War pensioners mobility supplement, DLA care and transfer to PIP

Client receives War Pensioners Mobility Supplement (60% disablement) through which he gets a mobility car.  He also gets lower rate DLA care component.

WPMS overlaps with PIP Mobility. As I understand it, the overlapping benefit is always paid in full and PIP is reduced by the amount of the overlapping benefit. But how will his DLA - PIP transfer actually work in practice? Will they just do an assessment of his care/daily living needs and ignore the mobility bit?

Might this person be migrated onto the Armed Forces Independence Payment?  It would appear that at 60% disablement they would qualify for the equivalent of enhanced mobility and enhanced daily living components of PIP without the need for a medical assessment.  Then I assume the overlapping rules would be applied.

Hi Mick

I think that the automatic qualification for AFIP would come from more than 50% Guaranteed Income Payment through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, which is only applicable where the illness or injury was caused as a result of service on or after 6 April 2005. My client was retired out of the Navy in the 1980s. This FAQ page https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/414586/20130322_afip_faq_8april_comms_combined.pdf states:

Does AFIP eligibility extend to those in receipt of compensation from the War Pensions Scheme?
No. Those who receive compensation under the War Pensions Scheme have access to other allowances in place of DLA. These additional War Pensions supplementary allowances will continue and not be changed as a result of the introduction of AFIP.

As well as the WPMS he also receives a War Disablement Pension, Comforts Allowance, Invalidity Allowance and an Unemployability Supplement. As far as I can see none of these overlap with PIP Daily Living so potentially he could benefit from transferring to PIP DL if he can get 8 points. I was just curious as to how this would actually work in practice.

Thanks, Billy.  I suppose that they will go ahead with the migration process and then apply the overlapping benefit rules.  I would imagine that they will get the overlapping decision right because they will follow suit from the DLA decision.  It might be a different matter if someone in similar circumstances was making a new claim for PIP as the overlapping benefit rules might be missed and I could see PIP being paid in full.  On the DLA claim form I think there were two questions regarding War Pension mobility supplement and constant attendance allowance.  I don’t recall any such questions in the PIP claim process.