Pages 7-14 in the full Wise Guide book
Download this chapter, or order
a full copy of the Wise Guide
One in five pensioners misses out on hundreds of pounds worth of
benefits they could claim. Does this apply to you? You may be
surprised. It'll only take five minutes to read this chapter and
you have everything to gain and nothing to lose by finding out.
Why people don't claim
- the system is complicated
- there are long forms
- they think they'd only be a few pounds better off
- they're too proud
- they have savings and think this disqualifies them.
Benefits don't arrive automatically. You have to claim them, and
'if you don't ask, you don't get'.
The
importance of claiming Pension Credit
If you do only one thing as a
result of reading this book, apply for Pension Credit.
Claiming Guarantee Pension Credit can mean more than £200 extra in
your pocket a week.
There are two types of Pension
Credit - Guarantee and Savings.
What is Guarantee Pension
Credit?
It is extra money to make your weekly income up to a minimum
level decided by the government. You must be over 60. It's called
Guarantee Pension Credit because it guarantees you a minimum amount
to live on. Currently, that amount is £142.70 for singles and
£217.90 for couples. The amounts may be nearly twice that much if
you are disabled, have caring responsibilities or certain housing
costs such as mortgage interest payments.
Savings up to £10,000 don't count. If you have more, then for
each £500 of savings, you lose some money off your benefit.
The perks you get when you're on Guarantee Pension Credit
- you don't pay council tax
- you don't pay for the dentist and you can claim help towards
the cost of glasses and travel to hospital
- you get £25 when the weather falls below 0°C for seven
consecutive days.
- if you own your home, the Pension Service may be able to help
you with service charges, ground rent, mortgage interest and
interest on home maintenance loans
- if you rent your home, the council could help you with rent and
service charge in the form of housing benefit
- if you are caring for someone 35
hours a week or more, you may be able to claim a Carer Premium on
top of your Guarantee Pension Credit. Currently, this is worth an
extra £32.60 a week.
You may be able to claim the Severe Disability Premium (SDP) -
worth up to £58.20 a week.
As you can see, membership of the Guarantee Pension Credit club is
a very good thing! You have nothing to lose by applying and
everything to gain.
The other kind of Pension Credit -
Savings
Savings Credit is for people 65 and over and provides extra
money if you have savings or an income higher than the basic state
pension. The name is misleading. People on Savings Credit may have
no savings but they may have a small private or occupational
pension.
How to apply for Pension Credit
Call the Pension Service on 0800 99 1234 (0808 100 6165 in
Northern Ireland) and ask them to assess you over the phone. Have
your National Insurance number and ALL income and savings details
handy. They will assess you for both types of Pension Credit; they
fill out the forms for you and post them to you for signing.
They may be able to visit you at home if you can't use the
phone, or are housebound.
Attendance Allowance - The benefit
for rich and poor alike
Attendance Allowance is extra money you can claim if you
have difficulty washing, feeding and dressing yourself, need help
with certain tasks or need someone with you. Savings and income don't
matter.
You must have needed supervision, or help with personal care for
the last six months to qualify. The form is long so get expert help
(from Age UK
or Citizens Advice - CAB) to fill it in
correctly and increase your chances of a successful application.
Did you know…up to 60% of people
eligible for Attendance Allowance don't claim?
Many claims fail on first application but succeed on appeal so
don't give up! If you qualify, it is worth £77.45 a week
(higher rate) or £51.85 a week (lower rate).
Getting Attendance Allowance? Tell
the Pension Service and your local council's housing benefit
department. You may also be entitled to up to £58.20 a week in
Severe Disability Premium (SDP).The word disability can be misleading. Not
everyone who claims Attendance Allowance or SDP is 
necessarily
disabled.
Extra money if you're looking after someone
If you care for someone else (day or night) for at least 35
hours a week, consider applying for Carer's Allowance. First get a
benefits check for you and the person you care for by phoning the
Carers UK Advice Line on 0808 808 7777. Find out if it's in both
your interests to claim as getting Carer's Allowance could reduce
the benefits of the person you care for.
If your state pension is £58.45 a
week, or more, you are unlikely to get Carer's Allowance but
you may be able to claim underlying entitlement to Carer's
Allowance (known as Carer Premium). This can mean up to £32.60
extra a week for you when they are calculating how much Council Tax
you need to pay and how much you may receive in Housing Benefit or
Pension Credit. The claiming process is complicated but we've
explained it for you below.
Extra money for rent, service charge
and Council Tax
There's more about this in chapter 2.
Extra money for urgent expenses like
a new bed or minor house repair
Getting Guarantee Pension Credit? You may be able to apply for a
community care grant which doesn't have to be paid back. Read
Counsel and Care's
Guide 21, The Social
Fund, (0845 300 7585, www.counselandcare.org.uk).
You can get the application forms from the Benefit Enquiry line on
0800 88 22 00 or your local Jobcentre Plus office.
Can't claim anything? Have you
thought about asking a charity for help?
There are more than 170,000 charities in England and Wales alone
with a total income of £52 billion. Many help people who worked in
a certain industry, live in a certain area, or have a particular
health problem.
'My late husband did National Service. Because I have a services
connection, SSAFA Forces Help (0845 1300 975, ssafa.org.uk) were able to help
me.'
Glynnis, 79, Margate
How to find a charity
- Visit turn2us.org.uk or call their
free confidential helpline on 0808 802 2000.
- Ask at your library or Citizens Advice to look at Charities
Digest.
- Call Charity Search (0117 982 4060, charitysearch.org.uk).
- In Northern Ireland, you'll find charities listed by area in
the Bryson House Social Directory (028 9032 5835, brysongroup.org). Or call
the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (028 9087 7777,
nicva.org).
Download this chapter, or order
a full copy of the Wise
Guide
