Benefits advice, without the jargon
Whether you're claiming for the first time, challenging a decision that went against you, or simply not sure what you're entitled to — it helps to know how the system actually works. Plain English, current rates, and free tools.
What would you like help with?
Four starting points. Each one explains the rules, the current rates, the deadlines that matter, and what to do if something has gone wrong.
Personal Independence Payment
The main disability benefit for people aged 16 to State Pension age. Not means-tested — your income, savings and employment are irrelevant. Assessed on how your condition affects 12 daily activities.
PIP guides, calculators and appeals →Universal Credit
The working-age means-tested benefit that replaced six legacy benefits. Paid monthly, reduced by 55p for every £1 you earn above your work allowance.
How UC is worked out →Help with rent — Housing Benefit and the UC housing element
Most working-age renters now get rent help through Universal Credit. Housing Benefit continues for pensioners and some other groups. Both are subject to the Local Housing Allowance and bedroom rules.
Housing benefit explained →All other benefits
Council Tax Reduction, Carer's Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Child Benefit, Pension Credit, DLA for children, Bereavement Support Payment, ESA and more.
Browse the full list →Benefits and your immigration status
Which benefits count as public funds, who has No Recourse to Public Funds, the habitual residence and right to reside tests, and how to apply to have an NRPF condition lifted. Our own specialism.
Public funds, NRPF and right to reside →How to claim PIP, step by step
The claim line, the PIP2 form and its one-month deadline, the evidence that carries weight, the assessment, the decision — and the six places claims are usually lost.
Walk the whole process →Free calculators and tools
Nothing is stored or sent anywhere. Everything runs in your browser.
PIP Points Calculator
Score yourself against the official DWP descriptors for all 12 activities and see whether you qualify for standard or enhanced rate in each component.
Calculate your PIP score →PIP Backpay Calculator
Work out the lump sum you may be owed after a successful reconsideration or appeal. Splits the period at each April rate change so the estimate stays accurate.
Estimate your backpay →Universal Credit Calculator
Estimate your monthly award from the standard allowance plus child, housing, LCWRA, carer and childcare elements — then see how earnings reduce it.
Calculate your UC award →Benefits Eligibility Checker
Answer a short set of questions to see which benefits are worth investigating. Covers PIP, UC, housing, Council Tax Reduction, Carer's Allowance and more.
Run the check → NewMandatory Reconsideration Letter Builder
Build a properly structured challenge to a PIP, Universal Credit, ESA or Attendance Allowance decision — with your one-month deadline calculated from the date on the letter.
Build your letter →If a decision has gone against you
This is where most people give up — and where most of the money is. The evidence is clear that persistence pays.
The single most useful fact about appeals. DWP's own data shows that 91% of successful PIP appeals were won without any new written evidence. In 59% of cases the tribunal simply reached a different conclusion on the same facts the DWP already held; in a further 32% the claimant's own oral evidence made the difference. In only about 1% of cases did new evidence decide it.
In other words: the problem is usually not what you have, but how it was described. That is a fixable problem.
PIP appeals
Mandatory reconsideration, the SSCS1 form, tribunal hearings and deadlines — end to end.
Read the appeal guide →Evidence that works
Which evidence carries weight, how to get it, and what tribunals actually rely on.
Build a stronger case →Descriptors and points
Every one of the 12 activities, all descriptors, and how the reliability test works.
Understand the scoring →How we can help
Legal i Services is an IAA-regulated immigration practice. We also advise on welfare benefits because our company is registered with Shelter England to train our advisers — training that is refreshed regularly and kept current with every change to the UK benefits and welfare system. The two areas overlap constantly, particularly for clients with No Recourse to Public Funds and for families supporting relatives with long-term conditions.
Our advisers are trained through Shelter England
Legal i Services Ltd is registered with Shelter England for adviser training, and our advisers are re-trained and updated as the rules move. In welfare benefits they move constantly — rates are uprated every April, and the substantive rules change in between. The 2026/27 year alone removed the two-child limit, split the Universal Credit health element into two rates, and raised the share of PIP assessments held face to face. Advice that was correct last year is not automatically correct this year, which is why the training is continuous rather than one-off.
Fixed-fee consultation — £50
A 60-minute appointment in person, by phone or by video, in English or Bengali. We review your circumstances, identify what you may be entitled to, and email a written action plan afterwards.
Book a consultation →Document and form review
We check PIP2 forms, mandatory reconsideration requests and appeal submissions against the descriptors, and tell you where the argument is weak before you send it.
See our services →Immigration and benefits overlap
If you hold a visa with a No Recourse to Public Funds condition, claiming the wrong benefit can damage a future application. We advise on what is safe to claim and what is not.
Talk to us first →Not sure where to start?
Run the eligibility checker first. It takes about three minutes and will point you at the benefits worth investigating for your circumstances.
Run the free checker