People who have these muscle of join conditions could be eligible to claim up to £750 each month from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The payments come from the disability benefit Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which is paid to people with long-term mental or physical health conditions or disabilities. PIP is not an out of work benefit, the aim of it is to help with the extra financial costs which come with medical conditions and disabilities.
Unlike other benefits, you can also get PIP even if you’re working, have savings or are getting most other benefits.
The amount you can be paid is dependent on the impact your health condition or disability has on your ability to do day to day tasks. So the more your ability is impacted – the more money you will receive.
This means a whole range of disabilities can be eligible for the extra monthly support. According to DWP data, there are more than 1.1 million adults across the country who receive PIP for musculoskeletal conditions – out of the 3.7million who claim PIP overall.
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Musculoskeletal conditions are injuries and disorders that affect the body’s movement or musculoskeletal system such as muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, discs and blood vessels
In the Autumn Statement last year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed that benefits would be rising by 1.7% and this included PIP.
The benefit – which is paid every four weeks – is made up of two components – a daily living rate and a mobility rate – and you can be entitled to both or just one of these. These components are then split again, into the standard rate and the enhanced rate.
You get the higher rate if your day to day life is impacted more by your condition or disability, and you get the lower rate if it is less impacted. Here are the current rates of PIP, after the rise in April.
Daily Living
Mobility
If you are eligible for both the enhanced rate of the daily living allowance and the mobility allowance, you would receive £749.80 a month.
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Currently, the average processing time for new PIP claims is 15 weeks which means applications submitted this month could be processed – and back payments issued – by the end of July.
Below is a list of musculoskeletal conditions which could make you eligible for PIP – however it’s important to remember that this is not a definitive list. So if your condition does not appear, don’t be put off making a claim as it is about how the condition affects you, not the condition itself.
General conditionsOsteoarthritis
Chronic pain syndrome
Inflammatory arthritis
Crystal deposition disorders
Osteonecrosis and osteochondritis
Metabolic and endocrine disorders
Genetic disorders, dysplasias and malformations
Benign tumours of bone
Fracture complications
Regional conditions
Shoulder disorders
Elbow disorders
Wrist and hand disorders
Neck disorders
Non specific back pain
Specific back pain
Hip disorders
Knee disorders
Ankle and foot disorders
Amputations
Injuries/fracture/Dislocation
Musculoskeletal disease – Regional / Localised – Other / type not known
When talking about PIP, you cannot fail to mention the changes proposed by the Labour government last month. The Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announced that the government was looking to tighten the eligibility criteria for the benefit and review the assessment process.
To have a successful claim for PIP, you normally need to undertake an assessment which is used to determine what tasks you are struggling with and how your condition impacts your day-to-day life. This is completed using a points system.
You currently need between eight and 11 points to get the standard daily living or mobility part of PIP across all the sections. You get the higher rate if you score 12 points or more. However, under changes, you will need a minimum of four points in at least one activity to qualify for the daily living part of PIP from November 2026.
This means that claimants will need to show greater difficulty when completing some tasks, such as washing, eating and getting dressed, to be eligible to claim PIP. Whilst they won’t affect those who currently have an entitlement, it will affect people when it comes to reapplying or being reassessed after the new rules come into force. The assessment for the PIP mobility component is not changing.
Citizens Advice says those who would be eligible for PIP, but are not currently claiming right now , should put in a claim and not be put off by the upcoming changes. The website says: “On 18 March 2025, the government announced changes to the rules for claiming PIP. These changes mean fewer people will get PIP. Changes to PIP will not happen in 2025. If you’re thinking of applying for PIP, you should. You’re more likely to get PIP if you apply before the rules change.”
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