The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced a ‘day of action’ this month which will focus on encouraging people of State Pension age to check eligibility for a benefit worth on average, £1,900 each year but could be worth more than £3,000 in financial support and additional discounts.
DWP’s ‘Pension Credit Day of Action’ will take place on Wednesday, June 15 and aims to get more older people applying for support to help them manage the rising cost of living.
Figures released by the UK Government in April showed that up to 850,000 families who were entitled to receive Pension Credit did not claim the benefit in the financial year 2019 to 2020 and earlier this week, DWP minister Guy Opperman MP, gave an update indicating that an estimated 770,000 pensioners qualify for the extra support and have not claimed.
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 amounts to around £1,900 per year for each family entitled to receive the ‘gateway’ benefit.
What is Pension Credit?
Pension Credit gives people extra money to help with living costs if they are over State Pension age and on a low income.
Some older people think because they have savings or own their home they would not be eligible for any Pension Credit, but thousands could be missing out on the extra money and discounts it provides every month.
More than 1.4 million people over State Pension age across the UK are currently receiving the benefit, including some 129,671 living in Scotland, and accessing additional financial help with Council Tax, Housing Benefit, hearing bills and a free TV Licence for the over 75s.
Other help if you get Pension Credit
If you qualify for 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
- Council Tax discount
- 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
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.
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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