Pension Credits

What is pension credit?

Pension credit is a tax-free means-tested benefit administered by The Pension Service aimed at retired people on low incomes. For those who qualify, it can be worth £1,000s a year. However, an estimated one million eligible households don’t claim – often because they don’t know they can.

You must live in England, Scotland or Wales and have reached state pension age to qualify for pension credit, visit the GOV.UK website to check if you are of a pensionable age.

To check if you are eligible visit the pension calculator https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator or call the team on 0800 99 1234.

A quick guide to entitlement

There are 4 main questions when considering if someone may get Pension Credit:

1. How old are they?
2. If they have a partner who lives with them, how old is their partner?
3. What is their weekly income? Is it less that £218.15 if they are single or £332.95 if they are a couple?
4. Do they have any savings? Have they got less than £10,000?

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.

If they are over 65 and reached their State Pension age before 6 April 2016, you could still qualify for Pension Credit if your weekly income is less than:

• £260.68 if they are single
• £380.55 if they are a couple

Have you experienced a change in your life?

You may have been ineligible before but a life changing event can make a difference to your claim. Why not check your eligibility again? 

Life events include:-

1. depletion of savings
2. death of a partner
3. leaving employment
4. increasing ill-health
5. becoming a carer
6. developing a disability 
7. taking responsibility for a child