for a couple (disability premium)
• £76.40 a week for a single person (severe disability premium)
• £152.80 a week if you’re in a couple and are both eligible (severe disability premium)
• £19.55 a week for a single person (enhanced disability premium)
• £27.90 a week if you’re in a couple and at least one of you is eligible (enhanced disability premium)

This means the maximum amount, you could claim could reach up to £7,945.60 a year. You can find all the eligibility rules for disability premiums on the GOV.UK website .

Capped water bills - £1,053

Some people who claim PIP can eligible for help with paying their water bills through the WaterSure Scheme. They can also be capped so you pay less than others in your area.

To be eligible, you'll need to consume - or someone in your household consumes - a lot of water due to your medical condition. Alongside this, you must also be on a water meter. Eligibility varies from water supplier to water supplier, so to get the help, you should get in touch with your supplier to see if they’re offering any support. You can do this through their website or online.

The amount you could save varies depending on your supplier but according to ' Money Saving Expert (MSE), one person was refunded £1,053 through the scheme.

Vehicle tax reduction - £1,177.50

If you're receiving the standard rate mobility component of PIP you can get a 50% reduction in vehicle tax. You can also get 100% off if you're on the enhanced rate mobility component. Vehicle tax - also known as road tax - is what you have to pay to use your car on the roads. To get the discount, the vehicle you're getting reduced tax on must be registered in the disabled person's name or their nominated driver's name.

In some cases, vehicle tax can hit prices of as high as £2,355 a year, although in some cases, it is much lower. So the reduction could be as much as £1,177.50 for some PIP claimants.

You can claim this discount when applying for vehicle tax and the vehicle needs to be registered in your name. If you're applying for the first time, you should be able to do it at your local Post Office branch. To find your nearest branch, you can go to the Post Office's website and use its branch finder.

Motability Scheme - £23,760

If you’ve been awarded the enhanced rate of the mobility component of PIP and have 12 months or more remaining on your current allowance, you could be eligible to join the Motability Scheme. This is where you can trade some or all of your PIP earnings from this component towards the cost of a brand-new car, wheelchair-accessible vehicle, scooter or powered wheelchair.

Through the scheme, you have over 2,000 cars to choose from, with insurance, tax and servicing all included. You can look into the scheme and the selection of the vehicles available through the Motability Scheme website. Car rental costs around £66 a day on average in London, which could typically amount to a whopping £23,760 over the year - a considerable saving if you need a vehicle.

Free prescriptions - £115.80

If you have a disability that entitles you to PIP, you may be able to get free prescriptions, although this is not always guaranteed. Some medical conditions and disabilities can get you a Medical Exemption Certificate which allows you to get free prescriptions.

These are credit-card-size cards which you can get after speaking to your doctor or GP. According to the NHS website, the conditions which are eligible for a medical exemption card include:

• a permanent fistula (for example, caecostomy, colostomy, laryngostomy or ileostomy) which needs continuous surgical dressing or an appliance
• a form of hypoadrenalism (for example, Addison’s Disease) for which specific substitution therapy is essential
• diabetes insipidus and other forms of hypopituitarism
• diabetes mellitus, except where treatment is by diet alone
• hypoparathyroidism
• myasthenia gravis
• myxoedema (that is, hypothyroidism which needs thyroid hormone replacement)
• epilepsy which needs continuous anticonvulsive therapy
• a continuing physical disability which means you cannot go out without the help of another person
• cancer and are undergoing treatment for either cancer, the effects of cancer, or the effects of cancer treatment

Currently, a prescription charge is £9.65 per prescriptions. So if you need to get one prescription per month you could end up spending £115.80 a year on your medications. So you could save this amount if you are eligible for the medical exemption card.

Disabled person's railcard - £113

People who claim PIP can also get a Disabled Person's Railcard. The railcard costs £20 per year or £54 for three years and it gives you a third off rail travel. the average annual savings are around £113 - but this will depend on how often you get the train.

According to National Rail, the annual saving is based on the average savings made by Disabled Persons Railcard holders between April 2023 and March 2024, excluding the price of Railcard. You can apply for a railcard on National Rail's website and you will need to provide your PIP award letter to get it.

Discounted days out - £144

A number of British attractions offer discounted prices to people claiming PIP or who have a blue badge. The National Trust and English Heritage offer free entry to a person and their carer through the Essential Compassion Card.

An annual pass for these sites usually sits at around £72 a year, meaning you could save a combined £144 with your carer also entering free. Discounts can also extend to cinema, theatre and art gallery visits. The disability charity scope has rounded up a full list of all the available discounts disabled Brits can get at the moment. You can find that .

Disabled facilities grant - £30,000

You can apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant if you're disabled and need to make changes to your home to suit your needs. For example, you might need to widen doors and install ramps or rails. However, you need to be assessed to check your eligibility for the support, so not everyone claiming PIP can be eligible.

You can get different amounts of money depending on whether you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. The grants are not available for households in . If you live in Wales you can get up to £36,000 worth of support, £30,000 in England and up to £25,000 in Northern Ireland. You can apply through your local council which must give you a decision within six months.

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