The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that across the UK, there are an estimated 770,000 people of State Pension age who qualify for a ‘gateway’ benefit which can provide up to £278 extra each week plus access to other discounts on housing, Council Tax and TV licences.
DWP minister, Guy Opperman MP, shared the statistics in a written response to a Pension Credit query from Conservative MP, Sir John Hayes, who asked how many pensioners in the UK qualify for Pension Credit, but are not claiming the benefit.
Mr Opperman’s response highlighted a ‘Pension Credit Awareness Day’ on Wednesday, June 15 aimed at increasing coverage of the benefit to encourage more older people to make a claim.
He said: “In Great Britain, there are an estimated 770,000 entitled non-recipients of Pension Credit.
“We have already undertaken a range of actions to raise awareness of Pension Credit and increase take-up.”
He highlighted that “initial internal management information suggests that new claims for Pension Credit in the 12 months to December 2021 were around 30% higher compared to the 12 months to December 2019”.
He continued: “Earlier this year, we directly targeted over 11 million pensioners with information about Pension Credit and the additional support it can provide in the leaflet accompanying their annual up-rating notification.
“However, it is more important now than ever before that we ensure all eligible pensioners claim the vital financial help which Pension Credit provides.”
The DWP launched a new awareness campaign in April and said up to £1.7 billion of available Pension Credit went unclaimed - on average, this amounted to around £1,900 per year for each family entitled to receive the ‘gateway’ benefit.
Mr Opperman explained: “We are promoting Pension Credit in a variety of ways, including on social media - with advertising targeted both at potential recipients as well as their friends and family and also in key locations for the elderly, such as post offices and GP waiting rooms.”
You can read the full response on GOV.UK here.
However, not everyone has access to the internet or uses social media, but the DWP hopes that friends and family members will help encourage older people to check if they are missing out on crucial financial support.
As well as help with daily living costs of up to £182.60 per week for single people and £278.70 for couples, Pension Credit also opens up access to other support, such as help with rent and Council Tax, heating bills, free NHS dental care and free TV licenses for the over-75s.
To be eligible for Pension Credit, people need to be over State Pension age and on a low income.
More than 1.4 million pensioners across the UK currently receive Pension Credit including 129,671 living in Scotland.
One of the quickest ways to find out if you are eligible, and how much extra you could potentially be paid every week, is to use the Pension Credit calculator on the GOV.UK website.
Below is a quick guide to Pension Credit.
Extra benefits if you get Pension Credit
If you get Pension Credit you can also get other help, such as:
- Housing Benefit if you rent the property you live in
- Support for Mortgage Interest if you own the property you live in
- A Council Tax discount
- A free TV licence if you are aged 75 or over
- Help with NHS dental treatment, glasses and transport costs for hospital appointments
- Help with your heating costs through the Warm Home Discount Scheme
- A discount on the Royal Mail redirection service if you are moving house
Mixed aged older couples and Pension Credit
In May 2019, the law changed so that a ‘mixed age couple’ - a couple where one partner is of State Pension age and the other is under it - are considered to be a ‘working age’ couple when checking entitlement to means-tested benefits.
This means they cannot claim Pension Credit or pension age Housing Benefit until they are both State Pension age.
Before this DWP change, a mixed age couple could be eligible to claim the more generous State Pension age benefits when just one of them reached State Pension age.
How to use the Pension Credit calculator
To use the calculator, you will need details of:
earnings, benefits and pensions
savings and investments
You’ll need the same details for your partner if you have one.
Who cannot use the Pension Credit calculator?
You cannot use the calculator if you or your partner:
are deferring your State Pension
own more than one property
are self employed
have housing costs (such as service charges or Crown Tenant rent) which are neither mortgage repayments nor rent covered by Housing Benefit
How to make a claim
You can start your application up to four months before you reach State Pension age.
You can claim any time after you reach State Pension age but your claim can only be backdated for three months.
This means you can get up to three months of Pension Credit in your first payment if you were eligible during that time.
You will need:
your National Insurance number
information about your income, savings and investments
your bank account details, if you’re applying by phone or by post
If you’re backdating your claim, you’ll need details of your income, savings and investments on the date you want your claim to start.
Apply online
You can use the online service if:
you have already claimed your State Pension
there are no children or young people included in your claim
To check your entitlement, phone the Pension Credit helpline on 0800 99 1234 or use the GOV.UK Pension Credit calculator here to find out how much you could get.
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