As you may have seen in the media recently the importance of claiming Pension Credit has been heavily discussed due to changes in the criteria to claim Winter Fuel Payment. We want to highlight what pension credit is and why it is important to claim when entitled to do so.
Pension credit is a means-tested benefit for people over state retirement age and is designed to provide a minimum level income in retirement. Some people may be in receipt state pension, a personal pension or occupational pension and they may not qualify for Pension Credit, but unless they check their entitlement they will not know for certain if they would qualify for Pension Credit. Following the cost-of-living crisis it is even more important for those on a low income to maximise the income that they are entitled to and for pensioners this often means claiming Pension Credit.
According to Gov.uk, it is estimated that as many as 850,000 people that are eligible for Pension
Credit are not claiming it. The reasons for this include that people are unaware that they are entitled or check their entitlement and deem that as they may be on the cusp of being entitled, they will only receive a small amount. We are, therefore, encouraging people to check their entitlement to
address the first of these reasons. As for the second common reason for Pension Credit being
unclaimed, we want to raise awareness of the additional support people may become entitled to as a result of claiming Pension Credit, even if their entitlement is only a few pounds per week.
Another benefit that some people above state retirement age may be eligible for is Attendance
Allowance. Attendance Allowance is a benefit to help if you have a disability or health condition that makes it hard to look after yourself and need additional support. If you are in receipt of Attendance Allowance, then the amount of Pension Credit that you receive may be increased.
So going back to the opening sentence of this article and the WINTER FUEL PAYMENT, this is now a prodigious reason for people to check their entitlement and claim Pension Credit sooner rather than later. Winter Fuel Payment will be dependent on people being in receipt of certain benefits and for people above state retirement age this is Pension Credit. If you are in receipt of pension credit then you will receive the Winter Fuel Payment, however, you must act quickly. The qualifying week for Winter Fuel Payment is 16th – 22nd September, meaning that you must be eligible for Pension Credit
during this period. If you apply for Pension Credit after this period, then you will need to ensure that you ask for your claim to be backdated. This can be backdated for up to 3 months, meaning that you have until the 21st December 2024 to make a claim for Pension Credit if you want to claim the Winter Fuel Payment this winter season.
If you need to check your entitlement to pension credit or need any benefits advice, contact your local Citizens Advice. If you live in Bedford then you can contact us on 01234 867944 or visit our
office at, 8 Harpur Centre, Bedford MK40 1TP. Our office opening hours are Monday –Thursday 9:30am – 4:00pm. You can also visit our website: www.bedfordcab.org.uk.
Alternatively, if you would like to apply for Pension Credit you can visit https://www.gov.uk/pension- credit/how-to-claim or call 0800 99 1234