PENSION CREDIT OPEN SESAME!
Pension credit is the gateway to £3,500 in benefits, says awardwinning journalist Stephanie Hawthorne.
DOING little acts of kindness brings cheer not only to others but can also brighten your day and mood, scientists say. With this in mind, one of the most rewarding financial good deeds you can do is tell all your friends and relatives over sixty-six about a little-known government benefit called Pension Credit, a real lifeline for many on low incomes.
Successful applicants not only get help with living costs but a whole host of benefits worth as much as £3,500 a year. These include help with council tax, extra cost of living support for people on specified benefits, warm home discount, housing benefit, dental and optical treatments and, for the over-seventyfives, a free TV licence.
Yet nearly one million eligible people are missing out. Are you or your friends among them?
You can get Pension Credit even if you have other income, savings up to £10,000 or own your own home.
It tops up a person’s income to a minimum of £182.60 per week for single pensioners and to £278.70 for couples. The average payment is £65 a week. This will go up by 10.1% in April 2023.
For people who reached State Pension age before April 6, 2016, there is savings credit.
You could get up to £14.48 extra per week if you’re single; £16.20 extra per week if you’re a couple.
Martin Lewis, founder and chair of Moneysavingexpert.com, has a simple rule of thumb.
He says, “If you (or someone you know) are aged sixty-six or older, and have total income of under roughly £200 a week, get online or call the Pension Credit claim line.”
Not everyone will get it but, he urges, “It only takes a few minutes to find out. So don’t stall, just call.”
If your savings or investment is above £10,000 a year, you might still be eligible if you have a disability, or if you care for someone.
Some income is taken into account in eligibility tests, including State Pension; other pensions; earnings from employment and selfemployment; social security benefits.
But the government ignores other income in its assessment– see financial facts and the websites below for more details.
There is a sting in the tail.
If you’re entitled to a personal or workplace pension and you have not claimed it yet, the amount you’d expect to get still counts as income.
Henry Tapper, pensions expert, points one to one arbitrary Department for Work and Pensions rule.
“You can have £10,000 in savings outside a pension, but any money in your pension pot is taken to be income and calculated as if you had bought an annuity.
“Recent changes in annuity rates work against people who have saved into pensions.”
If you cash out a small pension pot, the DWP may disallow your claim.
Sadly, Pension Credit is not automatic – you have to apply.
Apply via GOV.UK if you’ve already claimed your state pension or phone the Pension Service on 0800 99 1234 (Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) or the Northern Ireland Pension Centre on 0808 100 6165.
You can backdate it for three months. For more information visit the Pension Credit GOV.UK page.
There are some slight differences to Pension Credit in Northern Ireland – see nidirect, the official government website for Northern Ireland citizens. ■
If your savings or investment is above £10,000 a year, you might still be eligible