The Short Answer
Pension Age Disability Payment is the Scottish benefit for people with care needs who claim after reaching State Pension age, and it pays £76.70 or £114.60 a week in 2026/27. It is replacing Attendance Allowance in Scotland, and the two cannot be paid together. There is no mobility component, and it is not means-tested. Social Security Scotland runs it, and a decision can be challenged by asking for a re-determination within 42 days.
Last checked:
Key facts
| Fact | Figure | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower rate a week (2026/27) | £76.70 | legislation.gov.uk | 30 September 2026 |
| Higher rate a week (2026/27) | £114.60 | legislation.gov.uk | 30 September 2026 |
| Who can apply | State Pension age or over, living in Scotland | mygov.scot | 30 September 2026 |
| Replaces | Attendance Allowance, in Scotland | mygov.scot | 30 September 2026 |
| Time to ask for a re-determination | 42 days | legislation.gov.uk | 30 September 2026 |
| Means-tested | No | mygov.scot | 30 September 2026 |
How Much Is Pension Age Disability Payment?
Pension Age Disability Payment is £76.70 a week at the lower rate and £114.60 a week at the higher rate in 2026/27, under regulation 26 of the Disability Assistance for Older People (Scotland) Regulations 2024. The lower rate is for help or supervision during the day or at night. The higher rate is for help or supervision during both the day and the night. mygov.scot states that if you are terminally ill you will automatically get the higher rate. Social Security Scotland, the agency that also runs Adult Disability Payment for people under State Pension age, pays it; how adult disability payment works is covered separately.
| Rate | Level of help | A week | Every 4 weeks | A month on average | A year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower rate | Help or supervision during the day or at night | £76.70 | £306.80 | £332.37 | £3,988.40 |
| Higher rate | Help or supervision during the day and night, or terminally ill | £114.60 | £458.40 | £496.60 | £5,959.20 |
Last checked:
Source: Disability Assistance for Older People (Scotland) Regulations 2024, regulation 26; mygov.scot
The benefit is normally paid every 4 weeks for the previous 4-week period, so one payment is £306.80 at the lower rate or £458.40 at the higher rate. Where you are terminally ill it is paid weekly in advance. Averaged over a calendar month, the two rates come to £332.37 and £496.60.
Last checked:
Who Can Get Pension Age Disability Payment?
You can get Pension Age Disability Payment if you live in Scotland, have reached State Pension age, and have had care needs during the day or night for at least 6 months because of a disability or health condition. The regulations set that qualifying period as 26 weeks, and it does not apply under the special rules for terminal illness. You can apply before the 6 months are up: the award then begins 6 months from when your care needs started.
You do not need a diagnosis, and you do not need someone caring for you. Where a local council pays for your care home place, the benefit is not usually paid. Regulation 4 also rules it out while you are entitled to Adult Disability Payment, Attendance Allowance, DLA, PIP, Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance or Armed Forces Independence Payment.
How Is It Different From ADP and PIP?
Pension Age Disability Payment differs from ADP and PIP in three ways: it is claimed after State Pension age, it has no mobility component, and its two rates follow day and night care needs rather than points. The table sets the three benefits side by side for 2026/27.
| PIP | Adult Disability Payment | Pension Age Disability Payment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where | England and Wales | Scotland | Scotland |
| Age for a new claim | 16 to State Pension age | 16 to State Pension age | State Pension age or over |
| Parts | Daily living and mobility | Daily living and mobility | Care only |
| Weekly rates | £76.70 or £114.60; mobility £30.30 or £80.00 | Same as PIP | £76.70 or £114.60 |
| How the rate is decided | Points across 12 activities | Points across the same activities | Care needs by day, by night, or both |
| Who runs it | DWP | Social Security Scotland | Social Security Scotland |
| First step to challenge | Mandatory reconsideration within 1 month | Re-determination within 42 days | Re-determination within 42 days |
| Means-tested | No | No | No |
Last checked:
The care amounts are identical across all three, so the money difference is the mobility part: up to £80.00 a week that Pension Age Disability Payment never pays. The ADP rates in full are on ADP Rates 2026/27, and the PIP and ADP processes compare in detail below.
A new PIP claim is not possible in Scotland: Adult Disability Payment is claimed instead.
| Feature | PIP (England and Wales) | Adult Disability Payment (Scotland) |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | Department for Work and Pensions | Social Security Scotland |
| Weekly rates 2026/27 | Daily living £76.70 or £114.60; mobility £30.30 or £80.00 | Identical to PIP at every rate |
| Assessment | An assessment at an assessment centre, at your home, over the phone or by video call | A consultation, and only if it's the only way to get the information they need |
| First challenge | Mandatory reconsideration, within one month of the date of the decision | Re-determination, within 42 calendar days (6 weeks) from the decision letter |
| Appeal | To the tribunal within one month of the reconsideration notice | To the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland, within 31 calendar days from the re-determination letter |
| Terminal illness | Special rules claim with an automatic award of the higher daily living part | You automatically get the enhanced daily living award |
Last checked:
Source: GOV.UK; mygov.scot, Adult Disability Payment and How to challenge a decision
What If You Already Get ADP or PIP When You Reach State Pension Age?
An Adult Disability Payment award continues when you reach State Pension age, and you do not transfer to Pension Age Disability Payment. mygov.scot states this directly, so a person who first claimed ADP before State Pension age keeps that award, including any mobility part. A PIP award held by someone who moves to Scotland ends and is replaced by an ADP claim, the route described in PIP to ADP.
People in Scotland who already get Attendance Allowance do not need to apply. Social Security Scotland moves them to Pension Age Disability Payment and writes to explain the transfer, and the DWP keeps paying Attendance Allowance until the new payments start.
Moving to Scotland or Away With an Award
Attendance Allowance stops 13 weeks after you move from England or Wales to Scotland, so a new claim for Pension Age Disability Payment is needed as soon as possible after the move. GOV.UK says you must tell the DWP about the move and make the new claim. The same applies if you are waiting for an Attendance Allowance decision or have challenged one.
The reverse move works the same way. If you get Pension Age Disability Payment and move to England or Wales, you report the move to Social Security Scotland and apply for Attendance Allowance, and Social Security Scotland tells you when its payments stop. The upper age limit on new PIP claims, which is why a separate benefit applies after State Pension age, is covered under age boundaries.
Arrears of Adult Disability Payment from before State Pension age are priced week by week at each year's rates; you can work out your ADP back pay with the calculator.
Last checked:
Compare the Attendance Allowance Rates
Pension Age Disability Payment pays the same two weekly amounts as Attendance Allowance in 2026/27, £76.70 and £114.60. The difference is process: Attendance Allowance is a DWP benefit challenged by mandatory reconsideration within 1 month, while Pension Age Disability Payment allows 42 days to ask for a re-determination and then an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland. The weekly, 4-weekly and monthly figures for England and Wales are on Attendance Allowance rates, and the choice between PIP and Attendance Allowance is covered in PIP vs Attendance Allowance explained.
Last checked: