Helping young people move to Adult Disability Payment

We offer support for young people who get Child Disability Payment to help them apply for Adult Disability Payment as they get older.

We do not transfer people from the child to adult benefit automatically as the benefits have different eligibility criteria. This reflects how the needs of disabled adults and children can often be quite different.

A new application allows us to look at a young person’s needs as they move into adulthood, ensuring they get the money that they are entitled to.

We contact everyone getting Child Disability Payment to let them know how to apply for Adult Disability Payment. Letters are sent before the young person’s 16th and 18th birthdays to allow them enough time to apply and to avoid any gaps between the two payments.

Support to apply is available via telephone, online and in-person from our specialist client support advisers based in communities throughout Scotland.

Young people can ask us to gather information in support of their application from professionals including carers, nurses and physiotherapists.

The Scottish Government funds the independent advocacy service VoiceAbility which offers support to disabled people of all ages to help them make applications for disability benefits.

One of our clients told us about the experience of his daughter who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy. She used to get Child Disability Payment but now receives Adult Disability Payment.

Andy, 55, from Clackmannanshire said:  

“When someone with a disability turns 18, everything changes. They leave school, the medical staff and the social work team change. We needed to apply for guardianship as well.  

“We asked for help to fill in the Adult Disability Payment form and our contact with the Social Security Scotland team was very positive and very helpful. The woman who helped us was really patient and her manner was very reassuring.

“Adult Disability Payment allows our daughter to buy things she enjoys, to go out and to take part in activities.

“She attends a cycling club with bikes for people with disabilities. There’s a cost to that. She likes to get a bite to eat afterwards. There’s a cost to that. Her Adult Disability Payment means she can do the things that are really important to her.

“Her world would narrow down enormously if she couldn’t go out and it would affect her quality of life.”

People can choose to apply for Adult Disability Payment from 13 weeks before their 16th birthday or choose to keep getting Child Disability Payment until they turn 18.

If someone completes their application for Adult Disability Payment before their 18th birthday, they’ll continue to get Child Disability Payment until a decision is made on their application or until they turn 19 years old.

No matter when a client is approved for Adult Disability Payment, their last Child Disability Payment will be the same amount that they've always received, at the time they expect to receive it.

This will be followed four weeks later by their first, full Adult Disability Payment on their usual payment day. This means clients will know how much they are going to get and when they will get it.

There are special rules for young people who have a terminal illness. They receive the maximum Child Disability Payment award and can choose to stay on this benefit indefinitely. If they choose to move to Adult Disability Payment, we transfer them automatically with no need for an application form and they will also get the maximum award.