People with older family members have been urged by the DWP to check if they are due an income boost of up to £3,300.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has recently confirmed that new claims for Pension Credit that were made between April 1 2022 and July 3 2022 took an average of around 40 days to process.
As reported by the Daily Record, this means that those over the State Pension age that submit an application this week, could receive financial support before the end of October.
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The DWP has introduced a new interactive Pension Credit claim form that can be completed on line, in order to help even more people aged 66 and over to claim support worth up to £3,300 annually. The form can be completed online, downloaded and posted to the Pension Service.
This form could be useful for those who are unable to claim the benefit totally online, or over the phone, as progress on the new 24-page application form can be saved for completion at a later time. It could also help more people complete the process on behalf of an older family member, or those who may not have access to the internet.
This was recently highlighted by the DWP in a post on social media. The DWP tweeted: "Could someone in your family be eligible for and missing out on #PensionCredit? Talk to them about checking their eligibility online today or call 0800 99 1234.”
A successful Pension Credit claim acts as a "passport" to other financial support offered by the DWP, including Council Tax reductions. Other support includes help with housing and mortgage payments, discounted NHS treatments and free TV licences for the over-75s.
Figures released recently by the DWP showed that £1.7 billion is being left unclaimed by approximately 850,000 older members of the UK. You can find out if you are owed money using the Pension Credit calculator on the Gov.UK website here.
Listed below is more information on Pension Credit.
What is Pension Credit?
Pension Credit is a service that currently hands out extra money to 1.4 million people across the country to help with living costs, if they are over State Pension age, and on low income.
Older people who have savings or own their home may believe they are not eligible for Pension Credit, but the DWP have said that hundreds of thousands of pensioners could be missing out if they haven't checked.
What do you get if you qualify for Pension Credit?
As well as support on your living costs, Pension Credit also opens other doors to financial support, like:
- 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
How to use the Pension Credit calculator
In order to use the Pension Credit calculator, you will need access to:
earnings, benefits and pensions
savings and investments
These details will also need to be provided for your partner, if you have one. A series of questions will be asked, with multiple choice options to answer.
This includes:
- Your date of birth
- Your residential status
- Where in the UK you live
- Whether you are registered blind
- Which benefits you currently receive
- How much you receive each week for any benefits you get
- Whether someone is paid Carer’s Allowance to look after you
- How much you get each week from pensions - State Pension, private and work pensions
- Any employment earnings
- Any savings, investments or bonds you have
Once you have answered these questions, a summary screen shows your responses, allowing you to go back and change any answers before submitting. The calculator will then show you how much you could receive weekly on benefits.
By following the link to the application page, you can fill out a claim and have the money in your account by mid-October.
You cannot use the Pension Credit calculator if you:
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
To start a Pension Credit claim, 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.
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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