The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimates that up to one million pensioner households across the UK may be entitled to Pension Credit, but are not claiming the benefit.
Pension Credit can help to top-up the income of retired people, even if they already receive a pension or have another source of income. Some pensioners think because they have savings or own their home they won’t qualify for the income boost, but many are missing out on extra money every month.
To encourage people over State Pension age and their families help them make a claim, the DWP has shared two new short videos on YouTube that cover the basics of Pension Credit with a link to the dedicated pages on GOV.UK.
People who receive Pension Credit could also qualify for additional financial help with Council Tax or Housing Benefit and if they are over 75, they will also get a free TV licence – a saving of £159 on the annual fee.
The DWP recently launched a new Pension Credit Toolkit which includes a quick guide to entitlement, details about payments and a link to the online Pension Credit calculator.
Their goal is for health visitors, home helps, day care centre staff, welfare advisers, GP’s and staff at the surgery, the local pharmacist who prepares their prescriptions, people at the Post Office where they collect their pension, local councils or friends and family to help them check if they could be eligible for Pension Credit.
To get people started, the DWP guidance states that there are four main questions when considering whether an older person may qualify for Pension Credit.
These include:
1. How old are they?
2. If they have a partner, how old is their partner?
3. What is their weekly income? Is it less than £173.75 if they are single or £265.20 if they are a couple?
4. Do they have any savings? Have they got less than £10,000?
The DWP said: “People who have more income or savings than this may still qualify for Pension Credit, but these questions are a good basic indication of who is likely to qualify.”
The guidance adds that if they are over 65 and have reached State Pension age before April 6, 2016, they could still qualify for Pension Credit if their weekly income is less than:
£208.68 - if they are single
£304.25 - if they are a couple
People may have applied for Pension Credit in the past and been told, at the time, they were not eligible, however, a change in their circumstances could now give a different outcome.
Use the Pension Credit calculator to find out how much Pension Credit someone could get - without giving any personal details.
More information about Pension Credit can be found on the GOV.UK website here.
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