State pensioners urged to check if they can claim Pension Credit with up to £3,500 boost
Pension Credit tops up the income of people of state pension age on low incomes.
State pensioners are encouraged to check if they are eligible for Pension Credit which can boost a person’s income up to £3,500 a year. The benefit is thought to be one of the most underclaimed Government benefits with tens of thousands of older Britons missing out on the extra funds.
People may want to check if they can claim the support now as many household bills are increasing from this month, including energy bills, water bills and broadband and mobile.
The benefit also provides access to several other means of support, including council tax discounts, free TV licences for claimants aged 75 and over and help with heating bills.
How much is Pension Credit?
Pension Credit tops up a person’s weekly income to £201.05 a week for single claimants and up to £306.85 a week for couples.
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Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert, recently encouraged Britons to check if they are eligible for the benefit on his BBC podcast.
He said: “If you are a state pensioner earning under £220 a week as a single state pensioner, or a couple of state pensioners earning in total under £320 a week, you should absolutely check this out.
“Either go online and do it, or ring the Pension Credit hotline.
“Don’t worry if you think you might not be eligible. They might tell you that you aren’t.”
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People can get additional payments on top of the weekly top up depending on their situation, such as if they care for another adult.
A Pension Credit claimant may also be able to get other help, such as:
- Housing Benefit if they rent the property you live in
- Support for Mortgage Interest if they own the property they live in
- Council Tax discount
- Free TV licence if they are aged 75 or over
- Help with NHS dental treatment, glasses and transport costs for hospital appointments
- Help with heating costs through the Warm Home Discount Scheme
- A discount on the Royal Mail redirection service if they are moving house.
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People should note that for couples where one person is of working age while another is retired, they will not be able to claim.
A person can find out how much Pension Credit they can claim using a calculator tool on the Government website.
A person can put in a claim for Pension Credit up to four months before they reach state pension age, which is currently 66 for both men and women.
They will need to have applied for their state pension, and can then apply for Pension Credit via the Government website.
Both Pension Credit and the state pension recently increased 10.1 percent. The full new state pension is now £203.85 a week while the full basic state pension pays £185.15 a week.
A person typically needs 35 years of National Insurance contributions to get the full new state pension and 30 years of contributions to get the full basic state pension.
A person can find out how much state pension they are on track to receive using the state pension forecast tool on the Government website.
The tool will also tell them if they can boost their payments by paying voluntary National Insurance contributions.
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