Care element of PIP

Hi Leanne2730,
You can continue to receive enhanced mobility past pension age. If you then need help with eg taking nutrition , washing & bathing, Managing medication or therapy, toilet needs or indeed any of Daily living descriptor tasks then you can ask DWP to conduct a review. It is likely that they will ask you to fill out a form and you might need to attend an assessment. If you get at least 8 points you will get a daily living award, and this will be paid together with any PIP mobility award you are entitled to receive.
Where confusion may arise is that PIP is awarded for health problems for Daily Living tasks rather than for care.
AA is an award based on care needs but it largely covers the same as PIP Daily Living activities such as washing, eating, toilet needs etc However AA requires you to prove that your care needs will take up a sufficiently large amount of time across a day or week.
You can not claim both PIP and AA.

The major differences are
•AA only available after SP age
• AA has no mobility element at all
• An award of standard Daily Living PIP can be achieved even if you have fairly mild disability and can show that you need an aid/appliance (some sort of handy gadget) across at least 4 different descriptors. If you just use such gadgets and don't need physical help you might not be able to satisfy the rules for AA
• To gain AA you need to show sufficient care time across either day and/or night. However relevant care needs can be across many different areas that don't fall within the PIP rules Eg help to be calm at day or night, continual supervision for epilepsy, time given to help you up after a fall.
• It is entirely possible that eg enhanced rate of PIP can be awarded and yet no award of AA can be achieved in the same facts and vice versa.
• PIP points can relate to health problems occurring day and/or night. If you only ever have daytime care needs you can not achieve High Rate AA- this is only payable if you have care needs across both day AND night.

If you currently have PIP enhanced mobility there would be no advantage to swap to AA. You would automatically lose the mobility element. If your care needs/help required relates to only day or only night you won't get High Rate AA. High Rate AA is paid at the same rate as enhanced Daily Living PIP, standard rate Daily Living is the same as Low Rate AA. Hence the monetary amount for the 2 rates of AA are equivalent to the 2 rates of PIP. If you already have a low award of PIP either just mobility or just standard daily living you can always ask DWP for a review in order to gain the enhanced daily living award, this can be done at any time from age 65 onwards.
I hope this helps.
LL26