The Short Answer
PIP arrears owed at the date of death are due to the estate, and the person dealing with the estate can claim them. An open claim or appeal can usually be continued for the period up to the date of death. Telling the DWP promptly is the first step, and the Tell Us Once service handles it where the registrar offers it.
What Is Owed
Everything accrued up to the date of death, and nothing after it. PIP is paid every four weeks in arrears, so there is almost always a part-period owed.
Where a decision had not been made, or where a challenge was outstanding, the lump sum can be considerably larger: an award made after death still runs from the date entitlement arose, and covers the period to the date of death. A single four-week cycle at the highest combined 2026/27 rate of £194.60 a week is £778.40, and a claim decided a year late at that rate carries £10,119.20.
Last checked: 7 August 2026
What was outstanding at the date of death decides which route applies.
| Position at the date of death | What happens to the money |
|---|---|
| Award in payment | The part-period accrued to the date of death is paid to the estate |
| Claim made, no decision yet | A decision is still made, covering the claim date to the date of death |
| Mandatory reconsideration outstanding | It can be continued by the person dealing with the estate |
| Appeal lodged, not yet heard | The tribunal can substitute the person dealing with the estate as appellant |
| Estate small, no grant taken out | The DWP has its own process for paying arrears to the next of kin |
Last checked: 7 August 2026
Telling the DWP
The PIP enquiry line on 0800 121 4433, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. Where the registrar offers the Tell Us Once service, it notifies the DWP and other departments together.
Reporting promptly matters in both directions. It stops payments continuing after death, which would create an overpayment for the estate to repay, and it starts the process for any back pay owed.
An Open Claim
It can usually be continued. A claim in progress does not simply lapse: a decision can still be made covering the period from the claim date to the date of death, and any award is paid to the estate.
The evidence position is unchanged. The claim is decided on the twelve activities as they applied during that period, and the PIP2 form and supporting evidence already submitted are what it rests on. The duration test is read the same way: GOV.UK requires that "you expect the difficulties to last for at least 12 months from when they started", which is measured from when they started and not from the date of death.
An Open Challenge
A reconsideration or appeal can usually be continued by the person dealing with the estate. Contacting the tribunal as soon as possible, to notify them and ask to be substituted as the appellant, is the practical step.
Where the challenge succeeds, the award is backdated to the original effective date and the back payment to the date of death is paid to the estate. The overturn rate at tribunal hearings across October 2020 to September 2025 was 65%, and nothing about the claimant's death changes how the descriptors are judged.
Who Can Claim
The person dealing with the estate. That is normally the executor where there is a will, or the administrator where there is not.
Where the estate is small and no grant is being taken out, the DWP has its own process for paying the money to the next of kin. Ask on the enquiry line what it requires — usually the death certificate and evidence of the relationship.
The estate inherits the deadlines as well as the money. The 1 month to ask for a mandatory reconsideration, and the 1 month from the reconsideration notice to lodge an appeal, both run from the date on the letter rather than from the date of death.
Tax and Other Benefits
PIP arrears are not taxable, and that does not change on death. For means-tested benefits received by a surviving partner, the lump sum is capital in the estate rather than income, and the position depends on how the estate is distributed.
Where a share does reach a surviving partner on Universal Credit, paragraph 18 of Schedule 10 to the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 disregards arrears of a social security benefit received within the past 12 months as capital.
How the Amount Is Worked Out
The arrears are the weekly rate multiplied by the weeks from the owed-from date to the date of death, segmented where the period crosses an April. Daily living pays £76.70 or £114.60 a week and mobility £30.30 or £80.00 at 2026/27 rates. The four rates for 2025/26 were £73.90, £110.40, £29.20 and £77.05, which is why a period spanning early April is split rather than multiplied through.
Last checked: 6 August 2026
The principles are the same ones set out on check pip back pay.