Pension Credit Advice - A brief introduction
|
|
Pension Credit - Advice about Your entitlement. (Updated
18 Oct 2011)
If you or or partner are 60 or over, then you will probably
qualify for Pension Credit - providing that your income is below £124.05 per
week. If you have a partner, and your joint income is less than £189.35, then
you should also qualify for Pension Credit.
Together with this, there is the possibility - if you are
sixty five or over, that you could also get a further sum if you have 'saved'
towards your retirement. This could mean as much as £19.71 for a single person
and £26.13 if you are living with a partner.
|
This advice is meant as a guide only. Please check
with your local DWP Office.
Everyone over the age of 60 in the UK is entitled to Pension
Credit. This is not to say that everyone over the age of 60 gets any extra
money from Pension Credit!
Pension Credit simply guarantees that you will get £124.05
per week if you are a single person, and £189.35 if you are living
with a partner. If you already earn that sum - either as a single
person, or as having a partner, then you do not qualify for any
extra money from Pension Credit. (IMPORTANT!)
The 'magic' figures again.......
- £137.35 a week guaranteed if you are a single
person aged 60 yrs or over.
- £209.70 a week guaranteed if you have a
partner and you are aged 60 yrs or over.
- (Together with this, you may get more if you are
disabled, have housing costs which are eligible - such as
mortgage interest payments, or you have responsibilities as
a carer.
Saving Reward
Also, if either you or your partner
are aged 65 or more, you could also gat a 'reward' if you have
'saved' for your retirement.
Providing you have saved towards your retirement,
the reward could be as much as.....
- £20.52 per week if you are single person
- £27.09 per week if you have a partner
- This savings credit may be in addition to your
Guaranteed Pension Credit, or it may simply be the savings
credit that you receive - depending upon your income and
circumstances.
- There are a few different ways in which you could
qualify for this 'Savings Credit' such as your own savings
towards your retirement, or if you have taken out additional
pensions for this reason.
Providing you are eligible to claim pension
Credit, you can get it backdated for up to three months from the
date you apply. The backdating will only apply if you were entitled
to Pension Credit for that three months, or part of it.
For instance, if you are now 61 yrs and you apply,
then you will only be entitled to three months backdating. If you
are 60 yrs and 2 months, then you will only be entitled to two
months backdating. Three Months is the absolute limit. (It changed
on 8th October 2008 - before then, you could get up to twelve months
backdating of Pension Credits)
You can apply for Pension Credit up to four months
before your sixtieth birthday, but you are not entitled to the money
until you have reached 60 yrs. If your partner is under 60 when you
apply, it is not a problem and does not matter.
Changes to the Age of claiming Pension Credit
Gradually, the government is going to raise the
age of pension entitlement for women. From 2010 (April 6th) the age
of retirement for women will increase year by year. At the
same time - 6th April 2010 - the age of claiming Pension Credit will
also be increased.
('Partner' means husband, wife, or civil partner,
or any person you live with as though you are either married or in a
civil partnership)
You can apply for Pension Credit by calling 0800 99 1234
between 8.00am and 8.00pm Mondays to Fridays - NOT weekends
Can you get Pension Credit - Your Entitlement
rules
If you are rich, you will not get Pension Credit.
For you to be able to get your Pension Credit entitlement - you have
to be 'entitled' to that credit.
Your earnings are taken into account before deciding
if you are entitled to Pension Credit. If you earn over a certain
amount, you will not qualify for the Pension Credit Entitlement. You
are only 'entitled' to Pension Credit if you meet certain earnings
criteria - rules. Not everyone over 60 yrs is 'entitled' to Pension
Credit. Only those who earn very little in total. The word
'entitlement' is not a good word for the government to use. Not
everyone is entitled! But the thinking was probably that
'entitlement' made people feel good about being able to get something.
If you have 'earnings' and these will include
things like ......
- Your STATE pension - or any other pension.
- Assistance Funds or Pension Protection Fund
payments
- benefits such as Carer's allowance
- earnings from a job of any kind - including
your earnings after tax of any self-employed work you do.
Earnings which will NOT be included in the
calculation for Pension Credit include ......
- Attendance Allowance - AA
- Disability Living Allowance - DLA
- Housing Benefits
- Council Tax Benefits
- Your Savings - income, dividends and interest
are not included in the calculations for earnings BUT if you
have savings, then the government will count as £1 per week
towards your earnings entitlement for every £500 that you have
saved over and above £6,000. So, if you have savings of £6,021,
then the £21 over the £6,000 ceiling will count as a £1 a week
from 'earnings'. If you live permanently in a care home, then
the calculations are made over £10,000. The £500 steps over the
£10,000 are the same as before - £1 earnings calculated for
every £500 over the £10,000.
Savings and investments that are taken into
account include .....
- Money in the bank account - including
building societies or post office accounts.
- Savings you or your partner have at home - by
way of cash under the Pillow etc
- Premium Bonds and National Savings
Certificates
- ISAs and PEPs Investments and savings.
- Any stock Market Shares or unit trusts
- Bonds of any kind
- Any Land or 'Property' you own - but not your
home where you live.
That must make you feel good about the money you
put away for your retirement or a rainy day! All the sales blurb
about income from Premium Bonds being tax free. Basically, if you
DON'T win, then you stand to lose out simply by having the Premium
Bonds.
On the plus side.....
- If you live with your grown up family, YOU
can still get Pension Credit. It is YOUR income that is taken
into account. The rest of the family can earn what they like -
it does not affect you claiming for YOUR Pension Credit.
- If you own your own home, it does not stop
you from applying.
- If you are only awarded a small sum for
Pension Credit, it may mean that you can get other help with
such things as Council Tax Benefit and also Housing Benefit.
You should be able to claim for Pension Credit,
Council Tax and Housing Benefit with the same phone call. (0800 99
1234 between 8.00am and 8.00pm Mondays to Fridays)
For those who are self-assessed tax payers, you will realise that
the state pension earnings you get are actually taxable - annoying -
so you will need to forecast what your net earnings are for any
given tax year, and also estimate what your tax liability will be,
and make sure that the Pension credit Team are aware of this. If you
do this incorrectly, then you could end up facing having to pay some
of your Pension Credit back.
SO ........ Over 60 - Under 65
If you are single and are over 60 - but under 65
you will probably be entitled to Pension Credit PROVIDING THAT your
income is less than £137.05 each week.
If you have a partner - any age - and your
weekly earnings are less than £209.70, you could be entitled to
Pension Credit.
You may even be able to get more - even if you
earn more than the figures above - if for instance either you or
your partner are severely disabled, or have mortgage interest
payments to make,
If either you or your partner are older than
65, then Pension Credit Scheme guarantees you an income of minimum
.........
- Single person - £137.35 a week.
- Married or have partner £209.70 a week.
