Disabled people with lifelong conditions are repeatedly being put through “pointless” benefit reassessments, contrary to official guidance, new analysis suggests.

A study by the anti-poverty charity Z2K has found that hundreds of thousands of disabled people are going through “unnecessary” personal independence payment (Pip) reviews, “wasting” public money and “significantly harming” the mental and physical health of claimants.

Figures show 73% of people with learning disabilities, 86% of those who had an amputation, and 62% of claimants with cerebral palsy were given fixed-term awards – meaning they are required to undergo reassessments every three years. This also applied to 89% of claimants with multiple sclerosis and 61% with Parkinson’s – conditions with little to no prospect of significant improvement.

Samuel Thomas, senior policy adviser at Z2K, said: “Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) guidance says disabled people with lifelong and progressive conditions should not be reassessed more than once a decade – but the data shows these rules simply aren’t being followed.

“Shockingly high proportions of disabled people qualifying on the basis of lifelong disabilities like cerebral palsy, permanent hearing loss and amputated limbs are being forced to undergo pointless reassessments, even though their disabilities will not change.”

Almost 75% of planned award reviews last year – equivalent to more than 500,000 reassessments – resulted in no change to the person’s payments, Z2K found. This included many cases involving claimants already receiving the highest level of support, who were reassessed even though their health is unlikely to improve.

Of reviews that led to payments being changed, 10% were increased, while 16% were decreased or stopped.

After Pip was introduced by the coalition government in 2013 and lifetime awards were abolished, ongoing “light touch” awards – which mean a case is only reviewed every 10 years and typically without a face-to-face interview – were said to be reserved for people whose conditions are unlikely to change. But the Z2K study found ongoing awards are very rare, accounting for just 6.9% of new claims in 2025.

The default length of a fixed award – which the vast majority of disabled people are given – changed from two to three years for new Pip claimants last week. It is hoped the move will reduce costs and lengthy backlogs. But Z2K warned this change will not stop people with lifelong disabilities from being given fixed-term awards incorrectly – as it will just delay their reassessment for up to a year.

Thomas said: “The move is a welcome recognition of the system’s wastefulness, but it doesn’t address the core issues with the system. These changes do not affect the rules or guidance that are keeping disabled people wrongly trapped on fixed-term awards, and they won’t reduce the numbers of people subject to full reassessment. All they will do is make reassessments slightly less frequent.”

A source who was formerly an adviser to the DWP and is now a consultant expert on Pip told the Guardian he does not expect the number of reassessments for lifelong conditions to change.

At a time when welfare expenditure is increasingly under the spotlight, the findings bring into question how much public money is being wasted on unnecessary checks carried out by private companies, rather than used to support disabled people. The DWP currently spends more than £350m a year on Pip assessment contracts.

The Z2K study found the design of Pip award reviews – which now take an average of 38 weeks to complete – to be widely inefficient, frequently reassessing people “from scratch” rather than focusing on how their needs may have changed since their last review. This results in inconsistencies, errors and expensive appeals, the charity said.

The financial impact on claimants is also stark. Z2K say they regularly see disabled people having their support wrongly removed or reduced upon review, with many pushed into significant financial hardship, including a risk of homelessness.

Steve, formerly an NHS technician, had to give up work after sustaining a brain injury in a car accident in 2019. Since then, he has relied on disability benefits to get by. Backlogs meant the 46-year-old from south London only started receiving Pip in 2021, but it was reassessed just two years later. Upon review, he had his award reduced by £120 a month, despite his disability remaining the same.

With his Pip cut and universal credit his only other income, Steve struggled to pay his rent. He appealed, but navigating the system was arduous. “My brain injury makes paperwork much more difficult, particularly as the benefit forms are written in a way that’s hard to understand. It leaves me fatigued and anxious.”

In January 2026, the decision was overturned and Steve’s payments were increased to the original rate as well as backdated. In total, it took two-and-a-half years to get back to where he started. He is already worried about when he will next be reassessed.

“Even though I won, it felt hollow because I know I’ll have to go through it again in 18 to 20 months,” he said. “Each time I have less fight left. They take lumps out of you.”

A DWP spokesperson said: “We’re taking action to fix the broken welfare system we inherited, including by extending award review periods which will remove unnecessary pressure on disabled people and help to deliver savings of around £2bn.

“Rather than their diagnosis alone, the assessment considers how well someone can manage Pip activities so outcomes depend on individual circumstances.

“As part of our work to reform the system we also launched the Timms Review – co-produced with disabled people and their representative organisations – to make sure Pip is fit and fair for the future, including reassessments.”