Respiratory requirements could mean state pensioners qualify for the extra payment
DWP payments of £114 per week could be claimed (stock image) (Image: Getty)
State pensioners have been told of a new weekly payment that they could qualify for. It would top up their payments by £114 a week should their application be successful. A total of 142,980 claims have been made so far and it covers 24 respiratory conditions.
The Department of Work and Pensions has confirmed pensioners who have not yet applied may be eligible for the £114 top-up. The extra Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can be made to those who suffer from sleep apnoea, cystic fibrosis, and asthma. June 2026 has seen a spike in claims for those whose respiratory conditions are affecting their daily lives.
The disability benefit, paid out by the DWP, helps with some of the extra costs caused by long-term disability, ill-health or when people are approaching the end of their life due to a progressive disease.
PIP is not automatic, and the DWP will assess how difficult claimants with the condition find daily living and mobility tasks. According to the DWP, to get PIP you must experience difficulty with tasks most of the time. This means that you expect to have difficulty more than half of the days over a 12-month period.
A full list of the qualifying respiratory conditions has since been released by the DWP.
State pensioners should check their eligibility (stock image) (Image: Getty)
The 24 respiratory conditions listed by DWP
- Sleep apnoea – obstructive 3,900
- Upper respiratory tract – Other diseases of / type not known 1,562
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) chronic bronchitis/emphysema 91,773
- Bronchiectasis 2,809
- Cystic fibrosis 3,140
- Asthma 26,052
- Extrinsic allergic alveolitis 37
- Fibrosing alveolitis 43
- Pulmonary fibrosis – Other / type not known 1,690
- Asbestosis 121
- Pneumoconiosis – coalworkers 10
- Pneumoconiosis – Other / type not known 52
- Silicosis 13
- Granulomatous lung disease and pulmonary infiltration – Other / type not known 1,848
- Sarcoidosis 2,734
- Empyema 140
- Pleura – Other diseases of / type not known 145
- Pleural effusion 75
- Pneumothorax 249
- Lung transplantation 148
- Heart and lung transplantation 41
- Pulmonary embolus 1,634
- Pneumonia 696
- Lower respiratory tract – Other diseases of / type not known 4,048
You can receive Attendance Allowance if you have a physical disability, mental disability, or health condition. It must be severe enough that someone cares for you or supervises you, and you have needed that help for six months.