Adult Disability Payment

This advice applies to Scotland

What is Adult Disability Payment

Adult Disability Payment is a benefit for disabled working-age adults who live in Scotland. It's to help with the extra costs of being disabled or having a long-term health condition.

It's paid by Social Security Scotland.

Adult Disability Payment replaces Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in Scotland.

If you already get Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

You'll keep getting PIP until you move to Adult Disability Payment. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Social Security Scotland will tell you when that will happen.

You will not have to re-apply, and the rate and amount of payment you get will be the same in most cases.

Find out more about changes to PIP on mygov.scot.

If you already get Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for adults

Your disability benefit will move to Social Security Scotland.

You benefit will move to Adult Disability Payment from August 2022 onwards if you were born on or after 8 April 1948 and:

you tell the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about a change in circumstances
you ask to move to Adult Disability Payment, or
your DLA is ending or coming up for renewal.

You'll keep getting your regular DLA payments until your benefit moves. There will be no gaps in payment.

If you were born before 8 April 1948, your benefit will move later.

Find out more about changes to DLA for adults in Scotland on mygov.scot.

If you're terminally ill

There's a quicker process for applying for Adult Disability Payment if you're terminally ill. Some of the rules are also different.

You should apply straight away. It does not matter how long you've been ill for.

Who can get Adult Disability Payment

To get Adult Disability Payment, you must have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability, or be terminally ill.

In most cases, you must also:

be between 16 years old and State Pension age, and
live in Scotland.

A long-term condition or disability is one that:

has lasted 13 weeks or more, and
is expected to last a further 39 weeks or more.

You can also get Adult Disability Payment by moving over from PIP.

You cannot get Adult Disability Payment at the same time as:

Armed Forces Independence Payment
Attendance Allowance
Child Disability Payment
Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
PIP.

How much is Adult Disability Payment

Adult Disability Payment is made up of 2 parts called components - a daily living component and a mobility component. Each component is paid at a different rate.

You can get 1 or both components, depending on your daily living and mobility needs. You only need to make 1 application.

Daily living component	Weekly amount
Standard rate	£61.85
Enhanced rate	£92.40

Mobility component	Weekly amount
Standard rate	£24.45
Enhanced rate	£64.50

The daily living component

You can get the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment if your ability to carry out day-to-day activities is limited by a physical or mental health condition or disability.

Day-to-day activities include:

preparing food
taking nutrition
managing therapy or monitoring a health condition
washing and bathing
managing toilet needs or incontinence
dressing and undressing
communicating verbally
reading and understanding symbols and words
engaging socially with other people face to face
making budgeting decisions.

The rate you get will depend on how much your day-to-day activities are affected by your health condition or disability.

To work this out, Social Security Scotland will look at your ability to carry out the day-to-day activities using a points system.

If you get between 8 and 11 points in total, you'll get the standard rate of the daily living component. It's £61.85 a week.

If you get 12 or more points in total, you'll get the enhanced rate. It's £92.40 a week.

The mobility component

You can get the mobility component of Adult Disability Payment if your ability to plan and follow journeys or move around is limited by a physical or mental health condition or disability.

The rate you get will depend on how much your mobility is affected by your health condition or disability.

To work this out, Social Security Scotland will look at your ability to carry out the mobility activities using a points system.

If you get between 8 and 11 points in total, you'll get the standard rate of the mobility component. It's £24.45 a week.

If you get 12 or more points in total, you'll get the enhanced rate. It's £64.50 a week.

Getting an accessible car or other vehicle

If you get the enhanced rate of the mobility component, you can get an accessible car or other vehicle through the Accessible Vehicle and Equipment (AVE) scheme.

If you already get a Motability vehicle because you get the enhanced rate of the mobility component of PIP, you'll be able to keep the vehicle when you move to Adult Disability Payment. Read more about changes to Motability vehicles in Scotland.

How old must you be

To apply for Adult Disability Payment, you must normally be at least 16 years old and under State Pension age.

Check your State Pension age on GOV.UK.

But if you've reached State Pension age, you can still apply for Adult Disability Payment if you:

were previously getting Adult Disability Payment, PIP or DLA for adults that stopped a year ago or less, and
have the same health condition or disability that you had when you got the benefit before - or a new condition caused by your earlier condition.

You can only get the same component of Adult Disability Payment as you got before. For example, if you only got the daily living component of PIP, you'll only get the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment.

Rules about living in Scotland

To get Adult Disability Payment, you must usually be all of the following:

ordinarily resident in Scotland – this means you normally live in Scotland
habitually resident in the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands
present in the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands
not subject to immigration control - read more about accessing benefits and services if you're subject to immigration control.

There are different rules for some nationals of EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Get advice if you're not sure if you can get Adult Disability Payment because of where you live.

Habitually resident in the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands

To be habitually resident, you must:

have lived in the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands for 'an appreciable period' - this often means at least 1 to 3 months, and
plan to stay for a reasonable length of time, though not necessarily forever.

You can only be habitually resident in 1 place at a time.

You do not have to meet the 'habitual residence' test if you:

have been granted refugee status or humanitarian protection under the immigration rules
are the dependant of a person with refugee status or humanitarian protection.

Check how to prove that you're habitually resident.

Present in the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands

You must be present in the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands when you apply for Adult Disability Payment. These places form the Common Travel Area.

You must also have lived in the Common Travel Area for at least 26 weeks (or periods that add up to 26 weeks) out of the 52 weeks before you apply. This is known as the 'past presence test'.

You do not have to meet the past presence test if you:

are terminally ill
have been granted refugee status or humanitarian protection under the immigration rules
are the dependant of a person with refugee status or humanitarian protection
are a member of the UK armed forces or a civil servant who is serving abroad
live with - and are the child, stepchild, child in care, parent, spouse or civil partner of - a member of the UK armed forces or a civil servant serving abroad.

Going abroad temporarily

You can still count as present during a temporary absence from the Common Travel Area.

A temporary absence is one that is not expected to last more than 52 weeks.

If you go abroad temporarily, you'll still be eligible for Adult Disability Payment for:

the first 13 weeks
the first 26 weeks if you're going abroad for medical treatment.

The medical treatment must be for a health condition you had before you left the Common Travel Area.

If you're a national of an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland

You can apply for Adult Disability Payment if you:

are from the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, or are the family member of someone who is, and
have settled status or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

The countries in the EU are listed on GOV.UK.

If you have settled or pre-settled status, you might be in a 'protected' group. This means that the residence and presence rules for Adult Disability Payment are different. You:

must be habitually resident in the UK
do not have to meet the past presence test.

If you're not in a protected group, the normal residence and presence rules apply.

If you do not have pre-settled or settled status, you're usually subject to immigration control and will not be able to apply for Adult Disability Payment.

The rules about residence and presence for nationals of EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are complicated. Get advice if you're not sure if you can get Adult Disability Payment because of where you're from.

If you live in an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland

You might be able to get the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment.

The countries in the EU are listed on GOV.UK.

The UK must be the country responsible for paying benefits to you, and you must have a 'genuine and sufficient' link to Scotland - for example, you have:

spent a significant part of your life in Scotland
a bank account in Scotland
frequent contact with family members living in Scotland
worked or previously paid social security or tax contributions in Scotland.

This means that if you live in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland but would otherwise be entitled to the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment, you can get it as long as you meet all the other conditions.

If you're from Afghanistan

You do not need to meet the habitual residence test or the past presence test if you've been granted leave:

under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy or the ex gratia scheme for locally employed staff in Afghanistan
as the dependant of someone who has been granted this leave
under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.

If you're from Ukraine

You don't need to meet the habitual residence test or the past presence test if you:

have leave to enter or remain in the UK or a right of abode in the UK, and
were living in Ukraine before 1 January 2022, and
left Ukraine because of the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022.

How to apply

You can apply:

online - by completing an application form on mygov.scot
by phone - by calling Social Security Scotland free on 0800 182 2222, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
by post - you can phone to ask for a paper form with a pre-paid envelope
face to face - an adviser from Social Security Scotland's local delivery service can help you apply. Phone 0800 182 2222 to make an appointment.

If you're a British Sign Language (BSL) user, you can use the contactSCOTLAND app to contact Social Security Scotland by video relay.

Completing the application form

There are 2 parts to the Adult Disability Payment application form. You start the application by completing part 1. You then have 8 weeks to complete part 2.

You should try to complete part 1 as soon as you can, because Adult Disability Payment can be paid from that date.

If you're going to have difficulty completing the application within the 8-week deadline, you should tell Social Security Scotland. If you have a good reason for not meeting the deadline, you might be able to get more time.

You can read the questions that you'll be asked when applying for Adult Disability Payment on mygov.scot.

How to apply if you're terminally ill

You should apply for Adult Disability Payment straight away. It does not matter how long you've been ill for.

You can get the enhanced rate of both the daily living component and the mobility component.

To apply, you need to complete a short application form. Once you apply, your application will be fast-tracked and dealt with by specially trained staff.

Get advice and help to apply from an adviser at a Citizens Advice Bureau.

Get help to apply

You can get help to apply from:

Social Security Scotland's local delivery service. Phone 0800 182 2222 to make an appointment
a Citizens Advice Bureau.

You can also get help to apply for Adult Disability Payment on mygov.scot. This includes if you want to apply in a language that's not English.

Help from the Independent Advocacy Service

You can also get help from the Independent Advocacy Service. This service is provided by VoiceAbility.

You can get an advocate by:

asking Social Security Scotland to refer you to the Independent Advocacy Service. Find out how to contact Social Security Scotland on mygov.scot
contacting VoiceAbility. Find out more about support to access benefits on the VoiceAbility website.

VoiceAbility can help you express your views, get information you need and help you make decisions.

How decisions are made

Social Security Scotland will normally make a decision about your application using:

what you've said on your application form
any supporting information you've provided or they've obtained on your behalf.

Read more about supporting information on mygov.scot.

If it's not possible to decide on your application based on that information, Social Security Scotland might ask you to take part in a consultation.

A consultation is a conversation with a Social Security Scotland health or social care practitioner. It can take place over the phone or in person.

Getting a decision

Once you've applied, you'll get updates on the progress of your application.

A decision will be sent to you by post. A decision is called a determination.

If you're terminally ill, Social Security Scotland will aim to make a decision within a week.

If you're not terminally ill, they'll aim to make a decision within 8 to 10 weeks.

If your application is successful, the money will be paid into your bank, building society or credit union account.

The decision letter will also tell you when your award of Adult Disability Payment will be reviewed.

If Social Security Scotland decide that you're not entitled to Adult Disability Payment, they'll send you a letter explaining why.

If you do not agree with the decision

You can ask Social Security Scotland to look again at the decision about your Adult Disability Payment application. This is called asking for a re-determination.

Find out more about challenging a Social Security Scotland decision.

When is Adult Disability Payment paid

Adult Disability Payment will be paid every 4 weeks in arrears into your bank, building society or credit union account.

If you're terminally ill, payments will be made every week in advance.

You can choose what to spend the money on. Social Security Scotland will not ask for receipts.

How long will Adult Disability Payment be paid for

Once you've been awarded Adult Disability Payment, you'll continue to get it as long as you still meet the conditions for it.

Your award letter from Social Security Scotland will give a review date. At the review date, Social Security Scotland will check to see if you're still entitled to Adult Disability Payment.

How Adult Disability Payment affects tax and other benefits

Adult Disability Payment is not means tested, so it does not matter how much you earn or how much money you have in savings.

You do not pay tax on Adult Disability Payment.

Adult Disability Payment does not reduce your work-related benefits or tax credits.

You might be able to get other benefits and help because you get Adult Disability Payment.

If your circumstances change

You must tell Social Security Scotland if your circumstances change - for example, if:

your condition gets better or worse
the level of help and support you need changes
you move away from Scotland.

Find out more about how a change of circumstances can affect Adult Disability Payment.

When you reach State Pension age

If you're already getting Adult Disability Payment when you reach State Pension age, you'll continue to get it.

If you reach State Pension age and you do not already get Adult Disability Payment, PIP or the care component of DLA, you can apply for Attendance Allowance.

Get more help

You can get more advice from a Citizens Advice Bureau or contact the Money Talk Team.

You can also contact Social Security Scotland.

Read more about Adult Disability Payment on mygov.scot.

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