More than a million British households are missing an opportunity to claim the £65 weekly payment, reveals the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Older pensioners may be under the misapprehension that their personal savings or homeownership excludes them from pension credit. Through two educational videos on YouTube, the DWP hopes to dispel this misconception. One is aimed at potential beneficiaries, the other at their families.
DWP Minister Laura Trott expressed her desire to improve take-up of the benefit in a speech to the House of Commons. She admitted, however, that "automatically registering people for Pension Credit is a challenge because of the information available to the government. Nevertheless, I look forward to exploring how better data sharing could help generate more claims."
Who Can Claim This Pension Credit Benefit?
Residents who have reached State Pension age can supplement their income to a minimum of £182.60 per week for singles and £278.70 per week for couples.
Furthermore, those exceeding 65 years and having attained their State Pension Age prior to April 6, 2016, may still qualify for Pension Credit if their weekly earnings fall under:
- £218.80 for single individuals
- £319.20 for couples
Applicants may apply as early as four months before reaching State pension age. However, the claim can only be backdated by a maximum of three months.
In other words, the initial payment may include up to three months' pension credit, provided that the person concerned was eligible during that period.
Required Information for Application
To submit their application, applicants must:
- Their National Insurance number
- Details about their income, savings, and investments
- Their bank account details, if applying via phone or by post
In case of a backdated application, it is necessary to provide detailed information on income, savings and investments at the date you wish to start the application.
Applying Online
You can use the online service in the following circumstances:
- If the claimant has already applied for their state pension
- If there are no children or young people in the claim.
To validate eligibility, you can contact the Pension Credit Helpline on 0800 99 1234 or use the Pension Credit Calculator to estimate the potential amount to be received.
Who cannot use the calculator
You cannot use the calculator if you or your partner:
- 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
- gets Housing Benefit for people over State Pension age, and the other person is under State Pension age
Do you think you're eligible? Don't hesitate. Start your application today and secure your financial future.