Check your State Pension Age and entitlement to Pension Credit

State Pension Age

The HMRC’s ‘Check your State Pension age’ tool is available at www.gov.uk/state-pension-age/y

The tool allows individuals to check the following:

• the earliest age they can start receiving the State Pension;
• their Pension Credit qualifying age; and
• when they will be eligible for free bus travel

The State Pension age is currently 66 years old for both men and women but is planned to increase again from 6 May 2026 to 67 years.

The government has legislated an increase to 68 years from 2044 but this is likely to be reviewed.

State Pension Entitlement

The level of state pension an individual is entitled to receive is based on the level of qualifying years of National Insurance Contributions (NIC).

If an individual:

• 35 years of NIC contributions they may get the full State Pension.
• Between 10-34 years of NIC contributions then they will receive a proportion of the Full State Pension.
• Less than 10 years will mean they are unlikely to be eligible for the State Pension.

The level of qualifying years for NIC made by an individual may be viewed on their government gateway account, which may be found per the link below:

Check your National Insurance record – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Gaps in NIC for previous years in some circumstances may be plugged, if this is something you wish to look into, please let us know.

Pension Credit

This is separate from the State Pension, and it aims to provide extra funds to those over state pension age and on low incomes.

To be eligible for the Pension Credit an individual’s total weekly total income needs to amount to less than £218.15 if they are single, or £332.95 if they are married, in a civil partnership or live with their partner. Some benefits such as the attendance allowance, housing benefits and adult disability payments are not counted as income for these purposes.

If an individual is deemed to be eligible for this, their weekly income will get topped up to £218.15 per week as a single person or £332.95 as a couple. In addition, they may also qualify for a council tax reduction, free TV licence if over 75, free dental treatment and vouchers for glasses to name a few.

In the budget it was announced that the standard minimum guarantee (currently £218.15 for individual and £332.95 for a couple) will increase by 4.1% from April 2025. This results in an annual increase of £465 for a single pensioner and £710 for a couple.

Note, savings and investments are also factored into the income calculation for Pension Credit claims. Every £500 in savings or investments an individual has above £10,000 will count as a £1 weekly reduction in their credit. For example, if an individual has £12,000 in savings this counts as £4 a week reduction.

There are two forms of Pension Credit: guarantee credit and savings credit.

The guarantee credit is a government benefit designed to make sure that once an individual receives their State Pension their overall income meets a minimum threshold (as mentioned).

The savings credit is for those who reached state pension age pre 6 April 2016, this allows them to receive per week £17.01 if single or £19.04 if a couple.

The above is just an overview of this topic and more information may be found on the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit

Applications for the Pension Credit may also be made by telephone by contacting the following number: 0800 99 1234.

Finally, if you wish to make a claim by post, the following link can be selected and a form can be downloaded.

Pension Credit claim form – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Pension Credit and Winter Fuel Payments

The removal of winter fuel payments has attracted a lot of press attention recently. However, this benefit is means tested and will be linked to pension credit.

If an individual was eligible for and claimed pension credit during the week of 16 September 2024 to 22 September 2024 they may still be eligible for the winter fuel payment if they live in England or Wales.

Please be aware any claim for state pension credit can only be backdated up to three months. Therefore, if they have not done so already, the final date an individual can make a claim for pension credit and still be entitled to receive the winter fuel payment is 21 December 2024.

More information on this matter can be found on the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/when-youll-get-paid

For assistance, please call 023 8046 1237 or email Joe Wilson.