Attendance Allowance vs PIP: Which Benefit Do You Claim and What Is the Difference?

Attendance Allowance and Personal Independence Payment look similar from a distance — both are non-means-tested disability benefits, neither depends on savings or income, and both help with extra costs of living with a health condition. The agency that pays them depends on where you live. They are separate benefits with different rules, different forms, and different assessment systems. Claiming the wrong one wastes weeks.

The Age Line

The dividing rule is State Pension age (currently 66, rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028):

• Under State Pension age: you can usually make a new claim for PIP from age 16 in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland; Scotland uses Adult Disability Payment (ADP)
• At or over State Pension age: in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, Attendance Allowance is usually the benefit for a new claim if you do not already get a qualifying disability benefit. In England and Wales, you may make a new PIP claim if you got PIP or ADP in the last 12 months. In Northern Ireland, you may make a new PIP claim if you were eligible for it in the year before reaching State Pension age.
• Already receiving PIP or DLA before reaching State Pension age: your existing award continues — you do not switch to Attendance Allowance

If you claimed DLA as a child and were moved to PIP at 16, that PIP award can continue after State Pension age. If it ends after you reach State Pension age, the rules for a new PIP claim depend on where you live and how recently you received PIP or Adult Disability Payment.

No Points, No Mobility Component

PIP uses a points-based assessment across ten daily living activities and two mobility activities. You score points per descriptor, and the total determines which rate you receive.

Attendance Allowance has no points system and no mobility component. It uses a statutory test based on whether you need frequent help with personal care during the day, the night, or both — or continual supervision to avoid substantial danger. There are only two rates:

PIP also pays a separate mobility component (standard £30.30/week, enhanced £80/week). Attendance Allowance does not cover mobility outside the home at all — difficulties walking, using transport, or planning journeys are not part of the AA assessment.

Assessment Process

PIP requires a face-to-face or telephone assessment with a healthcare professional in most cases. The assessor scores your answers against the activity descriptors.

Attendance Allowance is usually decided from the written information. If DWP cannot get a clear picture of how your condition affects you, it may ask a healthcare professional to examine you.

The Form

The AA1 form (32 pages on paper) asks about washing, dressing, eating, toileting, indoor mobility, supervision, and night-time care needs. It does not use the PIP descriptor framework. Guides or templates designed for PIP — including points calculators and mobility descriptor worksheets — do not apply to Attendance Allowance.

The PIP2 form ("How Your Disability Affects You") runs through ten daily living activities and two mobility activities with descriptor-based questions.

What About Carer's Allowance and Linked Benefits?

Both benefits act as qualifying benefits for Carer's Allowance. If someone cares for you for 35 or more hours per week and earns £204 per week or less (2026/27), they can claim Carer's Allowance regardless of whether your award is PIP daily living or Attendance Allowance.

An Attendance Allowance award can help someone qualify for Pension Credit's additional amount for severe disability (up to £86.05 per week for a single person in 2026/27). Eligibility also depends on living arrangements, the qualifying disability benefit, whether anyone is paid to care for you, and qualifying for Pension Credit.

Scotland

If you live in Scotland and are over State Pension age, you do not claim Attendance Allowance or PIP. New claims go to Social Security Scotland for Pension Age Disability Payment (PADP). Working-age claimants in Scotland claim Adult Disability Payment (ADP) instead of PIP. Read more in our Scotland PADP and Northern Ireland guide.

Which One Should You Claim?

If you are over State Pension age and live in England or Wales, Attendance Allowance is usually the route for a new disability-benefit claim unless you qualify to make a new PIP claim. In Northern Ireland, Attendance Allowance is usually the route after State Pension age, unless you were eligible for PIP in the year before reaching that age. If you already have a PIP, DLA, or devolved disability-benefit award, check the rules for your location before switching. Our Attendance Allowance Claim Guide covers the AA1 form section by section, including how to describe care needs in the language the statutory test uses.

See more United Kingdom guides →