What benefits can I claim if I have a disability or long-term illness?

If you have a disability or long-term health condition, the right payment depends on your age, where you live, and whether you need help with extra costs or with replacing earnings. Extra-cost benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are not means-tested. Income-replacement benefits such as Universal Credit and New Style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) are different tests.

Scotland does not use PIP or Attendance Allowance for most new claims. Working-age adults in Scotland claim Adult Disability Payment. People of State Pension age in Scotland claim Pension Age Disability Payment. Children in Scotland claim Child Disability Payment rather than Disability Living Allowance.

Benefits this usually points to

Personal Independence Payment
A benefit to help with extra costs if you have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability and you have difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around.
Adult Disability Payment
A Scottish benefit that replaced Personal Independence Payment for most adults living in Scotland. It helps with extra costs of disability or a long-term health condition.
Attendance Allowance
A benefit for people of State Pension age who need help with personal care or supervision because of a disability or health condition. It is not means-tested.
Pension Age Disability Payment
A Social Security Scotland payment for people of State Pension age who need help with personal care because of a disability or health condition. It replaced Attendance Allowance for people living in Scotland.
Disability Living Allowance for children
A benefit for children under 16 who need extra looking after or have walking difficulties because of a disability or health condition. Scotland uses Child Disability Payment.
Child Disability Payment
A Scottish benefit replacing Disability Living Allowance for children who live in Scotland.
New Style Employment and Support Allowance
A contribution-based benefit if you have a disability or health condition that affects how much you can work, and you have paid enough National Insurance.
Universal Credit
A monthly payment to help with living costs if you are on a low income, out of work, or cannot work. It can include amounts for housing, children, disability, and caring.
Blue Badge
A parking badge that helps people with disabilities or health conditions that affect walking park closer to where they need to go. Councils issue it. It is not a DWP cash benefit.
Statutory Sick Pay
A legal minimum your employer pays if you are an employee, you earn enough, and you are too ill to work for 4 or more days in a row. There is no public application form.

Check what may apply in your circumstances

It usually takes about 5 minutes. You do not need to create an account. This is guidance, not a government decision.

Extra costs versus replacing your wages

PIP, Adult Disability Payment, Attendance Allowance and the child disability payments are about how your condition affects daily living or mobility — not whether you work, and not how much you have in savings. You can often get them while working.

Universal Credit and New Style ESA are about income and, for ESA, National Insurance contributions plus limited capability for work. Statutory Sick Pay is paid by an employer if you are an employee who qualifies. They answer a different question: “can I pay the bills if I cannot work, or if I earn little?”

Can I get PIP if I work?

Yes. PIP is not means-tested and is not stopped just because you have a job. The assessment looks at daily living and mobility. Universal Credit can sit alongside PIP. In Scotland the equivalent extra-cost payment is Adult Disability Payment.

Official sources

Start with the GOV.UK pages for PIP, Attendance Allowance and ESA, or mygov.scot for Scottish payments. Benefit Badger links each benefit to its official claim route. We do not decide claims and we do not invent phone numbers.

Other circumstances

This is independent guidance. Only the relevant government department can confirm eligibility. How we source and verify.

Start the free eligibility check