Hundreds of thousands missing out on ‘lifeline’ pension top-up payments worth £2,677 a year – check if you can claim

HARD-PRESSED families are missing out on thousands of pounds of support.

Around 808,000 older households on low incomes are missing out on an average of £2,677 a year in pension top-ups.

PA:Press Association

Pension credit is worth around £3,900 a year on average and unlocks many other benefits, such as council tax reductions and help with energy costs.

There are other bonuses available too, such as cold weather payments, free NHS dental treatment and a free TV licence.

But recent figures exclusively revealed to The Sun more than £2.1million pension credit is going unclaimed.

Policy in Practice founder Deven Ghelani described the benefit as a “vital lifeline”.

Pension credit tops up your weekly income to £218.15 if you’re single or your joint weekly income to £332.95 if you have a partner.

The threshold may rise for those getting other benefits like carer’s allowance or attendance allowance, meaning more people are eligible than they think.

Pension credit can also open the door to other support including housing benefit, cost of living payments and council tax reductions.

How much can you get on pension credit?

Pension Credit is worth £218.15 if you’re single or for couples it’s £332.95.

If your income is lower than this, you should be eligible for the benefit.

You could get the “Savings Credit” part of pension credit if both of the following apply:

• You reached State Pension age before April 6, 2016
• You saved some money for retirement, for example, a personal or workplace pension

This part of pension credit is worth £17.01 for single people or for couples, £19.04.

You may also get additional pension credit if you are disabled, have caring responsibilities or have to pay certain housing costs such as mortgage interest payments.

You can find out more about Pension Credit including how to apply in our guide.

Who is eligible for pension credit?

Anyone over the state pension age living in England, Scotland, or Wales is eligible for pension credit.

The state pension age is currently 66 for both men and women.

To qualify, you must have a weekly income of less than £218.15 for single people or £332.95 for couples.

Your estimated income could include:

• Your state pension
• Any other pensions you have saved, for instance, workplace or private pension savings
• Most social security benefits, for example, carer’s allowance
• Any savings or investments worth over £10,000
• Earnings from a job

The calculation does not include:

• Attendance allowance
• Christmas bonus
• Disability living allowance
• Personal independence payment
• Housing benefit
• Council tax reduction

If your income is too high to get pension credit, you may still get some savings pension credit, so it’s worth checking.

It used to be the case that couples, where one person was over state pension age, could claim, but new rules now mean that both people in a couple must be over retirement age to apply.

This means if you’re single and move in with a partner who is younger than the state pension age, you will stop being eligible.

But if you’re already receiving pension credit under the old system it won’t stop unless your circumstances change.

How do I apply and how will I be paid?

You can start your application up to four months before you reach State Pension age.

You can make an application on the Government website or by ringing the Pension Credit claim line on 0800 99 1234.

You can get a friend or family member to ring for you, but you’ll need to be with them when they do.

You’ll need the following information about you and your partner if you have one:

• National Insurance number
• Information about any income, savings and investments you have
• Information about your income, savings and investments on the date you want to backdate your application to (usually 3 months ago or the date you reached State Pension age)

You can also get help with the application process through charities and non-profit organisations such as Independent Age and Age UK.

What else could you be missing out on?

Almost 300,000 pensioners are missing out on £1.2billion in pension age housing benefit, according to the new figures, going without £4,300 a year on average.

The benefit is for pensioners who pay rent, are on a low income and have savings under £16,000. 

If they get the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit, their income and savings aren’t taken into account.

Joanna Elson, chief executive of Independent Age, says: “With 2.1million older people living in poverty, it has never been more important for older people on a low income to receive everything they are entitled to.”

Callers to the charity’s helpline – 0800 319 6789 – who had welfare benefits checks, found they were missing out on an average of £4,000 per year.

Meanwhile, we reveal that millions are missing out on unclaimed benefits worth up to £23billion a year – and easy tools to check if you’re due £2.7k.

Plus, a 78-year-old grandmother has shared how she’s £4,000 better off a year after claiming pension credit.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

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