Supporting adults in Scotland when their case is transferring from PIP to Adult Disability Payment.
This guidance is for community and voluntary sector organisations and local authorities.
Adults living in Scotland who get Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will have their benefit transferred to Social Security Scotland. We’ll work with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to make sure clients:
We have now selected all cases expected to move from PIP to Adult Disability Payment.
If you are supporting someone on PIP and they have not had a letter about their benefit moving, ask them to contact Social Security Scotland.
Until their benefit has moved, clients should continue to:
This means the client will not miss any payment or increase they are entitled to from DWP.
Client | How long case transfer takes |
Gets Personal Independence Payment (PIP) under normal rules and is a managed case transfer | 3 to 4 months |
Gets PIP under Special Rules for Terminal Illness (SRTI) | Up to 5 weeks |
Has an unscheduled review because they reported a change of condition to DWP that triggered their move | 1 to 2 months |
DWP will write to the client to let them know:
We’ll write to the client to confirm these details and to also let the client know:
The letter also explains that the client must tell DWP about any changes during the transfer to:
This is because until the transfer is finished, they're still on PIP with DWP and are not an Adult Disability Payment client yet.
We’ll check the information we get from DWP to see if the client:
We may need to contact the client if any information is missing or we need to check their details. If we call them we’ll use this number: 0800 182 2222.
A client's move will have been triggered after reporting a change of condition to DWP. They can give us this information by filling in a Change of Circumstances form. They should have got this with the introduction letter we sent them.
This can be done on paper or over the phone. We'll then be able to gather information from the client earlier, during the transfer window. This will help speed up the review process once the transfer is complete. The client’s award should then correctly reflects their needs.
We’ll write to the client to tell them:
We’ll review the client’s Adult Disability Payment around the time they would have had their PIP reviewed by DWP.
If the transfer process starts because the client reports a change to DWP, we’ll review their Adult Disability Payment as soon as case transfer is finished.
Clients will be transferred before their PIP ends so their payments will not be disrupted.
If a client reports a change in their condition to DWP after 29 August 2022, this will start the transfer. This is so they will not have a review of their PIP with DWP. Instead we’ll review their Adult Disability Payment.
If a client is due a review of their PIP with DWP after 29 August 2022, this will start the transfer. The transfer will start on the date DWP would have started the review of their PIP. Again, this is so they will not have a review of their PIP with DWP. Instead we’ll review their Adult Disability Payment.
We’ll prioritise transferring the benefits of clients under special rules.
Clients who are getting PIP because they’re terminally ill do not need to ask for a transfer. It will happen automatically.
If a client became terminally ill after Adult Disability Payment started on 29 August 2022, we’ll make sure we move their benefit within 5 weeks.
If they are between 16 and state pension age when their Adult Disability Payment award starts they will get:
If they are over state pension age when their Adult Disability Payment award starts, they will get the same rate of mobility that they got for PIP.
Whatever their age, we will not review their Adult Disability Payment, unless they ask us to.
Our rules about who can get Adult Disability Payment under special rules are different to DWP’s. Before you advise a client to apply under special rules, read our factsheet for clinicians.
The client’s entitlement to other benefits and services will not be affected by the move from PIP to Adult Disability Payment.
However, they will need to let any organisation that provides those benefits and services know that their benefit is moving. They should do this when they get a letter from Social Security Scotland telling them that the transfer of their benefit is complete.
This is so that the client does not go out of payment for any of their other benefits or lose their access to services such as the Blue Badge.
We’ll write to client and ask them to confirm which details are correct. If the client does not respond then we’ll default to the details we were given from DWP.
DWP will not gather any information about the change in the client’s condition. DWP will only tell us that the client has reported that their condition has changed.
Once the transfer is finished we’ll:
DWP will tell us about this change. We’ll prioritise this case for transfer and gather the information we need to make a decision about their award.
After we have made a decision about the award, the client will not need any further review.
After someone has confirmed the death of the client with DWP, DWP will tell us and the transfer will be stopped. We’ll write to the person who reported the death to DWP to tell them that we have stopped the transfer. If DWP do not tell us who reported the death, we’ll send this letter to the client’s address.
The client should tell DWP about any other changes that happen during the transfer, such as a change of address or name. DWP will then tell us about this change.
Clients can carry on using their Motability vehicle or equipment until the end of the lease. We’ll take over payments from DWP and let Motability know that the client’s benefit has been transferred.
If the client’s lease ends during the transfer period, they can apply to Motability to renew their lease.
The terms of the client’s lease will remain the same during and after the transfer, and will continue until the end of the lease.
PIP clients living outside the UK with a genuine and sufficient link to Scotland will need to contact DWP and ask to have their benefit transferred to Adult Disability Payment.
Their case will then be selected for transfer when one of the following takes place:
We’ll stop the transfer of a client’s benefit if:
DWP will stop the transfer of a client’s benefit if:
If the client is still eligible for PIP, they will continue to get PIP from DWP. The best thing to do if this happens is to call DWP to make sure they will still get PIP.
We will let the client know the date of their Adult Disability Payment review when we write to let them know the transfer is complete.
There will be no review during the transfer of their benefit.
We’ll write to the client a month before to remind them of their review date.
On the date of their review, we’ll send them the review pack which includes a form for them to fill in.
If their condition has not changed, they will not have to fill in the whole form.
The client may need to share information about their condition or disability with us. They can send documents in the post or upload them.
We can gather information from people involved in the client’s care for them. The client just needs to give us the contact details of these people.
Find out more about how we gather supporting information.
If we cannot make a decision from the information in the client’s review form and from the people involved in their care, we’ll invite the client to take part in a consultation. We’ll only ask you to take part in a consultation if there's no other way to find the information we need for a review.
The consultation can be done by phone, video or in person at a convenient location for the client. We’ll audio record the consultation unless the client asks us not to.
The client is entitled to a re-determination from the date of the letter from Social Security Scotland with the client’s decision. Our decision will always be to award a case transfer client the same level of Adult Disability Payment as they had for PIP.
A client who disagreed with their PIP award can ask us to carry out a re-determination of their Adult Disability Payment award. They can do this by calling us free on 0800 182 2222 to ask for a re-determination form.
The client should get independent advice before asking for a re-redetermination. This is because they may be better off financially if they wait for their review.
They can seek advice about what to do by:
They can also contact the advocacy service provider VoiceAbility:
They can also contact Social Security Scotland and ask to be referred to Voicability:
We can only make payments for any Social Security Scotland award into one bank account per client.
If the client has had their PIP paid into a different bank account to the one they use for any other Social Security Scotland payments, we’ll call and then write to the client and find out which one they want us to use. If we cannot get confirmation from the client, we’ll default to the bank account their PIP was paid into. And in future we’ll pay any other Social Security Scotland award into this account.
Any changes made by us will not affect where they receive any other benefits from DWP.
When their Adult Disability Payment payments start, the client will see a reference in their bank statement based on their national insurance number and ‘ADP’ for Adult Disability Payment.
DWP will tell us about the client’s preferences.
If the client has asked DWP to send them letters in braille or large print, we will send them letters in this format automatically.
If the client has asked DWP to send them letters in another format (such as audio recording or easy read), we’ll send letters in this format too, but it is not done automatically and can take a little longer.
We’ll send a letter first in plain English and then follow up with a letter in the preferred language or format. This is because it can take longer for letters to be translated into a different language or format.
We can provide information in around 5 days in these languages:
We can provide information in other languages but it may take longer.
We can provide information in these formats:
We can provide these services for clients who needs them:
If there is an appointee managing the client’s PIP, Social Security Scotland will need to review their appointment. Scottish law about appointees is different to UK law. It aims to give greater protection to clients. In Scotland the process involves face-to-face visits wherever possible. We’ll contact the appointee at a later date after the transfer to arrange a review.
Read the client representative guidelines.
We’ll not review legal acting bodies, such as someone with power of attorney, a court appointed deputy or a legal guardian. We’ll keep in touch to make sure their authority is still active.
Third party representatives are people who help the client on an informal basis. This could be an interpreter, nurse or family member who can explain processes to the client and help when something needs to be done quickly.
Information about who is acting as a third party representative will not be transferred from DWP to Social Security Scotland. People acting in this role will need to contact us and explain they have helped the client in the past with their PIP.
We’ll check with the client and get verbal or written authorisation that they are happy to carry on with the arrangement. We’ll not share sensitive information like bank accounts or specifics about the client’s condition or circumstances with third party representatives.
The third party representative role can only last for 3 months unless the client has given consent for a longer period. The client can also remove their consent at any time.
The client can give their consent:
Find out how to contact Social Security Scotland.
This guidance is for people with a Scottish postcode who have been getting Personal Independence Payment from the Department for Work and Pensions. Over the next two years, a new Scottish benefit called Adult Disability Payment (ADP) is replacing Personal Independence Payment.
ADP was launched across Scotland by Social Security Scotland in August 2022. Most people will have their benefits moving onto this in planned phases, as agreed with the Department for Work and Pensions.
The timing for some individuals will depend on factors such as:
The person’s situation is referred to as being ‘inflight’ if they need to sort anything out with the Department for Work and Pensions before they can move to Social Security Scotland. For example:
The Department for Work and Pensions will resolve any tasks that started before 29 August 2022. This date is the cut-off agreed by the Department for Work and Pensions and Social Security Scotland.
Tasks to be resolved could include:
People will stay on their Personal Independence Payment awards until everything has been finalised by the Department for Work and Pensions.
This system makes sure that people don’t miss out on any payment or increase that they could be due from the Department for Work and Pensions. For example, they could be due an increase following the outcome of their agreed review.
Once all tasks have been completed, then Social Security Scotland will select their award for transfer at the next appropriate point.
Social Security Scotland will transfer a person’s award if any of the following circumstances occur after 29 August 2022:
If none of these apply, then Social Security Scotland will transfer a person’s award in one of the planned phases. The timing will depend on the person’s Personal Independence Payment review date.
A client’s Adult Disability Payment award will be the same as their PIP award once the move is complete. If they've reported a terminal illness to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) however, it may not be the same.
There will be no gap in their payments. They’ll be paid on the same day.
A client may be responsible for paying back any Social Security Scotland payments made by mistake.
If a client or the person acting on their behalf is paid too much, Social Security Scotland may:
Social Security Scotland will look at cases of overpayment on an individual basis and will always contact the client before stopping payments.
A client can contact Social Security Scotland if they:
In some circumstances, if Social Security Scotland review a client’s Adult Disability Payment after the move and that results in a higher award, they’ll backdate that award.
This means they’ll change the date of their higher award entitlement to a date in the past. The client will not lose out on any money that’s due to them in the process of moving their benefit from PIP to Adult Disability Payment.
If they backdate their award, it will typically mean the client is due a payment for the backdated period. This makes sure they get the full award amount that they’re entitled to.
Social Security Scotland will pay any amount that’s due to a client from a backdated award automatically. The client does not need to do anything.
Awards can only be backdated after the move from PIP to Adult Disability Payment is complete.
After Social Security Scotland review a client’s award, they’ll send them a letter to let them know if there are any changes to their payments or entitlement.
A client might have their Adult Disability Payment award backdated if either they:
The amount of Adult Disability Payment a client gets for the backdated period will be reduced by any PIP or Adult Disability Payment they’ve already received in that period.
If a client reports a change in their condition before or during their move from PIP to Adult Disability Payment, Social Security Scotland will start the process of reviewing their award after the move is complete.
If that review leads to an increase in their Adult Disability Payment award, their entitlement may be backdated depending on when the change occurred. It could be backdated to whichever is the later of:
Social Security Scotland will review their award after the move if both:
If that review leads to an increase in their Adult Disability Payment award, their entitlement may be backdated depending on when the change occurred. It could be backdated to whichever is the later of:
If a client reports they’re terminally ill before or during their move from PIP to Adult Disability Payment, their benefit will move faster to Social Security Scotland.
Once their benefit move is complete, Social Security Scotland will pay them weekly. They’ll always get their award payment one week in advance.
If their Adult Disability Payment award increases, their entitlement will be backdated to whichever is the later of:
If a client’s award review leads to no change or a lower Adult Disability Payment award, Social Security Scotland will not backdate it.
The client will not owe Social Security Scotland any money or be disadvantaged by the process of moving their benefit.
The lower award rate would take effect from the date of the decision to reduce the award.
If the client feels the decision is incorrect, they can ask for a re-determination or appeal a new decision.
A client can contact Social Security Scotland if they:
For independent support and advice, clients can contact Citizens Advice Scotland. Either:
If a client needs extra support with disability benefits, they can contact VoiceAbility. They’re independent from Social Security Scotland.
An advocate will listen to the client and try to understand their point of view and what the client wants to happen. They can help client’s apply for benefits and make decisions. They’ll still make any final decisions.
To contact VoiceAbility:
Clients can also ask Social Security Scotland to refer them to VoiceAbility.