PIP Application Support › COPD and Respiratory Conditions
PIP and COPD and Respiratory Conditions: Do You Qualify?
Last updated: April 2026 · Reviewed by: Silverwings Benefits Team · Source: DWP
Respiratory disease — including COPD, severe asthma and other lung conditions — is recorded as the main condition on around 4% of PIP claims. It’s a smaller share than psychiatric or musculoskeletal conditions, but breathlessness on exertion genuinely limits almost every physical daily-living and mobility activity, which is exactly what PIP is designed to assess.
Official DWP figures
Respiratory disease is recorded as the main condition on around 4% of PIP claims under normal rules — smaller in volume than the top categories, but with breathlessness affecting a very wide range of daily and mobility activities.
Important: there’s no list of qualifying conditions
PIP isn’t awarded because of a diagnosis — it’s assessed against detailed daily-living and mobility descriptors that measure how much help you need, not what your condition is called. Two people with copd and respiratory conditions can score very differently, and both routes below start with a no-obligation check.
No obligation, 2 minutes. Register your interest ahead of our launch.
How COPD and Respiratory Conditions Can Affect Daily Life
These are the kinds of everyday difficulties that can be relevant to a PIP claim. Not everyone with copd and respiratory conditions experiences all of these, and some people experience difficulties not listed here — this is general context, not a checklist to copy onto a form.
Walking distance
Breathlessness on exertion is often the clearest, most measurable way COPD affects the mobility component — how far can you walk before you have to stop?
Washing and dressing
Bending, reaching or the exertion of washing and dressing can trigger significant breathlessness, sometimes needing rest breaks or help.
Managing oxygen or inhalers
Nebulisers, inhalers, or portable oxygen equipment are a genuine daily management task, not just a background detail.
Preparing food
Standing at a worktop or carrying items across a kitchen can be enough exertion to cause breathlessness for some people.
Risk of infection and flare-ups
Chest infections and COPD exacerbations can be sudden and serious — the risk itself, not just recovery time, is relevant.
Anxiety linked to breathlessness
Fear of not being able to breathe, especially away from home, commonly restricts where and how far someone is willing to go alone.
How Much Could You Get?
PIP has two components — Daily Living and Mobility — each paid at a standard or enhanced rate depending on your assessment score. You can be awarded either or both.
£76.70–£114.60/wk
Daily Living
Standard or enhanced rate
£30.30–£80.00/wk
Mobility
Standard or enhanced rate
Maximum combined award: £194.60/wk (£10,119/year) — tax-free, not means-tested, and doesn’t affect your State Pension.
Why Not Apply Alone?
Respiratory PIP claims are often under-scored because breathlessness is invisible on a good day and hard to describe precisely — “I get out of breath” reads very differently to a decision maker than a specific account of exactly how far you can walk before stopping, and what happens afterwards. That specificity is exactly what a well-prepared application focuses on getting right.
PIP success rates vary hugely by how well the daily-living and mobility descriptors are answered — the same underlying condition can score very differently depending on how clearly the real-world impact is described. That’s the part our team focuses on.
Check If You're Eligible
Check if you could be eligible and register your interest ahead of our launch. No obligation, no pressure.
Over State Pension age instead? Attendance Allowance is the equivalent benefit for you.