Financial support and benefits
You can find details about the benefits you may be able to apply for on the Citizens Advice website.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
You may be able to make a claim for financial support through the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) to help with the additional costs of living with long COVID symptoms. It helps cover the extra costs you may face if you need help with daily tasks or moving around outside your home.
You can get PIP on top of other benefits. You do not need to have worked or paid National Insurance. It also doesn't matter what your income is, if you have savings or you’re working.
To be eligible for PIP you must have a health condition or disability where you:
- have had difficulties with daily living or getting around, or both, for 3 months
- expect these difficulties to continue for at least 9 months
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will judge the eligibility of your PIP claim on a period of 12 months, looking back for 3 months and forward for 9 months. They must consider if your illness changes over time.
You can find more information about PIP, including help with filling out the PIP claim form, on the Citizens Advice website.
Top tips
- when completing the application form describe your symptoms at their worst - give the full picture of how you're affected on a bad day
- ask any support workers, health professionals, family members to write what impact your condition is having on you. You can include other assessment reports as evidence for your PIP claim. Occupational Therapy (OT) Assessment reports and Care Plans are 2 of the best forms of evidence
- all applications are followed up by a medical assessment done over the phone. You can ask for this to be recorded but you must give 3 days notice to ask for this
- ask a friend, relative or independent advisor to be present at your assessment. You should ring the assessment provider detailed on your letter and advise that you want an additional person dialling in
- if your PIP application is unsuccessful you can appeal. This can take many months but any payment is backdated to the point when you applied
Advice and support
Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice offers free, independent, impartial and confidential advice and information about a range of subjects including:
- money and debt
- welfare benefits
- housing and employment.
You can:
get help on the dedicated Citizens Advice website for Stockport residents
get advice and speak to Citizens Advice in libraries and Stopford House
call the free advice line on 0808 278 7803. Your call will be logged and then depending on needs, you’ll get telephone or face-to-face support
Cost of living support
You can find support on our cost of living pages.
Stockport Job Centre
Stockport Job Centre offers a bespoke, holistic service if you need advice and support with:
- finances
- changing jobs or struggling to go back to work
- housing
- council tax
- universal credit
The service also links into support offered by the Job Centre around:
- retraining
- careers advice
- CV
- sickness benefit
- volunteering
- support from disability employment advisors
For an informal chat email vicky.williamson@dwp.gov.uk
Fightback4Justice
Fightback4Justice is an award winning, non-profit organisation, providing specialised, expert advice and help on various welfare benefit claims. It offers a range of free and some paid for services:
- call the general advice line on 0161 672 7444
- email info@fightback4justice.co.uk
- weekly drop in, no appointment necessary, on the first Wednesday of every month from 9am to 4:30pm at Unit 6, 200b Bury Road, Tottington, Bury, BL8 3DX