Is PIP backdated? Yes, to the date you started your claim. That's normally the day you phoned the PIP new claims line, or the day the DWP received your claim form if you claimed in writing. PIP claims often take several months. You don't lose out for the waiting: once your award is decided, you're paid for every week since your claim started. But PIP can't usually be backdated to before you claimed, so don't put off claiming. Your first PIP payment When: usually within a few weeks of your decision letter. How much: all the back pay owed since your claim started. This is often several hundred or a few thousand pounds. After that: PIP is paid every 4 weeks, in arrears. See PIP payment dates. A large back payment of PIP isn't counted as income for Universal Credit or other means-tested benefits, and is normally ignored as savings for 12 months. Back pay after a reconsideration or appeal If you challenge a decision and win, through a mandatory reconsideration or at a tribunal, the new award is usually backdated to the date the original decision took effect. For a new claim, that means back to the start of your claim. Appeals can take many months, so this can be a large sum. See our guide to PIP appeals. Back pay when your needs change If your condition gets worse and you report it, any increase is usually paid from the date you told the DWP. Report changes promptly so you don't miss out. If the DWP made a mistake with your award, it can usually correct it back to when the mistake happened. Is there a maximum? There's no cap on PIP back pay itself. It's simply your weekly award multiplied by the weeks owed. What limits it is the start date: back pay goes back to when you claimed, not to when your condition began.