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© 2026. The Purpl Co Limited. All rights reserved.
11 min read
Written by
Georgina, Founder of Purpl
Published on
August 21, 2026
Last reviewed: 17 August 2026
Applies to: UK, with some differences in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Written by: Georgina, Founder of Purpl
Proposals to restrict or replace Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are worrying because PIP is not an unemployment benefit. It is a non-means-tested disability benefit that helps with the extra costs of living with a long-term health condition or disability, and GOV.UK confirms people can receive PIP even if they are working or have savings.
Recent political proposals have included replacing or restricting working-age PIP, narrowing support to people considered “severely” disabled, and exploring alternatives such as vouchers or localised support. Reform UK has proposed replacing PIP in its current form for working-age people, while the previous UK Government’s health and disability green paper explored ideas including a voucher scheme for specific disability-related costs.
The problem is that disabled life does not work neatly on a receipt-by-receipt basis. PIP often pays for essentials such as energy, food, taxis, mobility aids, personal support, accessible travel, replacement equipment and the cost of doing everyday things in a less painful or safer way. In Purpl’s own community research, 89% of respondents receiving PIP said they use it for daily essentials.
Removing or restricting cash support does not remove disability costs. It simply moves more of those costs onto disabled people, carers and families who are already paying more to live.
Key Takeaway: PIP cuts would not automatically help more disabled people into work because PIP often pays for the transport, support, equipment and stability that make work possible.
Recent proposals and debates have focused on reducing the rising cost of health and disability benefits. These have included ideas such as narrowing PIP eligibility, replacing PIP with a different cash benefit for a smaller group, or using vouchers and other forms of non-cash support instead of direct payments.
Reform UK has proposed replacing PIP in its current form for working-age people and restricting support to people described as “gravely ill and severely challenged”, according to recent reporting.
Separately, the previous UK Government’s health and disability green paper explored several options for changing PIP, including a voucher scheme where disabled people could receive vouchers towards specific costs rather than cash payments.
The Timms Review of PIP is also underway. The UK Government says the review is looking at whether PIP is fair and fit for the future, and its interim report found that many people describe the PIP assessment process as complex, burdensome and distressing.
The core question should not just be “how do we reduce spending?” It should be: how do we make sure disabled people can live safely, independently and with enough support to participate in work, family life and society?
No. PIP is not an out-of-work benefit.
PIP is a disability benefit that helps with the extra costs caused by long-term ill health or disability. GOV.UK states that you can get PIP if you are working or have savings, and that the amount you get is not affected by income or savings.
That distinction matters.
When PIP is discussed as if it is an unemployment payment, the whole debate starts in the wrong place. PIP is not paid because someone is unemployed. It is paid because they face extra costs and barriers linked to disability, health conditions, daily living and mobility.
PIP can help pay for things that make work possible, including:
Removing PIP does not make these costs disappear. It can make them harder to meet.
Founder’s Insight from Georgina:
Living with Multiple Sclerosis, I know PIP is not spare spending money. It helps cover the costs that come with staying independent, working, travelling, keeping warm, managing fatigue and maintaining some kind of normal life. When politicians talk about cutting PIP, they often miss the reality that this support is part of what helps disabled people keep going.
Disabled people use PIP for everyday essentials, not luxuries.
In Purpl community research, 89% of PIP recipients who responded said they use PIP for daily essentials. That included energy bills, travel, food, mobility equipment, healthcare needs and household costs.
This reflects the wider disability price tag. Scope’s 2025 Disability Price Tag research estimates that disabled households face average extra costs of £1,095 a month, and that the average PIP payment is not enough to cover those costs.
Common PIP-related costs include:
For many people, PIP is the money that fills the gap between what a non-disabled household pays and what a disabled household has to pay just to function.
Purpl Tip: When talking about PIP, avoid calling it “extra money”. For many disabled people, it is not extra at all. It is what helps cover the cost of basic access, safety and independence.
Voucher or reimbursement schemes sound simple, but they often fail because disability costs are not always neat, predictable or easy to prove.
A receipt might show the cost of a taxi, but it will not always prove that the taxi was needed because the bus stop was inaccessible, the person was in pain, or fatigue made public transport impossible.
A heating bill might show the total household cost, but it will not separate the portion caused by being housebound, temperature sensitivity, pain, circulation problems or medical equipment.
A supermarket receipt might show food, but not the reason someone had to pay for delivery, buy specialist items, avoid cheaper shops, or choose ready-prepared meals because fatigue, pain or hand function makes cooking impossible.
A voucher system also creates practical problems:
A cash payment gives disabled people flexibility. That flexibility matters because disability is not one single experience.
Someone may need heating one month, taxis the next, replacement wheelchair parts the month after, and extra food or care support during a flare. A rigid voucher scheme cannot easily keep up with that reality.
Judging disability support by visible “severity” risks excluding people with hidden, fluctuating and complex conditions.
A person may look fine because they have spent money on the support that helps them appear fine. They may be standing because they paid for taxis instead of walking from the bus stop. They may be working because they use mobility aids, flexible hours, medication, rest days, heating, ergonomic equipment and paid help at home.
That does not mean they do not need support. It means support is working.
Hidden and fluctuating conditions can create serious costs, including:
A narrow definition of “severe” could miss people with conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, arthritis, epilepsy, Crohn’s disease, endometriosis, mental health conditions, autism, ADHD, long Covid and many other long-term conditions where the impact can be disabling without being immediately visible.
The Timms Review interim report recognised that people often describe the PIP process as complex, burdensome and distressing, with over 90% of call for evidence responses expressing negative sentiment about experiences of claiming PIP.
That tells us the assessment process already struggles to capture real disabled life. Tightening support around a simplified idea of “severity” risks making that problem worse.
Replacing national cash support with local council schemes could create a postcode lottery unless there is ring-fenced funding, national entitlement and consistent standards.
Local support can be valuable. Councils often understand local transport, housing, care and community services better than national departments. But local schemes are not a like-for-like replacement for national cash support.
Without strong safeguards, disabled people could face different levels of help depending on:
That matters because disability costs do not stop while someone waits for a local decision. Energy bills, taxis, food, rent, mobility repairs and care costs still need paying.
A localised system also creates questions that need answers before any change is made:
Local support should add to national disability benefits, not replace the financial security of cash payments.
No. Cutting PIP is not an employment strategy.
If the goal is to help more disabled people work, then policy needs to remove barriers to work. Taking away financial support does not make workplaces accessible, NHS waiting lists shorter, buses step-free, employers more flexible or recruitment systems fairer.
Many disabled people already work while receiving PIP. GOV.UK confirms PIP can be claimed by people who are working, and it is not affected by income or savings.
The real barriers to work are often structural, including:
PIP can be part of the solution because it helps cover the extra costs of managing these barriers.
Taking away PIP could push some disabled people further away from work by removing the money they use to travel, recover, buy equipment or pay for support.
Purpl Insight: Work is not just about whether someone wants a job. It is about whether society has removed the barriers that make work unsafe, inaccessible or financially impossible.
Fair PIP reform should start with disabled people’s lived experience, not assumptions about spending.
The Timms Review was set up to consider how PIP can be fair and fit for the future, including supporting disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence.
That is the right starting point.
A fairer system should focus on:
Reform should make support easier to access, harder to get wrong and more connected to the reality of disabled life.
It should not simply be a way to cut costs.
Purpl cannot replace PIP, and discounts should never be used as an excuse to cut disability benefits. PIP exists because disabled life costs more, and many of those costs are unavoidable.
But while disabled people, people with long-term health conditions, carers and families are facing rising costs, Purpl helps members reduce some of the pressure through verified discounts on everyday essentials and disability-related spending.
Purpl members can access savings on areas that often come up in PIP conversations, including:
These discounts do not remove the need for proper financial support. They simply reflect the reality that disabled people are already spending more on mobility, energy, health, equipment, transport and staying connected.
That is why any reform that removes flexible cash support misses the point. Disabled people need PIP because extra costs are constant, varied and often impossible to avoid. Discounts can help soften the impact, but they cannot replace the security and independence that PIP provides.he real cost of being disabled.
No. PIP is not an out-of-work benefit. GOV.UK says people can get PIP if they are working or have savings, and the amount is not affected by income or savings. PIP exists to help with extra costs caused by long-term ill health or disability.
Yes. You can claim PIP while working, self-employed, studying or out of work, as long as you meet the eligibility rules. PIP is based on how your condition affects your daily living and mobility, not your employment status.
Disabled people often spend PIP on essentials such as heating, electricity, food, mobility equipment, taxis, medical costs, care support and accessible travel. Purpl community research found that 89% of respondents receiving PIP use it for daily essentials.
Replacing PIP with vouchers would risk missing many real disability costs because not every cost can be neatly verified with a receipt. Vouchers may also limit choice, delay support, exclude local or second-hand options, and make disabled people prove everyday costs repeatedly.
No. Cutting PIP would not remove barriers to work. PIP often helps pay for transport, equipment, personal support and recovery costs that make work possible. A real employment strategy should focus on accessible recruitment, flexible work, faster workplace adjustments, better transport and improved healthcare access.
Yes. Many disabled people believe the PIP assessment system needs reform because it can feel stressful, repetitive and dehumanising. The Timms Review interim report found that many responses described the process as complex, burdensome and distressing.
Fair PIP reform would protect cash support, improve assessment accuracy, reduce unnecessary reassessments, recognise hidden and fluctuating conditions, involve disabled people in design, and make decisions quicker, clearer and less traumatic.
Cash support is important because disability costs are flexible and unpredictable. Disabled people need the freedom to use support on whatever barrier is most urgent, including heating, taxis, food, mobility aids, repairs, care, equipment or health needs.
No. Many disabled people want reform, but reform should improve fairness, dignity, access and decision-making. It should not remove support from people who already face higher living costs and barriers to work.
PIP is not an out-of-work benefit. It is a disability benefit that helps with the extra costs of daily living and mobility, and it can be claimed by people who work, study or have savings.
Proposals to cut, restrict or replace PIP miss a fundamental truth: removing financial support does not remove disability costs.
Disabled people still need heating, food, transport, mobility aids, equipment, care, adaptations and support. Many people also rely on PIP to stay in work or remain independent.
Fair welfare reform should improve the system, not strip away the support that helps disabled people survive it.
The real test for any PIP reform is simple: does it make disabled life safer, fairer and more independent, or does it push more costs onto the people already paying the disability price tag?
Georgina is the Founder of Purpl, a disabled-led UK discount platform created to help offset the extra cost of disability.
Living with Multiple Sclerosis and ADHD, and using an ambulatory wheelchair, Georgina writes from lived experience about disability benefits, financial pressure, accessibility, health self-advocacy and the reality of managing long-term conditions in the UK.