MILLIONS of pensioners could be due free cash, discounts and freebies worth up to £2,967.50.
Britons who have reached state pension age and are on a low income can grab the benefits through different schemes if they’re signed up for Pension Credit.
Pension Credit is a weekly payment from the government to those over the state pension age who have an income below a certain level.
If your claim is successful then the benefit will top up your income to £218.15 a week if you are single, or £11,343.80 a year.
Meanwhile, if you are in a couple your income will be boosted to £332.95 a week, or £17,313.40 annually.
If you reached State Pension age before April 6, 2016, or if you are in a couple and both of you did then you may be eligible to claim Savings Credit.
This is extra money if you have some savings or if your income is higher than the basic State Pension.
You could get up to £17.01 extra each week, or £884.52 a year, if you are single.
If you are in a couple then you could get an extra £19.04 a week, or £990.08 a year.
The money you receive in Pension Credit can be spent as you wish but could be used to help cover housing, energy, fuel or food bills.
But there’s even more help on offer for those who receive the benefit, including discounts and free cash.
Here we explain what other discounts and freebies you could get.
TV licence – £169.50
If you are aged 75 or over you can claim a free TV licence, which is worth £169.50 a year for a colour licence or £57 for a black and white one.
To claim you or your partner must claim Pension Credit.
The licence covers everyone who lives at your address.
You can apply for the discount when you are 74 if you already receive Pension Credit.
But you will still need to pay for your licence until the end of the month before your 75th birthday, after which point you will be covered by the free one.
You can apply for a free licence online by visiting tvlicensing.co.uk or calling 0300 790 6071.
Pension Credit explained
Pension Credit is a benefit which gives you extra money to help with your living costs if you’re on a low income in retirement.
It can also help with housing costs such as ground rent or service charges.
You may be able to get extra help of you’re a carer, have a disability, or are responsible for a child.
It also opens up access to lots of other benefits such as the warm home discount scheme, support for mortgage interest, council tax discounts, free TV licences once you’re over 75, and help with NHS costs.
To qualify, you need to be over state pension age and live in England, Scotland or Wales.
If you have a partner, you need to include them on your claim.
Pension Credit tops up:
- your weekly income to £218.15 if you’re single
- your joint weekly income to £332.95 if you have a partner
However, even if your income is higher, you might still qualify if you have a disability or caring responsibilities.
There is also another element to Pension Credit called savings credit. To get this, you need to have saved some money towards your retirement.
You can get an extra £17.01 a week for a single person or £19.04 a week for a married couple.
If you have more than £10,000 in savings, the government uses a calculation to work out how much it adds to your income.
Every £500 over £10,000 counts as £1 income a week. For example, if you have £11,000 in savings, this counts as £2 income a week.
Winter Fuel Payments – £300
Rule changes announced in July mean that only pensioners who claim Pension Credit or certain other benefits will receive the Winter Fuel Payment this year.
The payments are worth up to £300 and are designed to help you pay for heating bills for winter 2024 to 2025.
To qualify you must have been eligible for Pension Credit during the “qualifying week”, which was September 16-22.
Since Pension Credit can be backdated by up to three months, the last date that you can claim for it and still get the Winter Fuel Payment is December 21.
If you are eligible you will get a letter in October or November which will tell you how much you will get.
But if you do not get a letter and still think that you are eligible then you should check online if you need to make a claim.
Most eligible people will be paid in November of December.
How to claim Pension Credit
THERE are several ways to claim pension credit, including online or by telephone.
To make a claim online you will need to already claim State Pension and cannot include any children or young people in your claim.
Visit GOV.UK for more information.
Alternatively you can call the Pension Credit claim line on 0800 99 1234 and they can help you to fill in an application form over the phone.
The lines are open from Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm.
If you need help with your application then you can contact charities including Age UK or advice services such as Citizens Advice.
If can be helpful to have the following information before you begin:
- Your National Insurance number
- Your partner’s details, if you have one
- Information about your income, savings and investments
- Bank account details
- Details of any housing costs such as a mortgage, service charges or interest payments
- Information about your pension if you have one
Warm Home Discount – £150
In addition to the Winter Fuel Payment you should also receive the Warm Home Discount.
This is a one-off £150 discount on your energy bill and is provided by your electricity supplier.
To qualify you will need to get the Guaranteed Credit element of Pension credit or be on a low income but have high energy costs.
If you are eligible your provider will automatically apply the discount to your bill. The money is usually not paid to you.
You may be able to get the discount on your gas bill if you supplier provides you with both gas and electricity but you will need to contact your supplier to find out.
Cold Weather Payments – £150
By receiving Pension Credit you will also automatically receive Cold WeatherPayments.
You will get a payment if the average temperature in your area falls below zero degrees celsius, or is forecast to do so, for over 7 consecutive days.
You will get £25 for every week of cold weather between November 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025.
After every period of very cold weather in your area you should get the payment within 14 working days.
You do not need to apply and the payment will be sent to the same bank or building society account as your benefit payments.
Free NHS care – around £150
If you claim Pension Credit you are entitled to free NHS dental treatment and can get help with the cost of glasses and transport to a hospital.
Meanwhile, if you care for someone you might be able to claim an additional £45.60 a week, or £2,371.20 a year, which is known as Carer Addition.
Plus, if you have a disability you may get an extra amount known as Severe Disability Addition, which is worth up to £81.50 a week, or £4,238 a year.
Housing costs – around £2,000
If you rent your home then you could be able to claim Housing Benefit which could be worth thousands of pounds a year.
You can claim if you or your partner reached State Pension age and started claiming Pension Credit for you as a couple before 15 May 2019.
You may get help with all or part of your rent.
There’s no set amount of Housing Benefit and what you get will depend on whether you rent privately or from a council.
If you own your own home then you could claim Mortgage Interest support on up to £100,000 of your mortgage or loan.
You can start getting the loan from the date you start getting Pension Credit.
Contact the office that pays your benefit to find out if you could get support for Mortgage Interest.
Some councils may also give you a council tax reduction or exemption in full.
The level of the discount will depend on your local council.
Contact them to discover what you could receive and how to apply.
You can find your local council by visiting gov.uk/find-local-council.
Royal Mail redirection – £48
If you move home while you are claiming Pension Credit then the Royal Mail will redirect your post for a discounted fee.
You can get up to £48 off the cost of redirecting your post for 12 months if your household includes more than three adults.
To be eligible you must be able to provide proof that you received the benefit within the last six months.
Are you missing out on benefits?
YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to
Charity Turn2Us’ benefits calculator works out what you could get.
Entitledto’s free calculator determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit.
MoneySavingExpert.com and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto’s data.
You can use Policy in Practice’s calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you’ll have left over each month after paying for housing costs.
Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
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